Patriarch Kirill to visit Alexandrian Patriarchate in Egypt

Patriarch Kirill

(RIA Novosti) - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, will on Saturday arrive in Egypt on a three-day visit.

There are 15 local Orthodox Churches in the world, and when the new head of one of them is elected, he traditionally visits the other 14 in line with an "order of honor." Kirill visited the Constantinople Patriarchate in the summer 2009, and the Alexandrian Patriarchate in Egypt is the next on his list.

Patriarch Theodoros II

During his visit, the Russian patriarch will meet with Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, visit Russian churches and present bells cast in Russia to a monastery in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

The Constantinople Patriarchate, whose headquarters is in modern-day Turkey, and the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa are part of the bigger Greek Orthodox Church but are considered to be autocephalous churches.