Orthodox Archbishop Chrysostomos of Athens, Primate of the Church of Greece, has declared that "as long as I live there will be no rapprochement with the Roman Catholic Church", it was reported in Athens.
Eterms, the Athens daily newspaper, said this was the 85-year-old Archbishop's reaction to an invitation from the Vatican Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity to send observers from the Orthodox Church of Greece to the fourth session of the Vatican Council.
The Orthodox putriarchates of Constantinople and of Moscow and other Orthodox churches have sent observer-delegates to Rome for the Vatican Council, but the Church of Greece has adamantly refused to do so.