{"id":1234,"date":"2009-02-13T16:08:16","date_gmt":"2009-02-13T16:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/2009\/02\/russia-no-orthodox-catholic-me.php"},"modified":"2009-02-13T16:08:16","modified_gmt":"2009-02-13T16:08:16","slug":"russia-no-orthodox-catholic-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2009\/02\/russia-no-orthodox-catholic-me","title":{"rendered":"Russia: No Orthodox, Catholic Meeting Yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOSCOW – A top Russian Orthodox official signaled that a meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Benedict XVI is not likely to happen soon, a news agencies reported Friday.
\nThe comments from Bishop Ilarion, the Russian church’s envoy to European organizations, are the latest indication that the centuries-old distrust between the two denominations remains difficult to dispel.
\nKirill’s ascension to the patriarchy earlier this month following the death of the church’s first post-Soviet leader, Alexy II, had sparked some hope that the two churches might reconcile – a longtime goal of the late Pope John Paul II.
\nRelations are strained by Russian accusations that the Vatican tries to convert Orthodox believers, something the Roman Catholic church denies. The two have also had disputes over property and influence in Ukraine, where both have large flocks.
\nIlarion was quoted as saying that a meeting between the two church leaders had always been possible, but he accused the Vatican of continuing to proselytize in countries the Russian church considers historically Orthodox.
\nKirill will “do everything to remove the obstacles that are hindering such a meeting,” he
\nwas quoted by Interfax and ITAR-Tass as saying.
\n“We should see to it that the Orthodox and Catholics aren’t rivals but allies. We need to avoid aggression,” ITAR-Tass quoted him as saying.
\nKirill headed the church’s department of external relations and met often with Vatican leaders.
\nAfter Kirill’s election as patriarch, Benedict XVI pledged to work toward closer relations and cited areas of common interest, such as the defense of Christian values.
\nThe Russian church is the largest and wealthiest of the 14 Eastern Orthodox churches.
\nAssociated Press – February 13, 2009
\nCopyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOSCOW – A top Russian Orthodox official signaled that a meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Benedict XVI is not likely to happen soon, a news agencies reported Friday. The comments from Bishop Ilarion, the Russian church’s envoy to European organizations, are the latest indication that the centuries-old distrust between the two denominations remains difficult…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nRussia: No Orthodox, Catholic Meeting Yet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2009\/02\/russia-no-orthodox-catholic-me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Russia: No Orthodox, Catholic Meeting Yet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MOSCOW – A top Russian Orthodox official signaled that a meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Benedict XVI is not likely to happen soon, a news agencies reported Friday. The comments from Bishop Ilarion, the Russian church’s envoy to European organizations, are the latest indication that the centuries-old distrust between the two denominations remains difficult…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2009\/02\/russia-no-orthodox-catholic-me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beliefnet News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-02-13T16:08:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"nsymmonds\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Russia: No Orthodox, Catholic Meeting Yet","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2009\/02\/russia-no-orthodox-catholic-me","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Russia: No Orthodox, Catholic Meeting Yet","og_description":"MOSCOW – A top Russian Orthodox official signaled that a meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Benedict XVI is not likely to happen soon, a news agencies reported Friday. 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A New Yorker by birth but a Floridian by tenure, Nicole graduated from Florida A&M University with a B.S. in Public Relations and a minor in Sociology. She moved to NY to pursue a career in journalism which started at In Style magazine. There she learned the ropes of magazine reporting, researching, and writing\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand became exponentially more stylish. But what seemed like a deep interest in fashion and entertainment would soon be revealed as merely the vehicle that moved her closer to discovering her purpose, writing and covering matters of the Christian faith. While in her purpose-driven vehicle she can be found traveling between Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens for life, work and worship, respectively. 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