Josh Trevino’s report from last week:

Finally, it comes time for Communion. My father asks me if I will go, and I reply that I probably should not. He urges me to, and I give in. Now, we file forward, toward the Ecumenical Patriarch His All-Holiness Bartholomew I, holder of the last office of the Eastern Empire, who gives us the Body of Christ. Mere feet away, Benedict XVI sits on the Papal throne, looking down upon us supplicants. I am overcome and cannot glance toward him. Behind me, others have more courage: they break from the line, rush forward, and kiss Benedict’s hand. He is calm and gentle. He smiles and clasps their hands, saying a few words in German and English, before urging them to go receive the Eucharist. It is profoundly moving too see these devout Orthodox who have come to pay homage to the bishop of the New Roman, and who are so overwhelmed with the presence and love of the bishop of the Rome that they must give him the same. The small space encompasses a universe, and we are at its center.

Bartholomew ascends to the iconostasis and welcomes Benedict in Greek. Benedict, aware of the cameras surrounding him, replies in English. We must, he says, recall Europe to its Christian heritage before it is too late — and we must do it together. Then they emerge into the cold sunlight of a cold day. They ascend to a balcony overlooking the courtyard where we gather in expectation. They speak briefly. And then, they clasp hands, Pope and Patriarch, smile and raise their arms together. Tears come to my eyes, and I am shocked to see several media personnel crying openly. For an instant, the Church is one. For a shadow of a second, the dreams of Christendom are again real.

Under the Turkish guns, the Christians roar.

And from the Vatican news services today:

His Beatitude Christodoulos, archbishop of Athens and of all Greece, is to visit the Holy Father and the Church of Rome from December 13 to 16, according to a communique released by the Holy See Press Office today.

"The archbishop was in Rome for the funeral of His Holiness John Paul II," says the communique, "but this is the first time that the primate of the Greek Orthodox Church makes an official visit to the Pope and to the Church of Rome."

The Holy Father will receive His Beatitude Christodoulos and his entourage on the morning of December 14. At a ceremony in the basilica of St. Paul’s Outside-the-Walls, the archbishop of Athens and of all Greece will be given part of a chain – kept in that basilica – with which St. Paul was held prisoner. Later, the communique continues, "Rome’s Pontifical Lateran University will confer an ‘honoris causa’ degree upon the illustrious guest." During his stay in Rome, the archbishop and his entourage will also visit some of the holy sites of the city such as the basilicas and catacombs.

The communique points out how on November 3, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece expressed its "joy at this visit, the fruits of which will be positive."

Now, about those Russians…