Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church Ignatius Aphrem II met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday.

Various issues, including the Church dispute, were discussed at the meeting held at the Prime Minister’s official residence, according to a release.

Catholicos Baselios Joseph I, Kuriakose Eusebius, Metropolitan of Delhi, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, president of the Kerala unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Sabu M. Jacob, chief coordinator of Twenty20 attended. The Patriarch praised the peace efforts made by Mr. Modi at the global level during the meeting, it said.

The release claimed that the Prime Minister stated that the Union government wished to resolve the Church dispute out of court through consensus.