The first official visit of His Beatitude Christodoulos, archbishop of Athens and all Greece, to the Pope and the Roman Church will be held from 13th to 16th December. The meeting with Benedict XVI has been planned for 14th December. The visit also includes a ceremony in the basilica of S. Paolo fuori le Mura, during which the archbishop will be given part of the precious Chain of Saint Paul’s captivity. In addition, the Lateran University will award Christodoulos an honorary degree. During his stay in Rome, the Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church will go on a pilgrimage in some places of worship in Rome. The approval of the visit to Benedict XVI by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece dates back to the session of 3rd November 2006, when a release "expressed joy for the accomplishment of this visit, the fruits of which will be favourable”. In the history of the relations between the Church of Rome and the Orthodox Church, a significant place is taken by the pilgrimage of John Paul II, in the footsteps of Saint Paul, to the Areopagus of Athens where, after a ceremony, a Joint Statement had been signed with Christodoulos. In the following years, there have been exchanges of visits of Delegations and other contacts between the two Churches. Christodoulos had been to Rome for the funerals of John Paul II’.
