Posted by from OCANEWS.org Link: click here to read the original story
on 7/7/2009, 11:51 am
Russian Patriarch Points Out Surprising New Fact
Following July 4th talks with the Ecumenical Patriarch, Kirill, the Patriarch of Moscow was quoted by Russian journalists on the patriarchal website as saying:
“We spoke today about the new reality in Turkey: During the summer period about two million of our compatriots visited the country, tens of thousands of Russians live in it on a permanent basis, there are a lot of mixed marriages. That is why the question of pastoral care of these people arises. Turkey is the canonical territory of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and we have now, I think, have found a common approach to resolve problems associated with the pastoral care of Russians, the Russian-speaking Orthodox, living in Turkey."
According to most recent estimates the total number of Greek Orthodox Christians in Istanbul amount to slightly more than 2,500 people. In short, the Patriarch is publicly acknowledging for the first time that the Greek Orthodox in Istanbul are a minority even among Orthodox Christians in the city.
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