Pope, Russian Patriarch Praised to Highlight Christian Persecution Crisis

© Sputnik / Sergei Pyatakov / Go to the mediabankPatriarch Kirill speaks at a meeting of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Bishops Council in downtown Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral
Patriarch Kirill speaks at a meeting of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Bishops Council in downtown Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral - Sputnik International
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Next week’s meeting in Cuba between Pope Francis and Russian Patriarch Kirill is an important occasion to highlight the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, US Catholic and Orthodox Christian scholars and religious leaders told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Earlier on Friday, the Catholic Church and Russian Orthodox Church announced in a joint statement a meeting between their leaders scheduled to take place on February 12 in Havana, Cuba.

"This is an important occasion," Catholic University of America Professor William Dinges said on Friday.

The two church leaders reportedly will meet at the airport in Havana, and the main topic of their meeting will be the persecution of Christians.

Dinges, who is Area Director for Religion and Culture at Catholic University of America’s School of Theology and Religious Studies, linked the meeting to the upsurge of Islamic fundamentalism that has targeted Christian communities.

"[The reason for the meeting is] fueled in large part by what has been happening in the Middle East," Dinges added.

Archpriest Dr. Alexander F. C. Webster of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia also welcomed the meeting and its focus on persecution.

"The focus on persecuted Christians around the world in the unprecedented encounter between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill augurs well for all of us," Webster said.

Webster, who is a parish priest in Stafford, Virginia, also expressed hope that the two church leaders would succeed in bringing global attention to the suffering of Christians across the Middle East as well as to the systematic extinction of ancient communities of faith there.

He noted the concern of the Pope and Patriarch was particularly needed to highlight the crisis "especially in light of the rather muted official response to the crisis from the United States."

The Christian Church split into a Catholic and Orthodox Church in 1054 in what has become known as the East-West or Great Schism.

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