On Thursday afternoon, November 12, 2009, Archimandrite Zacchaeus, Representative of the Orthodox Church in America to the Moscow Patriarchate participated in a reception at the Embassy of Austria in Moscow, hosted by His Excellency, Plenipotentiary and Ambassador Extraordinaire of the Republic of Austria to the Russian Federation, Mr. Martin Vukovich who is completing his diplomatic mission in Moscow and returning to his native Austria in the near future.
The farewell reception was attended by numerous Ambassadors of Sovereign Nations representing their respective governments to the Russian Federation as well as Russian Governmental Officials, most notably the Minister of Education and Science, Mr. Andrei A. Fursenko.
In bidding Ambassador and Mrs. Vukovich goodbye, Archimandrite Zacchaeus sincerely thanked them both for the hospitality shown towards him by the Austrian Embassy and its Ambassador and wife over the last several years. The outgoing Ambassador and his wife also expressed gratitude to Father Zacchaeus for often inviting them to St. Catherine the Great Martyr Church for various occasions ranging from the annual September 11 Memorial Service, to the Parish Patronal Feast Day and the Dean’s Namesday, where they were able to make acquaintances with so many interesting people. It was mutually agreed that the friendship which was established in Moscow over the last several years will continue between Ambassador Vukovich and Archimandrite Zacchaeus.
