Serbian bishop says Pope
may visit in 2013
Constantine the Great (272-337) was Roman Emperor from 306 to his death. Center photo, imperial coin from 313; right, head of the so-called Constantine Colossus, a 12-meter high statue of the emperor during his lifetime, now in Rome's Museo Capitolino.
BELGRADE, January 18 (Translated from ANSA) - Pope Benedict XVI could visit Orthodox Serbia in 2013 on the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan through which the Roman Emperor Constantine put an end to Christian persecution, according to the Bishop of Nis, Irinej, quoted by the Serbian news agency Beta.
Niz, third city of Serbia, in the southwest, was the birthplace of Constantine.
"We had already presented the idea earlier for a visit to Serbia by the Pope, but this time there is a real occasion, and the Orthodox Church in Serbia would be most happy to welcome him," said Bishop Irinej, one of the possible successors to the Patriarchy of Serbia, after the death of Pavle last month. The election will take place on January 22.
He sees a papal visit as "an occasion to further discuss the reunification of the Christian churches." It will be a long process, he said, "but every new step will bring us closer".
Irinej represents the moderate reform wing of the Serbian patriarchate, which has the support of Serbian president Boris Tadic.
To mark the anniversary of the Constantinian edict, the city of Nij plants to erect an 80-meter Cross on the top of Vinik hill outside the city.
Constantine, the first Christian emperor, is venerated as a saint by the Eastern Churches. He turned ancient Byzantium in Turkey into Constantinople, a capital of empire rivalling Rome.