But behind the statements and symbols of unity from Pope John Paul II and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, serious obstacles loom.
Ecclesiastical divisions run deep, especially over the clout of the papacy.
And recent political crises, particularly in the former Yugoslavia, have placed the two denominations on opposite sides. The pope embraced Bartholomew outside the Vatican guest house where the Orthodox leader will stay until Friday. They then joined arms and entered the building for the first of several private gatherings. Bartholomew presides over 14 autonomous Orthodox churches, including those of Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Russia. The pontiff also has made improving Catholic-Orthodox bonds a principal goal.