|PIC1|The head of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Teoctist, died on Monday aged 92 due to heart complications after prostate surgery.
Teoctist invited Pope John Paul to Romania in 1999, the first time a Catholic Pope visited an Orthodox country in a trip aimed at narrowing the age-old split between the two Churches.
"Patriarch Teoctist died at 5:00 pm," Constantin Popa, manager of the Fundeni hospital in Bucharest told reporters.
"He had prostate surgery. Afterwards, he developed heart complications ... which eventually led to his heart failure. He did not respond to resuscitation."
Teoctist, who was born in 1915, had been the head of the Orthodox Church since 1986. Eighty-seven percent of Romanians belong to the Church.
One of his main projects was to build a "Cathedral of the Nation's Absolution", which like the vast Christ the Saviour cathedral in Moscow was to be seen as a symbol of rebirth after 50 years of communist repression. Land and financing problems have delayed its construction, however.
News
Russia and Ukraine agree to temporary Orthodox Easter truce
In the Orthodox calendar, Easter falls one week after the date celebrated in western Europe.
Bishop urges people of Britain to stand up for Christian truth
It follows an earlier open letter addressed to King Charles, calling upon him to defend Christianity in line with his titles of Supreme Governor of the Church of England and "Defender of the Faith".
Fundraising Regulator reminds churches that collections are subject to code of practice
Churches can breach the code even when acting in good faith.
Religion is often left unspoken in the workplace despite widespread faith identity, research finds
Fifteen per cent of UK employees with a faith say they have experienced religious discrimination in the workplace.