VATICAN CITY, JAN. 8, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI will receive in audience Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, who will visit Rome to mark the 90th anniversary of the Pontifical Oriental Institute.
The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity confirmed the audience is scheduled for Thursday, March 6.
The patriarch will visit Rome for the celebrations of the anniversary of the foundation of the Pontifical Oriental Institute, entrusted to the Society of Jesus, and established by Pope Benedict XV in 1917.
Bartholomew I himself received a doctorate from the institute.
Benedict XVI visited the patriarch in Turkey in 2006, on the occasion of the feast of St. Andrew.
On Dec. 6, the Pope received a delegation from the Pontifical Oriental Institute and recognized that the role the institute provides has "an effective ecumenical value, because drawing from the heritage of wisdom of the Christian East enriches everyone.”
ZE08010807 - 2008-01-08