Vatican City, Jun 15, 2007 / 09:12 am
Pope Benedict and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy may hold a historic meeting within a year, Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Vatican's department for Christian Unity, was quoted as saying yesterday.
It would be the first meeting between a Pope and Russian Orthodox patriarch. The Western and Eastern branches of Christianity have been split since the Great Schism of 1054.
The cardinal made the comment during a visit to the Vatican by an Orthodox bishop who has offered to try to set up the meeting.
"There is hope that Benedict and Alexy could meet within a year," Cardinal Kasper said, according to SIR. However, the meeting would depend on world events and the "internal situation" of the Russian Orthodox Church, he added.