Patriarch Kirill I, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, would be willing to meet Pope Benedict XVI, but wants disputes with Catholics in Ukraine resolved first
Patriarch Kirill I, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, would be willing to meet Pope Benedict XVI, but wants disputes with Catholics in Ukraine resolved first, a senior Orthodox cleric said Tuesday. A meeting with the pope would begin to heal the 1,000-year-old rift between the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity, which split in 1054. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Eastern Rite Catholics who owe their allegiance to Rome took back some churches that had been confiscated by Communist authorities and given to the Orthodox Church.
Tags: Church Life