On 20 September 1918, the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church "for the sake of resolving difficulties on the path to unity and to possibly facilitate [...] the achievement of the ultimate goal" (that is, restoring unity and communication) instructed the Synod to form a standing commission under the Synod with branches in Russia and far abroad to interact with non-Eastern-Orthodox churches.

In the second half of the 1940s, the Department was allocated colossal funds to carry out numerous contacts with the Middle Eastern patriarchates and churches of Europe, including non-Eastern-Orthodox (for example, Anglican).

[9] From 1967[10] (or 1965[11]) to 2009, the DECR of the MP published the Information Bulletin of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian: Информационный бюллетень Отдела внешних церковных сношений Московского Патриархата).

To establish in Kiev under the Exarch of Ukraine a branch of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate; 2.

[3] On 27 April 1986, the year of its 40th anniversary, the department was awarded the Order of saint Grand Duke Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles [ru], 1st class.

[16] The post-graduate department of the Moscow Theological Academy, which operated under the DECR, was transformed into the All-Church postgraduate and doctoral school named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal-to-the-Apostles [ru].

[17][18] In 2011, on the occasion of its 65th anniversary, with funds allocated by the Saint Gregory the Theologian's Charity Foundation, the DECR facade was decorated with a mosaic image of the Blessed Virgin Mary with an omophorion in her hands.

Within the structure of the Department for External Church Relations there is also the Secretariat for Interreligious Relations that maintains and promotes contacts with various religious communities both in the countries of the Moscow Patriarchate’s canonical responsibility and in far abroad countries, as well as at international platforms, and helps develop the dialogue with traditional religions of the Russian Federation, in particular, within the framework of the Interreligious Council of Russia.

The DECR Communication Service is in charge of contacts with secular mass media and monitors publications about the Russian Orthodox Church.