PATRIARCH KIRILL WANTS TO MEET WITH POPE FRANCIS
Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill would like to meet with Roman Pope Francis. This was reported to a TASS correspondent on Wednesday by the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate, Metropolitan of Volokolamsk Ilarion,.
"Pope Francis has frequently spoken about his desire to meet with Patriarch Kirill, including during my last meeting and the meeting before that with him," the Vladyka said. "On his part, Patriarch Kirill also would like to meet with Pope Francis, because more than five years have already passed since their previous meeting, which was the first, and many new issues have arisen."
The metropolitan said that a meeting is being planned for the year 2022. "We discussed specific dates and specific places, but for now we cannot announce them, because they require additional consideration on both sides," the Vladyka indicated. In his opinion, the pontiff and Patriarch Kirill "will talk not about some theological matters that divide Orthodox and Catholics, but they will talk primarily about how Christians survive in the modern world where they are confronted with persecutions, violence, and a risk for their lives."
The Roman pope received Metropolitan of Volokolamsk Ilarion in an audience on Wednesday. The press service of the Holy See reported that in the course of the conversation, "which occurred in a spirit of brotherhood," topics of the cooperation between Roman Catholics and the Russian Orthodox Church were discussed." (tr. by PDS, posted 22 December 2021)
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