... world, especially in Europe, where the decrease in numbers of the followers of both denominations differs greatly from global indicators. The continent has around 257 million Catholics and 200.5 million Orthodox Christians, most of whom belong to the
Russian Orthodox Church
.
The Roman Catholic Church is extremely concerned about the changing religious beliefs of people in
North America
and the
Old World
. In his first encyclical
Lumen Fidei
, Pope Francis stressed that many of our contemporaries perceive the “light of Faith” ...
A landmark meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis took place at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana on February 12, 2016. A meeting of this kind has been unprecedented in the history of relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). Growing differences in doctrinal theology and policies led to the split in once united Christianity in the Great Schism of 1054 and to establishing its Eastern and Western branches. The Russian Orthodox Church became autocephalous ...
... Ukraine, and parts of Africa. In many of these conflicts Christians are often target of sectarian and religious hatred. The Catholic Church’s mediating message was reiterated in Sarajevo, where Francis invited Christian and Muslim communities to ... ... exaggerated. A positive atmosphere in relations between the Holy See and the Kremlin could favor Vatican’s steps towards the Russian Orthodox Church. It is obvious that both Russia and the Vatican have compelling reasons to manage a dialogue and understand ...
