Moscow Patriarchate pleased Putin to meet Vatican, while Vatican works many sides for its ecumenical plans

Patriarchate of Moscow

The Russian Orthodox are supportive of Russia’s President meeting with Pope Francis and working closer together:

The Moscow Patriarchate expects Russian President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican to give an additional impetus to relations between Orthodox people and Catholics.

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“We would like to hope that President Putin’s meeting with the Pope will help strengthen relations between Russia and the Vatican, as well as relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church,” a spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations said.

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It will be a meeting of the leaders of two states, the spokesman said, adding that the two churches have been working directly to tackle many religious issues.

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The Russian president and the pontiff are expected to meet during Putin’s visit to the Vatican on November 25. http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_11_22/Moscow-Patriarchate-hopes-Putins-Vatican-visit-will-make-Orthodox-Catholic-ties-stronger-3560/

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is perhaps the most powerful secular nation leader to have spoken out against the rise of homosexual ‘marriage’ and similar abominations (see Russia’s Putin blasts West on Syria and Western media disapproves of his position on homosexuality) and has been praised by the Vatican (see Vatican credits Russia’s Putin for ‘defending Christianity’ and confirms a meeting).

In the meantime, the Vatican has been busily working with many on its ecumenical agenda. Notice the following:

Church leaders of independent Catholic communities from Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe have spent the last week in Rome with Pope Francis and Vatican officials discussing the lives of their Church including a subject of high importance to the Pope – the operation of their self-governing synods.

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The Vatican says this meeting is an “opportunity” for the patriarchs and archbishops of Eastern Rite communities to present to the pope the situation of their Churches.

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However, the November 19-22 meeting may also be another step for Pope Francis in re-shaping the way the Roman Catholic Church operates and decentralizing the Church government, adopting synod-based administrative systems of these churches.

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The gathering follows Pope Francis’ suggestion that the universal Church should learn from Eastern and Orthodox Churches’ synodal approach to governance and decision-making when he and the Patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul) Bartholomew met after he became Pope in March. The Patriarch was the first in 600 years to attend a Papal installation. http://www.ucanews.com/news/pope-looks-east-for-possible-church-reforms/69752

It is my view that the Vatican will offer an arrangement similar to that which it and the Eastern Orthodox churches had prior to the ‘great schism” in 1054 A.D. Prior to that date, the Eastern Orthodox view was that the Bishop of Rome (the pope) had a certain primacy, but not true supremacy within the Greco-Roman churches. And that is basically the Eastern Orthodox view today.

When I went to the offices of Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople before (the ‘first among equals’ as far as Eastern Orthodox patriarchs go), the impression I was left with–after personally spending time with one of his representatives–was that the Eastern Orthodox were definitely interested in ecumenical unity–but it was really only Rome’s governmental stance that was the issue.

It would seem that Rome will make offers for unity without the insistence of massive papal supremacy. This will help lead to the coming ecumenical unity that the Bible warns about in Revelation 13:1-8. And while there will be various negotiations now about governance and the pope, the reality is that when the final Antichrist (the false prophet who performs the signs and wonders referred to in Revelation 13:11-15) rises up, various people, Orthodox or not, will accept him and his then claimed authority, as well as that of the final Beast power that he will promote.

While I do believe that the Russian Orthodox will eventually break away from the coming ecumenical religion, I also believe that it will cooperate and support it for a time based upon passages in the Bible (e.g. Revelation 13:4,8).

The upcoming meeting between Russia’s President Putin and Pope Francis is one more step in that direction.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Why Should American Catholics Should Fear Unity with the Orthodox? Are the current ecumenical meetings a good thing or will they result in disaster? Is doctrinal compromise good? Is the plan to adopt some Protestant teachings and eliminate Protestantism?
Orthodox Must Reject Unity with the Roman Catholics Unity between these groups will put them in position to be part of the final end time Babylon that the Bible warns against as well as require improper compromise.
Pope Francis: Could this Marian Focused Pontiff be Fulfilling Prophecy? Pope Francis has taken many steps to turn people more towards his version of ‘Mary.’ Could this be consistent with biblical and Catholic prophecies? This article documents what has been happening. There is also a video version titled Pope Francis: Could this Marian Focused Pontiff be Fulfilling Prophecy?
Could Pope Francis be the Last Pope and Antichrist? According to some interpretations of the prophecies of the popes by the Catholic saint and Bishop Malachy, Pope Francis I is in the position of “Peter the Roman,” the pontiff who reigns during tribulations until around the time of the destruction of Rome. Do biblical prophecies warn of someone that sounds like Peter the Roman? Could Francis I be the heretical antipope of Catholic private prophecies and the final Antichrist of Bible prophecy? This is a YouTube video.
The Malachy Prophecies and “Peter the Roman” An Irish bishop allegedly predicted something about 112 popes in the 12th century. Pope Benedict XVI was number 111. Francis would seem to be number 112–if he is that one–and if so, he is to reign until Rome is destroyed. May he be an antipope/final Antichrist?
Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Continuing Church of God? Do you know that both groups shared a lot of the earliest teachings? Do you know which church changed? Do you know which group is most faithful to the teachings of the apostolic church? Which group best represents true Christianity? This documented article answers those questions. [Português: Qual é fiel: A igreja católica romana ou a igreja do deus?]
Russia: Its Origins and Prophesied Future Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end?
Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach? Here is a link to a video, also titled Is Russia the King of the North?
Some Similarities and Differences Between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Continuing Church of God Both groups claim to be the original church, but both groups have differing ways to claim it. Both groups have some amazing similarities and some major differences. Do you know what they are?