Rose
11-07-2004, 08:23 PM
Just an fyi .....
Sat 10 July, 2004 18:28
INTROD, Italy (Reuters) - Pope John Paul plans to return a 16th century icon to Russia to try to help thaw frosty relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox church, his spokesman says.
The Kazan Madonna, a Russian icon the Vatican has possessed since the early 20th century, will be handed over to the Moscow Patriarch Alexiy II in August.
"The Holy Father hopes this pilgrimage of the Kazan Madonna will contribute to the wished for unity between the Catholic and Orthodox churches," Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls announced on Saturday in the Alpine retreat where the Pope is on holiday.
The 83-year-old Pope has expressed his wish to visit Russia, and but only with the blessing of the Patriarch, which has not been forthcoming. The two churches split a millennium ago.
A Vatican delegation will return the icon to Russia on August 28, a feast day of the Madonna in the Orthodox calendar. The icon was originally in the cathedral of Kazan, a city east of Moscow.
Sat 10 July, 2004 18:28
INTROD, Italy (Reuters) - Pope John Paul plans to return a 16th century icon to Russia to try to help thaw frosty relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox church, his spokesman says.
The Kazan Madonna, a Russian icon the Vatican has possessed since the early 20th century, will be handed over to the Moscow Patriarch Alexiy II in August.
"The Holy Father hopes this pilgrimage of the Kazan Madonna will contribute to the wished for unity between the Catholic and Orthodox churches," Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls announced on Saturday in the Alpine retreat where the Pope is on holiday.
The 83-year-old Pope has expressed his wish to visit Russia, and but only with the blessing of the Patriarch, which has not been forthcoming. The two churches split a millennium ago.
A Vatican delegation will return the icon to Russia on August 28, a feast day of the Madonna in the Orthodox calendar. The icon was originally in the cathedral of Kazan, a city east of Moscow.