In Turkey, pope to meet with Orthodox, Muslim, government leaders

Published: 2006-11-13

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Although prayers and meetings with Orthodox leaders dominate the schedule of Pope Benedict XVI's Nov. 28-Dec. 1 trip to Turkey, he also will meet government and Muslim leaders. The trip originally was designed as an opportunity for Pope Benedict to join Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople for celebrations in Istanbul of the feast of St. Andrew. The pope and the patriarch send delegations to each other's churches each year for the celebrations of their patron saints' feast days: the Vatican's June 29 feast of Sts. Peter and Paul and the Orthodox churches' Nov. 30 feast of St. Andrew. While the pope will pray with and meet privately with Patriarch Bartholomew Nov. 29 and attend his celebration of the Nov. 30 feast day liturgy, Pope Benedict also will meet in Istanbul with Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Jewish and Catholic leaders. The first day of his trip, which will be spent in Ankara, the capital, will be dedicated to relations with the Turkish government.

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