R-61 Pope bids to unite divided Churches

Pope bids to unite divided Churches Pope Benedict XVI has held prayers with the spiritual leader of the world's 250 million Orthodox Christians during his visit to Turkey.

At the Church of St George in Istanbul, the Pontiff and Patriarch Bartholomew recommitted their aim to find unity after almost 1,000 years of schism between their Churches...... The Western and Eastern branches of Christianity split in the Great Schism of 1054 over differences on theology and papal authority.

Pope Benedict XVI has held prayers with the spiritual leader of the world's 250 million Orthodox Christians during his visit to Turkey....... At the Church of St George in Istanbul, the Pontiff and Patriarch Bartholomew recommitted their aim to find unity after almost 1,000 years of schism between their Churches.

The Western and Eastern branches of Christianity split in the Great Schism of 1054 over differences on theology and papal authority..... The Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church have been at odds over Orthodox charges that Catholics have been trying to win converts after the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Vatican denies this.