A KEY meeting between Catholic and Armenian Orthodox leaders has raised hopes of the Churches resolving the issues that have divided them for a millennia and a half, according to a leading Christian charity.

Relations between the Orthodox and Catholic churches are improving, Russia's Patriarch and Pope Benedict XVI are considering meeting, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray said Tuesday following a meeting with the Russian spiritual leader.

The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) have signed the Act of Canonical Communion in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Alexy II, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and Metropolitan Laurus, First Hierarch of ROCOR, signed the act in the presence of President Vladimir Putin.

A landmark in the history of Eastern Christendom is timed to the Ascension, which falls on May 17 this year. The Russian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia are signing an Act of Canonical Communion.