Pope Meets the Russian Orthodox Church Officials

May 8, 2023212 views0

Pope Meets the Russian Orthodox Church Officials

2023-05-08T11:37:24+01:00

By Church News

Pope Francis recently spoke to a top member of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) days after the pontiff made an intriguing but puzzling comment about the Vatican being involved in a mission to try to end the war in Ukraine.Metropolitan (bishop) Anthony, effectively the Russian Orthodox Church’s number two, was given pride of place at Francis’s general audience in St. Peter’s Square and then was the first taken to greet the pope at the end. He spent longer chatting with Anthony than with others.On his return from a trip to Hungary, Pope Francis was asked by a reporter whether Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and ROC officials could accelerate a Ukraine peace process and arrange a meeting between the pope and Russian President Vladimir Putin.“There is a mission in course now but it is not yet public. When it is public, I will reveal it,” the pope responded.Pope Francis added that he had spoken about Ukraine with Orban and with Metropolitan Hilarion, the chief representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Budapest and Anthony’s predecessor as head of the ROC’s external relations.Anthony has had meetings with other Vatican officials but it was unclear if he would have a private audience with the pope during his visit to Rome.Pope Francis, 86, has said previously that he wants to visit Kyiv but also Moscow on a peace mission.Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin insisted that there is a plan for a mission but it would be up to the pope to decide when to disclose it.Parolin, the Vatican’s number two, said he was surprised that Russian and Ukrainian officials had said they were not aware of it.ALSO READ: Sunmisola Agbebi Celebrates as She Clocks a New Age