This is how the Pope's meeting with a delegation from the Patriarchate of Moscow began.
During his visit to the Vatican, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev spoke of a future meeting between the Pope and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The date and location of their meeting are yet to be announced. Metropolitan Hilarion gave the Pope a gift with a message.
It's the book, “Prayer: The Breath of New Life.” Patriarch Kirill of Moscow wrote the preface, in which he says that the Church is one, and encourages Catholic and Orthodox Christians to live fraternally despite their differences.
When he was Pope, John Paul II tried to arrange a meeting with the Patriarch of Moscow, but the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church did not allow it because it accused the Catholic Church of proselytizing in Ukraine.
The Russian Orthodox Church is the largest of the Orthodox Churches, with 200 million faithful.
Years ago, the Russian Orthodox Church broke away from the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, considered the spiritual leader of all Orthodox Christians.
The first meeting in history between a Pope and a Patriarch of Moscow took place in Cuba five years ago.
POPE FRANCIS
“We are brothers. We have the same baptism. We are bishops.”
Metropolitan Hilarion says the two leaders' next meeting will not be in Russia nor in Rome, and that it will be announced a week in advance in order to avoid any obstacle
The Pope and the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow share concern for persecuted Christians and for the environment. A meeting between them could help them find even more common ground.
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