On 27 March 2023 in Pretoria, the capital of the Republic of South Africa. On 27 March 2023 in Pretoria, the capital of the Republic of South Africa, a meeting was held between Hieromonk Stephan (Igumnov), Secretary of the Russian Orthodox Church for Inter-Christian Relations, and Archpriest Daniel Lugovoy, rector of the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Johannesburg, and the leadership of the South African Council of Churches, which included Bishop Malusi Mpumlvanu, General Secretary of the Council, Pastor Mzvandile Molo, Deputy General Secretary, Pastor Lungile Mpetsheni, member of the Executive Committee of the Council, and Pulane Baloi, Programme Director of the Council.
On the Russian side, the meeting was also attended by A.G. Averkova, Head of the External Relations Department of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Centre for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Education of Russia".
The parties discussed issues of interaction between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Council of Churches of South Africa, projects related to the development of Russian educational programmes in South Africa and other issues of mutual interest.
This meeting took place within the framework of a joint visit to South Africa by Hieromonk Stephan (Igumnov), Secretary of the Russian Orthodox Church for Inter-Christian Relations, and a delegation from the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, Russian universities and the media. The visit was timed to coincide with a meeting of the Russia-South Africa Intergovernmental Commission in Pretoria.
On 26 March, members of the delegation prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Johannesburg. Archpriest Daniel Lugovoi, the rector of the church, spoke about the history of the Russian Orthodox presence in the Republic of South Africa and showed the guests the spiritual and educational centre of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Sunday school located on the territory of the church.