MP: Lukashenko’s visit to Vatican may positively impact Orthodox-Catholic relations

And the timeframe for the Pope-Russian Patriarch meeting inches closer…. NFTU

(Interfax) The Russian Orthodox Church says the upcoming visit by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to the Vatican may promote a peaceful co-existence of the Orthodox and Catholic communities of Belarus.

“Many Catholics live in Belarus, especially in the western part of the country. For this reason, the relationships between the Orthodox and catholic communities in Belarus are an important factor of stability and calm development of this situation. Consequently, the Belarusian president’s visit to the Vatican may promote a peaceful co-existence of these two communities,” Archpriest Georgy Ryabykh, deputy head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, told Interfax-Religion on Tuesday.