Prior to Putin’s visit, journalists in Rome raised the question of whether the new Russian leader would explicitly renew the invitation accorded to the Pope several years ago by Mikhail Gorbachev, or whether he might even serve as an intermediary for the Orthodox Church, bringing an invitation from Patriarch Alexei. Whether or not it came with Putin, insiders at the Vatican suggested that they are anticipating an invitation from the Russian Orthodox Church. And they made it clear that in the absence of such an invitation from the Orthodox, Pope John Paul would not accept an invitation from the Russian government.

The Holy Father clearly wants to visit Moscow as soon as possible. He regularly reads a Russian-language Bible—a gift from former Russian President Boris Yeltsin—in order to maintain his familiarity with that language. And the Pontiff has frequently voiced his hope that the Eastern and Western Christian churches can draw together at the dawn of the 3rd millennium. The Orthodox Church centered in Moscow is by far the world’s largest Eastern Christian body.

However, to date the Pope’s efforts to reach out to the Russian Orthodox Church have been frustrated. Twice the Vatican has set up tentative meetings between the Pope and Patriarch Alexei; each time—in September 1996 and June 1997—the Russian leader backed away from the plans just before the meeting would have taken place. In each case, the Patriarch cited familiar Orthodox complaints against the Catholic Church: the conflicts between Ukrainian Orthodox and Eastern-rite Catholics, and the efforts by Catholic missionaries to gain converts in traditionally Orthodox lands such as Russia.

However, in recent months there have been signs of progress on those embattled fronts. A joint Catholic-Orthodox commission has been established to resolve disputes between the two churches in Ukraine. And at a recent conference in Turin, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk—the second-ranking prelate in the Russian Orthodox Church—announced that “we no longer have any fear of missionaries.” At that same meeting, Metropolitan Kirill said that a meeting between Pope and Patriarch would be “a fundamental event” and “a new page in Christian history.” He added: “We cannot allow the opportunity to escape us.”

Just before President Putin’s trip to Rome, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Moscow urged the Russian faithful to pray for a papal visit to their country. Archbishop Kondrusiewicz, the apostolic administrator for European Russia, told the Italian daily Avvenire that a visit to Moscow by Pope John Paul II would be “a miracle.” Nevertheless, he continued, “miracles do happen.”

The archbishop made his remarks at the close of a Eucharistic Congress in Moscow on May 28—the first such event since the fall of the Soviet empire. “Who knows?” Archbishop Kondrusiewicz said. “Maybe in September, in Siberia, at the Mariological congress that will take place in Irkutsk . . .”

Speculation about a papal visit to Russia was intensified on the day before the Russian president’s visit, when the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexei II told the news agency Itar-Tass that he was “in correspondence” with the Pontiff about the question. “I don’t think our meeting should be held just for the benefit of the cameras,” the Orthodox leader said. “It should be thoroughly prepared, and produce some positive, concrete results.”

Putin, accompanied by a 20-man delegation, arrived at the Vatican just before 7 pm on June 5, in a long train of limousines. He was greeted at the steps of the presidential library by Pope John Paul, who said he was “happy to receive you here at the Vatican, at the beginning of your presidential term.” Putin responded by saying that he himself had made the decision to come to the Holy See soon after assuming the Russian presidency, and considered this “a very significant visit.”

When the Pope and the Russian president actually sat down for a 30-minute private conversation, the topic of a possible papal trip to Moscow was not on the agenda, according to subsequent reports issued by the Holy See. President Putin had come to Rome in search of support for his efforts to promote disarmament, and he told journalists that he saw the Vatican as an important participant in that process. The Russian leader also spoke with the Pope about other international issues, but—in a sign of the Pontiff’s determination to keep the meeting positive—the troubled subject of Chechnya apparently was also left out of the conversation. Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls later told reporters that Pope John Paul had been particularly interested in hearing Putin’s views, since the Russian leader is an important new figure on the international scene.

In answer to reporters’ persistent questions, Navarro-Valls said that Putin had not formally invited the Pope to visit Russia. However, he pointed out, such an invitation was not necessary, since the invitation issued by Gorbachev remains open. He added that the Holy See is actively pursuing discussions with the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow, hoping for an invitation from that religious body.

To Archbishop Kondrusiewicz, the absence of any discussion about a papal visit was a disappointment and a mystery. “I am extremely disappointed, and I do not understand what has happened,” said the Moscow archbishop. He reasoned that an invitation would have been a natural gesture for the new Russian leader to make. And even if the previous invitation remains open, Archbishop Kondrusiewicz suggested that Putin should have renewed it, as a matter of normal diplomatic protocol. “The problem is not whether or not the Pope will go to Moscow,” the archbishop said. “The problem is that Gorbachev and Yeltsin invited John Paul II, and Putin did not invite him.”

“There is no reason” for Putin’s failure to issue a new invitation, the Moscow archbishop continued. “It would have been normal for him to invite the Pope.” Archbishop Kondrusiewicz concluded: “This is a mystery.” He said that public opinion in Russia is “universally favorable” to the prospect of a papal visit.

As speculation about his silence continued to swirl, President Putin finally addressed the issue of a papal visit on the day after his meeting with Pope John Paul. Putin said that he was “sure” that a historic meeting between the Pope and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexei II would soon take place. But he made it clear that he felt the Russian government could do nothing to promote that possibility until the Orthodox Church gave the green light.

President Putin confirmed that “there are discussion between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church.” He told the Italian daily Il Messaggero that he did not issue an official invitation to the Pope because he was aware of those discussions, and recognized that the Pope will not visit Russia until some accord between the two churches is reached. Putin offered a similar insight to another Italian daily, Corriere della Sera. “The state-to-state relations between Russia and the Holy See are very good,” he said. “But there is open disagreement between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.” He went on to explain that the Orthodox Church, after decades of persecution under Communism, “feels weak, and fears competition from the Catholics.” The Russian president said that he was anxious to avoid interference in the dispute between the two churches. “What am I supposed to do?” he asked journalists. “Am I supposed to impose an order to stop the controversy? If I did that I would ruin the positive developments that have been achieved, and the progress that is still taking place today.”

Putin also observed that it was fruitless for the government to issue a new invitation to the Pontiff, in the absence of a Catholic-Orthodox agreement. “It is inconceivable that the Pope would come to Moscow without meeting the Patriarch,” he told Corriere della Sera. “We will go forward, persistently but prudently, in order to avoid errors that could end all our hopes.”

When reporters continued to press him with questions on the topic, during his subsequent visit to Milan, the Russian leader assured them that he was ready to spring into action to ensure the success of a papal visit, as soon as a Catholic-Orthodox agreement is struck. “When the Pope decides that the time has come for him to visit Russia, he will say Yes immediately,” he added. “The Pope is a very intelligent man,” Putin told journalists; “he understands the whole situation perfectly.”