Greek church leader to have rare meeting with Pope

ATHENS, Nov 4 (Reuters) The head of Greece's Orthodox church, Archbishop Christodoulos, will meet Pope Benedict at the Vatican on December 14 in a rare meeting between leaders of the two churches, Greek church officials said.

A meeting between Christodoulos and the late Pope John Paul II was to have taken place three years ago but was called off at the last minute.

''The Holy Synod expressed its joy over this visit, whose fruit will be positive,'' the Church of Greece said in a statement yesterday.

The Western Church and world Orthodoxy split from each other in the schism of 1054.

Relations between the two churches have long been strained but tensions increased following the collapse of communism when Orthodox leaders accused the Vatican of trying to extend its influence in traditional eastern European Orthodox countries. Since he became Pope last year, Benedict has made the promotion of Christian unity a main goal of his papacy and called several times for dialogue with Orthodox and Protestant Christians aimed at eventual reunion.

Later this month, the Pope will visit predominantly Muslim Turkey, where he will also meet the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeu, symbolic head of the world's Orthodox Church.

That visit has stirred controversy following Muslim anger over a lecture Pope Benedict gave in September at a German university in which he quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor in a passage seen as critical of the Prophet Mohammad.

REUTERS DKA RAI0915