Pope greets Turkish patriarch thanking its Orthodox founder
Francis thanks founder of church of Byzantium
20 March, 13:55
(ANSA) - Vatican City, March 20 - Pope Francis greeted the
archbishop of Constantinople on Wednesday by saluting the
apostle St. Andrew, founder of the Church of Byzantium and
patron saint of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople,
located in modern Turkey."I thank my brother Andrew from the heart," Pope Francis told Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, who was at the Vatican for the inaugural mass of the new pontificate on Tuesday.
According to Orthodox Christian tradition, St. Andrew was the brother of St. Peter, who founded the Roman Catholic Church.
photo: Bartholomew meeting Francis' predecessor Benedict in 2008
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