Vatican City, Nov 6, 2018 / 07:00 pm (CNA).- The Russian Orthodox Church announced that it has withdrawn from a Vatican sponsored Commission for Catholic – Orthodox Theological Dialogue, in response to a dispute between Orthodox patriarchs in Moscow and Constantinople.

The decision was announced in a statement released after an Oct. 19 meeting between Pope Francis and Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolansk, head of the Department for the External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.