Pope Francis Invites Russia's Patriarch Kirill to Meet in UAE, Russian Cleric Reveals
© AFP 2024 GREGORIO BORGIAPope Francis (L) and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill exchange documents during a historic meeting in Havana on February 12, 2016.
© AFP 2024 GREGORIO BORGIA
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill first met in Cuba in February 2016, in a historic meeting marking the first face-to-face between the heads of the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church since the 1054 schism.
Pope Francis has invited Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to hold a meeting in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in late November or early December, Leonid Sevastyanov, the chairman of the Russia-based World Union of Old Believers, who keeps in regular touch with the pontiff, told Sputnik on Thursday.
"The Pope has invited the patriarch to join him in the Emirates. But the decision whether or not to accept the invitation is up to the patriarch," Sevastyanov said.
Pope Francis is scheduled to attend the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai from December 1-3, and will be in Abu Dhabi a day earlier. The Russian cleric added that Patriarch Kirill could join the pontiff and arrange a meeting in Abu Dhabi or Dubai on December 1 or November 30.