Episcopal Press and News

Mideast May be Venue for Summit of Pope and Russian Patriarch

Episcopal News Service. July 25, 1996 [96-1532K]

(ENI) The first historic meeting between the leaders of Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches may take place in the Middle East in late 1996 or early 1997, according to sources in both churches. However a "summit" between the two leaders -- Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow -- planned for September this year is likely to be called off. Last year, Asztrik Varseghi, the head of the Benedictine monastery at Pannonhalma in Hungary, set the date for the historic meeting as September 6-7 this year, when the Pope will take part in celebrations marking the 1,000th anniversary of the monastery, which was founded before a schism divided the church into East and West. However, Varseghi recently said he believed the meeting planned at Pannonhalma would probably not take place because the Russians intended to cancel the meeting. But there is still a possibility that the Pope and the Patriarch will meet in late 1996 or early 1997 and both the Pope and the Patriarch would like to meet in the Holy Land or in a place connected to the early history of the church.