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On his arrival, the Pope said he had come to Ukraine as a "pilgrim of peace and brotherhood" with no "intention of proselytizing," and counted on a friendly welcome from Christians and non-Christians "whose hearts are open to dialogue and co-operation."

The view that the Pope's visit to Ukraine would damage inter-church relations was also challenged by an Orthodox theologian from Romania, who said the Pope's visit to his country in May 1999 had generated "positive changes" in inter-church ties.

"The Russian Orthodox Church appears intent on recreating the Byzantine Empire," said Nicu Dumitrascu, a professor from Romania's Cluj University.

"Although we know we must stay together, we practice another kind of Orthodoxy here, and we don't understand why the Moscow Patriarchate still seeks to control the Orthodox Church in Ukraine."

The fragility of Orthodox-Catholic relations in Russia was illustrated by an exchange in Moscow just days before the papal trip to Ukraine. Speaking at a press conference, the chairman of the Roman Catholic bishops' conference of Russia, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, responded to the charges of proselytism by saying that the Catholic Church was called to serve both Roman Catholics and "those who want to become" Catholic.

At the same press conference, Archbishop Kondrusiewicz hinted that Russia's Roman Catholic communities might simply issue their own invitation to the pontiff to visit Russia, disregarding the objections of the Moscow Patriarchate.

In an angry statement, the spokesperson of the patriarchate's department of external relations, Viktor Malukhin, said that he would "prefer to consider the idea of inviting the pope. … without the Russian Orthodox Church's consent to be a mistake."

"Otherwise, we would have to consider it as an interference in our internal affairs and a blatant pressure not only on ecclesial but also on secular authorities, whose position regarding the possibility of a papal visit to Moscow is well known," Malukhin said.

When he traveled to Rome last year, Russia's president, Vladimir Putin—citing the objections of the Russian Orthodox Church—failed to renew a standing invitation for the Catholic leader to visit Russia.

Copyright © 2001 ENI.

For more related articles, see Yahoo full coverage on Pope John Paul II and Ukraine.

Previous Christianity Today articles on Pope John Paul II's recent visits include:

In Greece and Syria, Pope John Paul II Tries to Heal Ancient Wounds | But many Orthodox Christians and Muslims are suspicious and hostile to visit. (May 9, 2001)

Leading Catholic Priest Urges Pope to Delay Controversial Visit to Greece | Opposition reportedly growing in Orthodox Church, government. (April 6, 2001)

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July (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45