As he continues his visit to Turkey, Pope Benedict XVI is continuing his predecessor’s efforts to heal the 1,000 year old rift between the Eastern and Western halves of Christianity:
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Pope Benedict and the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians held a solemn prayer service together on Thursday and re-committed their Churches to the quest for unity to patch up a nearly 1,000-year-old schism.
“The divisions which exist among Christians are a scandal to the world and an obstacle to the proclamation of the gospel,” Benedict said in his homily at the colorful service in the incense-filled Church of St. George.
Benedict’s service with Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world’s 250 million Orthodox Christians, was held on the feast of St. Andrew the apostle, who is said to have preached in what is now Istanbul after Christ’s death.
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The warm rapport between Benedict and Bartholomew could help pave the way for a historic meeting between the Pope and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexiy, which would be a major advance in Catholic-Orthodox relations.
Such a meeting would be a sign that reconciliation in some form may actually take place some day.
[...] Original post by Doug Mataconis Tags: Christian Dating [...]