The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity revealed that the Orthodox representatives will be guests of the Holy See, a sign of the progressive rapprochement between the two sister churches.
The Belgrade delegation will be led by Metropolitan Amfilohije of Crna Gora and Primorje and four other ecclesiastics and will be received in private audience by John Paul II on Thursday.
The visitors will meet with Vatican officials, including Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the pontifical council for Christian unity, visited the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate last May.
In a press statement, the council said the Monday-to-Saturday visit «is a new concrete answer to Christians’ responsibility in favor of unity.»
