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Pope Leo XIV held his first meeting with a senior Russian Orthodox cleric, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, at the Vatican on Saturday since becoming the head of the Catholic Church earlier this year.
The Holy See confirmed the meeting but provided no further details.
This significant encounter occurs as Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope, has urged the Kremlin to make a “gesture” towards peace in Ukraine, reflecting the United States’ broader push for peace in the ongoing three-year conflict.
Relations between the Vatican and Moscow have historically been strained for centuries.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has publicly supported Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, even describing it as a “holy war.”
However, the Russian Orthodox Church maintained a dialogue with the late Pope Francis, who was sometimes criticised in Ukraine for his approach; Metropolitan Anthony reportedly met with Pope Francis about a dozen times.
Just days before his meeting with Pope Leo, Metropolitan Anthony told an Italian newspaper that Francis had a “balanced approach” on Ukraine while expressing uncertainty about Pope Leo’s stance.
The current pontiff had previously met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month and also spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone.
Despite earlier suggestions of the Vatican as a potential platform for peace talks, the Kremlin refuted the idea, and negotiations have remained in Istanbul.
Metropolitan Anthony reiterated Moscow’s view that the Vatican would not be “neutral” ground for any peace discussions.
He was appointed head of the Moscow church’s external relations in 2022, the year of the Ukraine invasion, having previously served as a church envoy in Italy.
