On July 1, 2026, the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate hosted a meeting between Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the DECR, and a delegation of abbots and monastics of the Benedictine Confederation of the Roman Catholic Church.
The delegation is in Russia from June 30 to July 3 to get acquainted with the monastic life of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Benedictine Confederation was represented by: Abbot-Primate Jeremiah Schroeder, rector of the Monastery of St. Anselm in Rome, head of the delegation; Archbishop Kirill Hortobagi, Chairman of the Hungarian Benedictine Congregation, Rector of the Archdiocese of Pannonhalma (Hungary); Archbishop Luca Fallica, Rector of the Archdiocese of Montecassino (Italy); Abbot Urban Federer, rector of the abbey Einsiedeln (Switzerland); Abbess Noemi Scarpa, Abbess of Bastia Umbra Abbey (Italy); Priest Adalberto Piovano, cleric of Dumenza Abbey (Italy); Priest Sebastian Hacker, cleric of Schottenstift Abbey (Austria); professor at the Pontifical University of St. Anselm, Nun Manuela Scheiba, a resident of the Alexanderdorf Monastery (Germany); nun Rafaela Kolodzejak, a resident of the Benedictine Monastery of Worship in Vienna (Austria).
Metropolitan Anthony welcomed the guests and noted the importance of the visit of representatives of one of the oldest monastic traditions of the Christian West. According to the DECR chairman, for centuries monasticism has been the guardian of prayer, church tradition, liturgical culture, bookishness and education.
During the meeting, the participants emphasized the importance of the approaching memorable date — the 1500th anniversary of the repose of St. Venedict of Nursia - and noted that St. Venedict is revered in the Russian Orthodox Church as a saint of the Ancient Church. Its charter, which combines obedience, prayer, and work, is of particular value to monastics and is part of the common spiritual heritage of the Christian East and West.
The parties discussed the prospects for the exchange of monastic experience and academic cooperation.
The Benedictine Confederation (Confederatio Benedictina Ordinis Sancti Benedicti) is an association of Benedictine congregations of the Roman Catholic Church, established in 1893 by an act of Pope Leo XIII. The Confederation performs coordinating and representative functions while maintaining the autonomy of monasteries, characteristic of the Benedictine tradition. Its permanent institutional center is the Sant' Anselmo Complex in Rome, where the Curia of the Abbot Primate, the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm and other universal structures are located. All monasteries of the Benedictine tradition are members of the confederation, including the abbeys of Montecassino, Subiaco, Pannonhalma, etc. The Confederation has more than 6,000 monks and more than 12,000 nuns.