ISTANBUL - The spiritual leader of the Orthodox Church, Patriarch Bartholomew I, Sunday voiced grief over the death of Pope John Paul II, hailing him as a "man of vision" who worked for improved ties between the long-divided Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
"We express our deep personal sorrow on behalf of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the resting of our beloved brother in Christ, and we share the mourning of the millions of our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters worldwide," the patriarch said in a written statement.
Bartholomew I praised the pope for his efforts towards restoring unity among Christians, spreading the Gospel to the world and contributing to peace.
"There are not so many such brave men of vision, as the departed pope.... He has left behind the indelible imprint of his strong personality," he said.
"He was a pioneer in many issues. For this reason, his death is a loss not only to his Church, but to all Christianity and the international community as a whole, which yearns for peace and justice" he added.
The patriarch also expressed hope for the election of a "most worthy successor" to John Paul II among the personalities in the Catholic hierarchy.
Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of 250 million Orthodox worshippers in the world, has met the late pope several times during visits to the Vatican.
John Paul II, on the other hand, visited Istanbul -- Bartholomew's seat -- in 1979, just a year after he was elected pontiff, during which he announced the creation of a joint Orthodox-Catholic committee to resolve the differences between the two Churches which split in 1054.
In a meeting at the Vatican last July, the pope and Bartholomew I had issued a joint declaration for the resumption of Orthodox-Catholic theological talks, suspended in 2000 after a row over the status of Eastern Catholic Churches.
04/03/2005 10:56 GMT