Pope Leo XIV receives representative of the Russian Orthodox Church and discusses war in Ukraine

Pope Leo XIV gathers with a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, Anthony Reuters Pope Leo XIV met on Saturday (26) with Metropolita Anthony, the second largest representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, in an attempt to resume dialogue between the churches, shaken from the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The audience occurred in the morning at the Vatican. In addition to Anthony, who is head of the Moscow Patriarchate External Relations Department, another five high -ranking clerics of the church attended the meeting. According to a note from the Russian Orthodox Church, the meeting addressed “various topics related to the dialogue between Orthodox and Catholics, as well as conflicts in progress in the world, including those of Ukraine and the Middle East.” Since assuming the pontificate in May this year, Leo XIV has made constant peaceful appeals in war zones. In early July, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Pope even offered the Vatican as headquarters for any peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. However, Russian authorities minimized the proposal, claiming that the Vatican is located in Italy, NATO member and ally of Ukraine, which, in Kremlin’s view, would compromise the neutrality of the site. Diplomatic rapprochement The visit of the Russian delegation also served to convey the greetings of Patriarch Kirill, the top leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, to the new Pope. Kirill is known for his declared support to war, which has caused a strong distance between Christian churches since 2022. According to the statement of the Orthodox Church, Pope Leo XIV thanked the votes received and stressed the importance of maintaining and developing relations with the patriarch of Moscow. The audience marks a rare high level contact between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox leadership since the beginning of the war and may represent an attempt at diplomatic rapprochement in an increasingly polarized global scenario. Pope Leo XIV appeals by dialogue between Israel and Iran

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