Russian president meets with two chief Orthodox Christian leaders

President Dmitry Medvedev has met with the leaders of two of the world's main Orthodox Christian churches – Russia's Patriarch Kirill and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.

An active exchange between Russia's leadership and the Orthodox Church is vital for resolving a whole array of problems, the president declared.

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople is on an official visit to Moscow at the invitation of his Russian colleague.

The Patriarch of Constantinople is known as “the first among equal” heads of the Orthodox Churches of the world. He resides in Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, which was the capital of the first Christian empire.