Archbishop Gallagher’s delicate diplomatic mission to Moscow

Naturally, the primary goal of Gallagher’s trip is to maintain contact with Russian officials. This includes both the civil authorities of the Russian Federation and the Orthodox Church. Gallagher met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday, August 25. On the 26th, he will speak with Yury Ushakov, foreign policy advisor to Vladimir Putin. His agenda on Tuesday also included a meeting with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, the Moscow Patriarchate’s head of external relations.

“The Holy See urges both parties to demonstrate openness and goodwill” to “end to hostilities and begin authentic negotiations,” Gallagher said during his press conference with Lavrov, according to Agence France-Presse.

“This war must end,” the archbishop said. He lamented that “the conflict continues to expand” and that “the number of victims continues to grow.” Both belligerents have spent months intensifying their long-range strikes. “The longer the conflict continues, the more difficult it will be to arrive at an adequate resolution,” Gallagher emphasized. He specified that he wanted to address humanitarian issues with his Russian counterpart above all else, such as the fate of prisoners of war and aid for the wounded.

For his part, Lavrov welcomed the Vatican’s “measured position” on Ukraine. However, he insisted on the need to “tackle the deep causes” of the conflict to resolve it. In talks with Gallagher, he also brought up the situation of the Russian language and Russian-speakers in Ukraine. He further addressed the “campaign aiming to annihilate the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”

This trip follows Gallagher’s journey to Ukraine last July. During that visit, he was able to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “The Holy See is close to Ukraine and fully supports its territorial integrity,” the British archbishop said at the time. He thus seemed to distance himself from certain expressions used by Pope Francis, which had conversely given the impression that he was inviting Ukrainian authorities to capitulate.

But in Rome, Vatican sources assert that the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV is in full continuity with that of Francis on this sensitive issue. Although the war continues without any real prospect of a short- or medium-term settlement, the Holy See intends to keep channels of dialogue open with both Kyiv and Moscow.

Various mediation offers made by Francis and Leo XIV to Russian and Ukrainian authorities have gone unanswered. Consequently, the Holy See has progressively favored what it calls “humanitarian diplomacy.” This approach has primarily translated into efforts to return Ukrainian children taken to Russia, to obtain prisoner exchanges, and to repatriate the remains of the deceased. No official statistics exist on these efforts, however. Internal Vatican sources admit that the results have been very limited.

Zuppi, sent by Francis in 2023 and later confirmed in his mission by Leo XIV, recently reaffirmed this priority. During his mission to Ukraine in July 2026, he declared that “a single member of the military, a single civilian, or a single child” returning to their family constituted “un tassello per la pace,” or a building block for peace. Zuppi, who is also the president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, has regularly insisted on the need to place humanitarian engagement above political or military considerations.

During that mission to Ukraine, Zuppi notably visited the Zakhid-1 detention center in the Lviv region. Soldiers who fought in the Russian army are detained there. He passed on a message of closeness from Leo XIV to the prisoners and assured them that the Pope was praying for peace and an end to the war. A similar initiative in Russia is being considered for Ukrainian prisoners. Gallagher’s visit could also be part of the preparation for this initiative.

The Vatican thus hopes to facilitate contacts between the two sides, even in a limited way. The immediate goal is not necessarily to reach a comprehensive political agreement. Instead, the focus is on advancing concrete issues that could build a minimum level of trust.

Another highly sensitive issue concerns the situation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church linked to the Moscow Patriarchate. The Holy See's position distinguishes between religious institutions and individual responsibility. Under this approach, the individuals who commit crimes—even if they are members of the clergy—must be sanctioned, not the Churches themselves.

However, Ukrainian authorities have passed legislation targeting religious organizations linked to Russia. Not only did Moscow denounce this measure; Francis also criticized it. Russian authorities appreciated this support, but it was met with incomprehension on the Ukrainian side.

At the same time, however, Rome has fiercely criticized the theological justifications for the war embraced by Patriarch Kirill. In a June 2022 interview with Tagespost, Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, said he saw “a heresy in the fact that the patriarch dares to legitimize the brutal and absurd war in Ukraine for pseudo-religious reasons.”

This stance has not prevented contacts between the Vatican and the Moscow Patriarchate from continuing. These discussions now occur directly through the Secretariat of State, rather than the dicastery handling ecumenical affairs. “If we, as a Church, have the duty to work for peace, this mission falls to all the Churches,” a Vatican source noted. The Holy See therefore considers it desirable for the Russian Orthodox Church to commit to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Gallagher’s visit also comes at a unique time for the Catholic Church in Russia. The Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Mother of God at Moscow has been vacant since May 2. On that date, Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Archbishop Paolo Pezzi, who had led the archdiocese since 2007. The Pope appointed Pezzi’s auxiliary bishop, Bishop Nikolai Dubinin, as apostolic administrator while the see is vacant see.

This situation gives particular pastoral significance to Gallagher's arrival. He’s scheduled to meet with clergy and religious on Thursday, celebrate Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and then converse with Russia's bishops.

Pezzi’s premature resignation at just 65 has ushered in a period of uncertainty in the already delicate relations among the Holy See, the Russian Orthodox Church, and Moscow's authorities. Officially attributed to health reasons, his resignation might also stem from more complex ecclesial and diplomatic factors.

A knowledgeable source on Russia, long familiar with Russian Catholic and Orthodox circles, suggested that Pezzi was actually “recalled to Rome.” Two seemingly contradictory theories are reportedly circulating.

The first hypothesis suggests that the Moscow Patriarchate wanted him gone. They reportedly felt the Catholic archbishop was too critical of the Russian position on the war in Ukraine, or at least that he failed to sufficiently back the stance championed by Kirill and the Russian government.

The second theory claims the exact opposite. Some in Rome may have felt that Pezzi wasn't critical enough of the Russian position, making it necessary to further distance the Holy See.

“These two versions seem to conflict somewhat, but ultimately, both could be true,” the expert on Slavic countries noted. “In the eyes of the patriarchate, the Catholic bishop will never conform enough with the official line, and in the eyes of Rome, he could always seem too cautious.”

Appointing a Russian national to head the archdiocese would “of course” be very well received by the civil and religious authorities of the Russian Federation, the expert added. One of the names likely to be mentioned is Dubinin, the Russian auxiliary bishop currently serving as interim administrator. But the fact that he wasn't immediately appointed could indicate underlying difficulties.

During Pezzi’s nearly 20 years of service in Moscow, the local Catholic Church experienced a certain rise in prominence. This was particularly true of its social and institutional footprint, noted the expert we consulted, who visits the country regularly. The Italian archbishop also managed to raise the visibility of Russian Catholicism at European meetings and synods in Rome. Nevertheless, relations with the Moscow Patriarchate remained difficult.

The choice of Pezzi’s successor will provide a clue as to how Rome intends to handle its relationship with the Moscow Patriarchate amid the war in Ukraine. Above all, it will indicate the degree of freedom the next archbishop of Moscow will have. He’ll have to navigate two conflicting expectations: being sufficiently acceptable to the Russian Orthodox Church while remaining sufficiently critical of Moscow’s policies in Rome’s eyes.

Outside of Moscow, the Russian Catholic community remains a small minority. It consists of fewer than 500,000 faithful, making up less than 1% of the country’s vast total population. It is organized around the Archdiocese of Moscow and the dioceses of Saratov, Novosibirsk, and Irkutsk. Beyond maintaining diplomatic channels, Gallagher’s visit also signals support for this local Church as it carries out its mission in a highly constrained political and religious environment.