The Vatican plans to turn over a church in central Rome to the Russian Orthodox Church in a goodwill gesture designed to ease tensions between the two churches. Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow will take possession of the 17th-century St Basil's Church after restoration work, La Repubblica reported in Rome.
For years, the Pope has sought a meeting with the Russian Patriarch in Moscow to end a controversy that dates back to the perestroika era, with the Orthodox Church accusing Catholics of proselytism.