Alexy II Hopes for Orthodox Reunion
The Associated Press
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2 ... 4/012.html
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II on Friday voiced hope for a reunion with an Orthodox church abroad that has run its own affairs since splitting from the Moscow Patriarchate after the 1917 Revolution.
Alexy II told visiting officials of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia that the two churches should move toward unification now, when "there are no obstacles that could divide the Russian people at home and abroad," Itar-Tass reported.
"We have embarked on a path toward church unity," the patriarch said after several days of talks with visiting high-ranking representatives of the foreign church.
But he added that "this path will be difficult."
Alexy II made the statement after a religious service in the Kremlin's Archangel Cathedral attended by the foreign delegation.
The visit by three archbishops of the foreign church was the first since it severed ties with the Moscow church in the 1920s, accusing it of cooperation with the Communist, "God-battling" government.
It follows President Vladimir Putin's meeting in September with its head, Metropolitan Laurus, and other top church officials in New York, where it is based.
Putin and Alexy II have invited Laurus to visit Russia. Alexy II said Friday that Laurus' visit, which is scheduled for early next year, will help "prepare steps toward cooperation and unification."