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ISTANBUL — The spiritual leaders of the Orthodox Christian churches in Istanbul and Russia led Sunday prayers together in a show of unity after years of jostling for influence.
Istanbul Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I said the two churches must overcome differences, though he stressed his church's status as "first among equals" with the historic role of coordinating between the various Orthodox branches, of which Russia's is the largest.
"From time to time clouds have temporarily overshadowed ties between the brethren churches," Bartholomew said after the service, addressing newly elected Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill. "These ... must immediately be sent to their places in the pages of history."
The two churches have been wrangling for influence over Soviet republics Estonia and Ukraine, with the Moscow Patriarchate struggling to maintain control over all 95 million of the Orthodox believers it claims, out of the world's 250 million Orthodox.
The Russian church does not recognize the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church as an autonomous canonical structure, claiming it was created in 1996 by the Istanbul Ecumenical Patriarchate on territory already controlled by Moscow.
More recently, the Ukrainian church has been seeking the Istanbul Patriarchate's support for its desired independence from the Moscow Patriarchate after centuries of Russian influence.
It is unclear if any of the Moscow Patriarchate's policies might change under Kirill, who was elected in January after the death in December of Moscow Patriarch Alexy II. Alexy had been leader of the Russian church since 1990.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul dates from the Orthodox Greek Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when the Muslim Ottoman Turks conquered the Byzantine Empire of Constantinople, today's Istanbul, in 1453.
The Istanbul Patriarchate directly controls several churches including the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
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Associated Press Writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed to the report.
