New Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Suggests Worldwide Ecumenical Encounter

Thursday, 28 January 2010 15:34

CWNews.com - Serbia’s newly enthroned Orthodox Patriarch Irinej has suggested a worldwide ecumenical encounter in 2013, to mark the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan. He suggested that the event could take place in Nis, the Serbian birthplace of the Emperor Constantine, and expressed the hope that Pope Benedict XVI would attend—in what would be the first visit ever by a Roman Pontiff to Serbia.

Patriarch Irinej did not explicitly suggest that the meeting in Nis could provide the opportunity for a “summit meeting” between the Pope and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill. But in light of the close ties between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Moscow patriarchate, the Russian prelate would surely be expected to attend.

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• Serbia's new patriarch urges Christian dialogue (Washington Post)