Rome, Dec. 10, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The top ecumenical officer of the Russian Orthodox Church reports that his December 7 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI was "an important moment on the path to Christian unity."

Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk told L'Osservatore Romano that his visit to Rome-- during which he also spoke at length with Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity-- had given him "great feelings of hope."

They likened ecumenical exchanges to "building a great church, brick by brick." Although he declined to discuss his conversation with the Pontiff in detail, the Russian prelate said: "Each time we lay the next stone, we draw nearer to the completion of the extraordinary building that is Christian unity.”

Just prior to his visit, Metropolitan Kirill had sounded much less hopeful about the prospects for ecumenical progress. He had said that the Catholic Church should downgrade the canonical status of the four Catholic dioceses established in Russia in 2002, and said flatly that the Moscow patriarchate would never recognize Catholic dioceses on Russian soil.

But after his meeting with Pope Benedict the Orthodox leader offered a different perspective, saying that the trend in Catholic-Orthodox relations is "very positive" and he hopes for substantial progress to come.