« Bishop Matthew of Sourozh met with Bishop Basil of San Francisco and the West »
06-05-2026 
On May 4, 2026, a meeting was held at Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Orthodox Church in America in San Francisco between Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, Acting Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA and Canada, and Bishop Basil of San Francisco and the West.
This is the first meeting of the hierarchs since Bishop Basil's episcopal consecration in August 2025. Bishop Matthew warmly congratulated his spiritual brother on his ordination to the apostolic priesthood and on the feast of the Resurrection of Christ. After prayers at the relics kept in the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Bishop Matthew presented Bishop Basil with a panagia.
During the meeting, the hierarchs discussed various issues of current church life, noting with satisfaction the high level of fraternal relations between the parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in the United States and the Orthodox Church in America, including on the West Coast.
Also participating in the meeting were Archpriest Kirill Sokolov, Chancellor of the San Francisco Diocese and Rector of Holy Trinity Cathedral in San Francisco; Priest Mikhail Kozyrev, Senior Priest of St. Nicholas Cathedral in San Francisco and Dean of the Parishes of the Western States; and N.V. Trubnikov, Bishop Matthew's personal secretary, who is accompanying him on the trip.