8th February, 2016
Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church, and Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, will make history when they meet for in Cuba later this month, marking the first time the heads of the two churches have ever met.
The Pope will stop off in Cuba on his way to Mexico while the Patriarch will be on an official visit to the country. In a statement, the churches said the meeting "will mark an important stage in relations between the two churches".
"The Holy See and the Moscow Patriarchate hope that it will also be a sign of hope for all people of good will. They invite all Christians to pray fervently for God to bless this meeting, that it may bear good fruits."
Russian Orthodox church officials have reportedly said that the subject of their conversation will be the persecution of Christians around the world.
Metropolitan Hilarion, foreign relations chief for the Orthodox Church, was reported by RT as saying that “in the current tragic situation, we need to put aside internal disagreements and join efforts to save Christianity in the regions where it is subjected to most severe persecution".
“The situation in the Middle East, in northern and central Africa and in some other regions where extremists are perpetrating genocide of Christians, requires immediate action and even closer cooperation between Christian churches," he said.
The meeting, which has apparently been in preparation for 20 years, is scheduled to take place on 12th February. The Pope and Patriarch will be signing a joint declaration after their meeting.
The meeting comes after an almost 1,000 year rift between the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity, which dates back to the Great Schism of 1054.
– DAVID ADAMS
