Pope Francis received Metropolitan Hilarion, head of external relations for the Russian Orthodox Church, at the Vatican on Wednesday, who spoke of a possible new meeting in 2022 with Patriarch Kyrill against a backdrop of warming with Moscow.
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“
This morning, the Pope met with Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev,
” Vatican press room director Matteo Bruni said in a statement. They exchanged about an hour "
in a spirit of brotherhood
" around "
subjects of common concern
", according to the same source. According to Metropolitan Hilarion quoted by the Russian news agency Tass, a meeting between the Sovereign Pontiff and Patriarch Kyrill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, is in preparation for 2022.
"
We have mentioned concrete dates and places but we cannot announce them for the moment because we still have to work on this subject,
" he said.
For its part, the Vatican press release does not mention this meeting.
But at the beginning of December, the Pope spoke of a meeting "
on the near horizon
" with Patriarch Kirill, even saying he was ready to go to Moscow.
According to Tass, Patriarch Kirill would also like to meet the Pope.
“
Since their last meeting, five years have passed and many questions have accumulated,
” Bishop Hilarion told the Russian agency.
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According to the diplomat in charge of the Moscow Patriarchate, the two religious leaders "
will not speak of certain theological questions separating the Orthodox and the Catholics, but especially of the way in which Christians can survive in the modern world
".
In February 2016, a historic meeting took place in Cuba between the Pope and Patriarch Kirill, an important step in bringing the Vatican closer to the Russian Orthodox.
On this occasion, the two men had signed a joint declaration, Rome assuring that it was a question of affirming the alliance between Orthodox and Catholics in the face of Islamism in the Middle East.