MOSCOW (voa) – The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Aleksy, has condemned a live video link-up between Pope John Paul II and Roman Catholics in Russia.
Hundreds of worshippers gathered Saturday evening in a Moscow cathedral to attend the television bridge.
The pope has made reconciliation with the Orthodox branch of Christianity a priority, and expressed his desire to visit Russia and the country’s estimated 600,000 Catholics.
But the Russian Orthodox Patriarch has rejected his overtures, and called Saturday’s electronic link-up “an invasion of Russia”.
The Pope led prayers for young Catholics in six countries, all linked to the Vatican by video or audio.
