A Coke, The Pope and a Patriarch

Two reports from Yahoo News! First, the Patriarch of Moscow and the Pope may meet in the nearer future. This info comes from an interview in Der Spiegel with Metropolitan Kyrill - the equivalent of the Vatican Secretary of State for the Orthodox Church.

Relations with the Catholic church have been tenuous to say the least, suspicions arising from the 17th and 18th centuries when Eastern Europe was a hotbed for evangelization especially for groups like the Jesuits. Recent events in Eastern Europe and at the Vatican haven't necessarily thrilled the Moscovite Patriarchate who view of themselves as being the 'third Rome,' scion of the Byzantine Empire.

In other news of the Russian and Orthodox sort, soda giant Coca Cola has bumped heads with the Church over it's use of images of an orthodox cross and an onion domed church on the front of it's drink machines. This is yet another effort of the State and its proxy the Church to reign in western influence and forge a stronger since of identity and nationalism among Russians. (Recall the earlier post on the Russian church in France)

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