A representative of the Moscow Patriarchate welcomed the Thursday
meeting of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev with Pope of Rome Benedict
XVI.
"The meeting of the Russian president and the pontiff was a meeting of the two chiefs of state dedicated to interstate and international cooperation issues. Yet, we are satisfied with the fact that the meeting took place amid positive dynamics in the relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church," deputy head of the External Church Relations Department Archpriest Nikolay Balashov told the Interfax-Religion.
"The meeting of the Russian president and the pontiff was a meeting of the two chiefs of state dedicated to interstate and international cooperation issues. Yet, we are satisfied with the fact that the meeting took place amid positive dynamics in the relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church," deputy head of the External Church Relations Department Archpriest Nikolay Balashov told the Interfax-Religion.