Orthodox patriarch arrives in Cuba

Friday, January 23, 2004

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP): Bartholomew I, the Orthodox ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, arrived late Wednesday in Havana on a five-day visit, the first time a leader of the Orthodox Church has paid a visit to Latin America.

Cuban President Fidel Castro welcomed the patriarch, who claims to be the spiritual leader of the 300 million strong orthodox community worldwide, as he arrived at Havana's Jose Marti airport on an Olympic Airways plane.

The patriarch was due to go on to an official ceremony at Revolution Palace.

During his visit, the patriarch of Constantinople will consecrate the Saint-Nicholas Cathedral in Havana, built especially by the Cuban government "as an offering from the Cuban people" to the Orthodox Church.

Castro is to be awarded the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle by the patriarch.

The cathedral is the island's first orthodox church.

Bartholomew I will bring to the island "a message of peace, reconciliation and respect," according to the Prelate of Panama, Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Colombia and Venezuela, Archbishop Athenagoras, who arrived in Cuba ahead of the patriarch.

The Cuban community has around 2,000 and 3,000 orthodox believers, mostly of Slavic, Russian and Ukrainian origin, Athenagoras said.

There are no plans for the patriarch to meet with Cuban dissidents, a spokesman said. 

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