Pope Francis in historic talks with Russian Orthodox leader
Image copyright AP
Pope Francis has begun a historic first meeting with Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, in Cuba.
The meeting is the first between a Pope and a Russian Church head since the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity split in the 11th Century.The Russian Orthodox Church said the "persecution of Christians" in the Middle East and North Africa would be the central theme of the talks.
The two leaders are also expected to sign a joint declaration.
Differences remain
They embraced and kissed each other when they met at Havana airport."I'm happy to greet you, dear brother," Patriarch Kirill said.
"Finally," the Pope said.
The talks are being held during Pope Francis's stop-over on his way to Mexico. Meanwhile, Patriarch Kirill is visiting Cuba, Brazil and Paraguay.
The two leaders are now meeting behind the closed doors.
At the scene:
In the swirl of black - Vatican officials and security - a lone figure in white on the heated tarmac of Havana airport - Pope Francis arrived to do his part in healing one of the longest religious disputes.In the airport was Russian Patriarch Kirill who arrived shortly before.
The venue is a compromise - after no contact in over five centuries, it would be impossible to have the first such meeting in the Vatican or Moscow, and Catholic Cuba is still in the Russian sphere of influence.
Back home the Patriarch has to overcome the anger of conservatives who still consider Catholicism a deviation from true Christianity. Clearly, this is a criticism he feels safe to ignore now.
Minutes later, the Pope and the black-robed Patriarch were holding each other by the shoulders and smiling warmly.
"Finally," said the pope in Spanish. The other first words of such greeting were drowned in the noise of cameras.
Then the leaders of Catholics and Russian Orthodox Christians sat down. It was almost business as usual, a top-level meeting.
In purely symbolic terms, this is an extraordinary moment, but it is perhaps even more significant in terms of church diplomacy, and the effort to warm relations within the Christian faith, the BBC's Will Grant in Havana says.
Patriarch Kirill has been the head of the Russian Orthodox Church since February 2009, while Pope Francis took up his role in March 2013.
The Roman Catholic Church has more than a billion members worldwide, while the Russian Orthodox Church numbers about 165 million.
The Russian Church is the largest and most powerful in the Orthodoxy faith, which is made up of a number of separate churches.
Image copyright AP Uneasy relations
Key dates:- 1054 - Mutual excommunications by Western Church leader in Rome, Pope Leo IX, and Eastern Church leader in Constantinople, Patriarch Cerularius, lead to Great Schism
- 1274 and 1439 - Attempts to re-unite the two Churches at Councils of Lyon and Florence fail
- 1997 - Planned meeting between Pope John Paul II and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II cancelled
- 12 Feb 2016 - Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill to meet in Havana, Cuba
- Vatican has ties with Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I - nominal head of Eastern Orthodox Churches
- But Cuba talks will be first between Pope and Patriarch of Russian Church - largest and most powerful Church in Orthodoxy
- Reportedly chosen because it is far from Rome, Istanbul and Moscow with all their historical baggage of schism
- Two leaders can focus on main issue: how to protect Christians - both Catholic and Orthodox - in Middle East and North Africa from persecution
- Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in western Ukraine, which follows Eastern Church rites but answers to Vatican
- Russian Orthodox Church sees western Ukraine as its traditional territory, resenting papal influence
However, the encounter in Havana is not expected to lead to any immediate rapprochement between the Eastern and Western Churches.
Ahead of the meeting, the foreign policy chief of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Illarion, said here were still differences between the two churches, in particular on western Ukraine.
One particular issue is the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which follows eastern church rites but answers to the Holy See.
The Russian Orthodox Church has considered western Ukraine its traditional territory, resenting papal influence there.
credit bbc.co.uk
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