Meanwhile, the spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the EcumenicalPatriarch Bartholomew of Istanbul, also intervened.
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2.
The Pope wanted to pray with EcumenicalPatriarch Bartholomew and try to end the 1, 000-year-old schism between the two ancient branches of Christianity.
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3.
To this day, Turkey refuses to recognize the spiritual head of the Orthodox Church, the ecumenicalPatriarch Barholomew, who will host Pope Benedict in Istanbul later this week.