Holy See: Diplomatic Mission to Russia

Tomorrow’s meeting between Archbishop P.R. Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov could be crucial to resolving the war between Russia and Ukraine diplomatically.

August 24 marks the start of Archbishop P.R. Gallagher’s five-day visit to Russia. Gallagher is the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. This is the first official visit by a Holy See Secretariat of State representative since the start of the war in Ukraine, where Gallagher recently traveled from August 13 to 16.

On Tuesday, August 25, Archbishop Gallagher will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergej Lavrov. A ministry spokeswoman outlined the main topics to be addressed during the meeting, which include cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Holy See, as well as the situation regarding the war in Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the conflict, the Holy See has maintained a consistent position of condemning Russia’s armed invasion of Ukraine, urging the resolution of underlying issues through diplomacy, and committing to maintaining open channels of dialogue with the countries involved. There has been no official, direct meeting between Russia and the Holy See on Russian soil since 2021, when Archbishop Gallagher traveled to Moscow for a series of meetings just a few months before the conflict began.

This new visit, with the conflict still ongoing, is indicative of the Holy See’s commitment to diplomatic efforts to end the war. It could also mean that the conditions for such a process have become more concrete.

The Russian Foreign Ministry’s explicit mention of the two main topics of the meeting between Gallagher and Lavrov underscores the significance of Vatican diplomacy in the context of these past four years of war, as well as the potential for initiating a diplomatic process that could not only bring an end to the war but also restore international law and recognize Ukraine’s sovereignty over its national territories.

Yesterday, at the 47^th Meeting of Friendship Among Peoples (organized by the Catholic movement Comunione e LIberazione in Rimini, Italy), Pope Leo echoed the words of Pope Francis, emphasizing that peace stems from recognizing the dignity of every human being and is an integral part of Christianity. «Today too, peace is fostered and spread by people who love to encounter one another and are not afraid to engage with one another. In his Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis taught us to cultivate social friendship, which is the public, dynamic and concrete expression of fraternity. Indeed, when we recognize one another in the dignity of being children of God, we come into contact with that which fundamentally unites human beings, beyond every difference, division or conflict. We can enter into one another’s experience, listen to one another and become friends — first as individuals and then as peoples. Before borders, definitions and institutions, there are always persons. This awareness lies at the heart of Christianity.»

In addition to meetings with the Russian Catholic community, which will culminate in the celebration of the Eucharist on Thursday evening at the Moscow Cathedral, Archbishop Gallagher will meet with representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Patriarchate’s Department for External Relations is now led by Bishop Antonij Sevriuk. Bishop Antonij Sevriuk succeeded Ilarion Alfeev in 2022, when Ilarion was dismissed for seeking to distance himself from Patriarch Kirill’s explicit support for Putin’s war.

This meeting with the Russian Orthodox Church is of great importance for managing diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the Russian Federation. The resumption of direct, official dialogue between the two Churches could be a crucial step toward launching a diplomatic process to end the war in Ukraine.

The religious justification for Russia’s war and invasion of Ukrainian territories has often been overlooked or not given due consideration by the international political community, except to criticize it. A genuine diplomatic solution to this war must take into account the religious aspect of Russian Orthodoxy’s support for Putin’s policies. The Holy See is the only global diplomatic body with the expertise and history necessary to address this specific dimension of the war between Russia and Ukraine.