On 27 January 2020 the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations hosted a roundtable discussion on “Social Service of Religious Communities – Interfaith Exchange of Experience” as part of the XXVIII International Christmas Educational Readings.

The meeting was attended by 35 clergymen from different Eparchies of the Russian Orthodox Church, members of the Catholic and the Protestant communities, as well as of governmental and church community organizations.

The Heads of the «Maltese Aid Service», a charitable organization founded under the auspices of the Order of Malta and operating in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, N.A. Nikolaeva and I.M. Tymkova, delivered a presentation by the title «Experience of Interconfessional Cooperation in the work of Maltese projects in St. Petersburg and Moscow», where they explained in detail about their work with disabled, homeless and poor people.

Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), secretary for inter-Christian relations of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR), pointed out the importance of cooperation of religious communities in the field of social ministry: «This is what brings us together for a common cause. The level of cooperation between Russian communities is so high that could be used as an example for the whole world».