Metropolitan Pavel explains when Pope may visit Belarus
Pope Francis may visit Belarus some day, Metropolitan Pavel of Minsk and Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus told Belarus 24. The programme was recorded on March and was shown only on March 9.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow needs to give his consent, he said. “We used to say not long ago that the Pope and Patriarch would never meet. But they have met,” BELTA quotes the metropolitan. It is necessary to get the consent of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church because the Belarusian Orthodox Church is its part, he explained.
The possible meeting of the Pope and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in Belarus should help unite people instaed of diving them, Metropolitan Pavel thinks.
At the same time, Minsk and Mahilyou Archbishop Tadeush Kandrusevich said that the Pope needs an official invitation from the church representing the majority of the country’s believers. This is the Orthodox Church in Belarus. Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill may also meet in other countries in the future, he thinks.
