Holy See–Russia relations (Russian: Российско-Ватиканские отношения) are the bilateral relations between the Holy See and Russia. The Holy See has an Apostolic Nunciature in Moscow. Russia has a permanent representative to the Holy See based in Rome.
Pope Pius IX, who faced his own problems with revolutionary movements in his Church State, first tried to position himself in the middle, strongly opposing revolutionary and violent opposition against the Russian authorities and appealing to them for more Church freedom.
There were mixed reactions in Russia on the papacy of Pope John Paul II. Many Russians were happy that John Paul had reduced the influence of atheistic Communism in Eastern Europe and contributed to a rebirth of Christianity in the country. However, many others did not like the fact that the fall of the Soviet Union had also provoked a loss of Russian influence in Eastern Europe. The fact that John Paul was Polish also caused tensions, since there is a historic ethno-religious rivalry between Poland and Russia.
On 4 July 2019, however, it was revealed that tensions still remained between the Vatican and Russia, with the Russian Orthodox Church and Ukrainian conflict serving as the major causes of these tensions.[5] Despite holding a "cordial" meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Vatican, Pope Francis stated it is unlikely that he will visit Russia unless Putin agrees to not include the Russian Orthodox Church in the invitation, which Putin stated would be unlikely as well.[5] Pope Francis has also declared support for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which has expressed opposition to Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church and also the 2016 joint declaration.[6][5]
^Povoledo, Elisabetta; Yardley, Jim (February 5, 2016). "In Historic Move, Pope to Meet With Leader of Russian Orthodox Church". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. The Russian church is closely aligned with the Russian government...and the meeting with the pope would have required permission from Mr. Putin. Signing off on the meeting allows the Russian president to show the different avenues he can use to avoid isolation.
