Frustrated meeting of the heads of the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. Dossier – TASS

TASS-DOSSIER. In the history of contacts between the Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church has not held any meeting of the heads of these religions. In the second half of the XX century, a number of political and religious leaders several times, by taking initiatives of their conduct.

December 1 1989 g. in the first ever meeting of the head of Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union Pope John Paul II in the Vatican the Pope received from the President of the USSR invitation to visit Moscow in 1992. in May 1991, according to the USSR ambassador to the Vatican George Charles, “began to preliminary estimates the scope and content of the papal visit.” In the same year, John Paul II said he believes his visit to Moscow “urgent and necessary”. However, after the collapse of the CCCR, Russian President Boris Yeltsin invitation of Mikhail Gorbachev is not confirmed.

May 1994 Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II visited Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), where he met with Patriarch Pavle of Serbia and head of the Croatian Catholic Cardinal Franjo Kuharichem. Alexy II took the initiative to hold the former Yugoslavia meeting of world religious leaders to promote an end to the conflict in the region. It had to take part the Pope, the Orthodox Patriarchs, the leading spiritual leaders of the Muslim world. However, because of the controversy parties to the conflict preparing this event was disrupted.

In February 1998. on the eve of his visit to Italy, President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, in an interview with Corriere newspaper della Sera said that “the Pope has an invitation to visit Russia.” However, the representative of the Moscow Patriarchate Vsevolod Chaplin suggested considering a possible visit of the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia as a state, and not as inter-religious. At the same time a member of the Synodal Theological Commission Hieromonk Hilarion (Alpheus) said that the visit of John Paul II “will be impossible as long as the Vatican does not find leverage over Ukrainian Catholics”.

In August 2002, . with an initiative to organize a meeting of the Roman Pope and the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. The head of the republic, told reporters that “often discussed this problem with our patriarch (Alexy II – approx TASS-DOSSIER.) In Moscow.” Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexiy II, the answering journalists’ questions, he regards such a statement, he said that “not heard anything about it.” Continuing the theme, he emphasized: “I am five times was in Belarus and I know how the people of Belarus plays host to the Patriarch of Moscow … But as it will take the pope, difficult to answer”

November 10. 2008 the head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Caucasus Sheikh Allahshukur Pashazadeh told journalists that worked out the possibility of the meeting of Pope Benedict XVI and Patriarch Alexy II in Baku. According to him, it could take place within the framework of the Summit of the World’s Religions, scheduled for 30 October – 2 November 2009. The next day. about. Secretary for Church and Society of the Moscow Patriarchate, Rev. George Ryabykh denied the report and said that “no preparation for a meeting with Patriarch Alexis Pope is not conducted.”