Moscow thanks Pope for not pressing on meeting
December 16, 2009 by John Couretas · 2 Comments
From Interfax (2009-12-16): Moscow — The Moscow Patriarchate is grateful to Pope Benedict XVI for understanding problems between the two Churches and not pressing on with visiting Russia and meeting with the Patriarch. “Pope Benedict XVI perfectly understands the existing difficulties and therefore is not pressing on his meeting with the Patriarch, not to mention [...]
Kremlin, Vatican upgrade diplomatic ties
December 3, 2009 by John Couretas · 2 Comments
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI and visiting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed Thursday to upgrade Vatican-Kremlin relations to full diplomatic ties, the Vatican said. The step forward on the diplomatic front comes at the same time as a warming in previously tense relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican. A Vatican statement [...]
Moscow: No meeting with pope in the works
October 7, 2009 by John Couretas · Leave a Comment
From Interfax (Oct. 7): Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk has denied reports that Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia might visit the Vatican in the near future. “No preparations are being made for the Patriarch’s trip to the Vatican and his meeting with the Pope [...]
A Catholic-Orthodox Union?
September 19, 2009 by John Couretas · 1 Comment
We should all be extremely cautious about the recent comments about a Catholic-Orthodox union (Fr. Peter-Michael Preble has already raised important questions about these reports). Outside of the obvious and thorny theological questions – on both sides – that would arise, is there any way such a union could take place without first convening an [...]
Archbishop Hilarion to visit Vatican soon
September 16, 2009 by Fr. Johannes Jacobse · 5 Comments
Moscow, September 9, Interfax – Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk is going on a working visit to Vatican to discuss issues connected with dialogue between the two Churches. He told it at his meeting with Dominican Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso in Moscow. According to the [...]
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Calls on Roman Catholics to Join Ecumenical Group
July 19, 2009 by John Couretas · 1 Comment
Quote from the story: Bartholomeos warned that the failure of churches in Europe to match their statements about unity with specific actions calls into question their credibility. The Charta Oecumenica (cited below) makes a case for Christian unity. Did its authors have the American Orthodox in mind, as well? Probably not. Sample: Various forms of [...]
Benedict to Bartholomew: Called to ‘One Hope’
June 28, 2009 by John Couretas · Leave a Comment
The Zenit news agency published the translation of Pope Benedict XVI’s address to the delegation the Ecumenical Patriarchate sent to the Vatican for the celebration of “the solemnity” of Sts. Peter and Paul and the conclusion of the Pauline Year. The patriarchate’s delegation was led by Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, director of the Office of [...]
Renewing Christian Roots
May 28, 2009 by John Couretas · Leave a Comment
From the Catholic news service Zenit, which strained a bit for a news angle with this headline: Orthodox Priest Says Faith Is Not Dead in Russia PAMPLONA, Spain, MAY 28, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Moscow Patriarchate’s secretary for ecumenical relations is affirming that relations between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church in Russia are progressing, [...]
Russian Orthodox in Rome
May 26, 2009 by John Couretas · Leave a Comment
Good coverage in the New York Times about the dedication on Sunday of the Church of the Great Martyr Saint Catherine on the grounds of the Russian Embassy in Rome. From Russian Orthodox Consecrate Parish in Rome: “Today is a special event,” said Andrey Shumkin, a priest with the delegation from the Moscow Patriarchate, “and [...]
Metropolitan Kirill on Economic Globalization
October 27, 2008 by John Couretas · Leave a Comment
Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, the President of the Department of Foreign Religious Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, has written a prologue or introduction to “The Ethics of the Common Good in Catholic Social Doctrine” (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2008) by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s Secretary of State. The article by Metropolitan Kirill was [...]
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