Pope Leo XIV today received a visit from a high-ranking official of the Russian Orthodox Church, the first such meeting for the new pope, the Vatican announced briefly today.
The Pope, who had previously called on the Kremlin to make a "gesture" for peace in Ukraine, received Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, president of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Relations.
Antonije (40) has been in this position since 2022, when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, and was previously the envoy to Italy of the Russian Orthodox Church, which is close to the Kremlin.
The Russian Church maintained a dialogue with the late Pope Francis, and at that time Metropolitan Anthony had about a dozen meetings with him, which Ukraine criticized.
Ahead of today's meeting, Antonio told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that the late Pope Francis had a "balanced approach" towards the issue of Ukraine, and that he did not yet know the current one's position.
Relations between the Vatican and Moscow are very cold.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which he described as a "holy war."
Leo XIV is the first pope from the United States, and he took over the leadership of the Church while Washington unsuccessfully insisted on ending Russia's war in Ukraine.
Leo XIV received Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in early July, and also spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In mid-May, the Pope offered his mediation to the warring parties, and the Vatican was considered as a possible venue for peace talks. However, the Kremlin rejected the idea and negotiations continued in Istanbul.
The Pope's interlocutor today, Metropolitan Antonije, said at the time that for Moscow, the Vatican is not a "neutral" ground for peace negotiations.
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