Pope receives head of Cypriot Orthodox Church

(March 28, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI on Monday received in private audience the head of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus and had him as his guest for lunch. Pope Benedict had met Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Nea Justiniana and All Cyprus on various occasions last year during the papal visit to Cyprus, June 4-6, to release the working document for the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East. The current meeting between the two is the third since they first met in June, 2007 in Rome. During his stay in Rome, Archbishop Chrysostomos II will meet Vatican secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and the heads of the Vatican’s offices for Christian Unity, Oriental Churches, Culture and Inter-religious Dialogue. The Orthodox Church of Cyprus is one of the 15 autocephalous or autonomous Eastern Orthodox Churches that are not in communion with the Catholic Church having split from it in 1054.