“A decision was made to cancel the visit by a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church to Istanbul,” the communications service of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations told Interfax-Religion.
The source said the church delegation led by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations, was to leave for Istanbul in the morning of November 25 for negotiations with the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs scheduled for November 26.
“Such negotiations are conducted annually in accordance with the agreements reached by the parties in 2012,” the synodal department said.
A presentation of a Turkish translation of the book by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia entitledFreedom and Responsibility and a meeting between the Russian Church delegation and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople were also scheduled to take place during the visit.
