WORLD
Millennium after split, pope and Russian church to meet in Cuba
Baku, February 12 AZERTAC
Pope Francis and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church meet in Havana on Friday, nearly 1,000 years after Eastern Orthodoxy split with Rome, for the first encounter in history between a Roman Catholic pope and a Russian Orthodox patriarch.
According to Daily Mail, The two religious leaders, guests of a Communist government, will address the millennium-long rift between the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity.
The Argentine pontiff previously played a role in rapprochement between the United States and Cuba, who restored diplomatic relations last year after a 54-year break.
In 2001, during Putin's first term as president, former Cuban President Fidel Castro approved construction of a Russian Orthodox church, which was given prime real estate on Havana Bay in what is now a booming tourist zone.