At a historic meeting Feb. 12, Pope Francis and Russia’s Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow signed a joint declaration on the issue of persecuted Christians in the Middle East and North Africa.
That they met at all was significant since both Churches have had a long-held hostility against each other after splitting in the 11th Century, mainly over the issue of papal authority, according to bbc.com.
About two-thirds of the world’s 225 million Orthodox Christians are Russian, hence the need for a healed relationship between the two.
But it’s not that other leaders haven’t tried to fix the divide. Previous popes have attempted to end the Great Schism of 1054 but have failed because of various issues.
A driving force behind the meeting at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba, the BBC reported, was the realization “that when Christians are persecuted or driven out of their homes in the Middle East and Africa, their killers are not interested in which Christian denomination they come from.” So the Churches have some common ground in regards to protecting their own. Intersecting itineraries also made the meeting possible, with both leaders visiting Latin America at the same time.
Reconciliation
Patriarch Kirill also reportedly has made “warmer” steps to reconcile with the Orthodox Church than his predecessors, and although he doesn’t represent the whole Eastern Church, he does speak for a large portion of it.
“Moscow may also be keen to reassert its relevance on the global religious stage as well as in secular foreign affairs after its decades of official Soviet atheism,” according to bbc.com.
Does this mean the Great Schism is over? Not likely, according to news sources. But it does represent a hopeful future for both Churches.
The Holy See and the Moscow Patriarchate said in a joint statement that the meeting “marks an important stage in relations between the two Churches. The Holy See and the Moscow Patriarchate hope that it will also be a sign of hope for all people of goodwill.”
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