Department for External Church Relations
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His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos attended a reception in honor of Diplomatic Worker’s Day
DECR Communication service, 11.02.2026.
On February 10th, a ceremonial reception dedicated to Diplomatic Worker’s Day was held at the residence of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the State of Israel, A.D. Viktorov, in Herzliya, according to the website of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission.
Among the guests of honor at the reception were His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine, and the Secretary General of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Archbishop Aristarch of Constantinople.
At the invitation of the Russian ambassador, the formal evening was attended by: the Head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, Archimandrite Vassian (Zmeyev); the Head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Archimandrite Roman (Krasovsky); the ambassadors of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Serbia, Angola, and Ethiopia; representatives of Israeli political and business circles and the local public, as well as other officials.
The Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the State of Israel, A.D. Viktorov, congratulated those gathered on their professional holiday and noted that from generation to generation Russian diplomats have been distinguished by loyalty to duty, professionalism, and the ability to uphold their country’s positions for the benefit of its people under the most difficult circumstances.
A.D. Viktorov emphasized that Russia has never regarded the Holy Land as an object of military-political or self-interested ambitions, and that numerous compatriots have invested their efforts, talents, and resources in the establishment of dozens of churches, monasteries, metochia, guesthouses, and an extensive network of schools and hospitals.
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