The Vatican has deployed an envoy of senior officials to visit Moscow on a four-day trip. The move comes amid increasing tensions between the Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches.

The visit to Russia will see Cardinal Walter Kasper meet with Metropolitan Kirill, but he will not be able to speak directly with the Orthodox leader, Patriarch Alexy II.

The rising anxiety between the two denominations goes back to long before Pope Benedict took up the papacy this year. Even his predecessor, Pope John Paul II was accused by the Russian Orthodox Church of attempting to convert people in Orthodox territory.

However, a new hope has arisen, as Pope Benedict, since he took over the role as leader of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, has put at the top of his agenda, reaching out to reconcile with other Christian Churches.

A number of Russian Presidents openly welcomed the prospect of a visit by Pope John Paul II to Moscow, however, all of these invitations were immediately vetoed by Patriarch Alexy.

The rift has been healed slightly by statements by Pope Benedict to try and heal the 1,000 year-old split in the churches, but BBC news has reported that Vatican observers have also stated that they are not too optimistic about much speedy progress being made.

At the centre of recent tensions between the Churches has been the accusation by the Moscow Patriarchate that Orthodox worshippers in Ukraine are suffering huge discrimination by Ukrainian Easter-rite Catholics – ‘the Uniates’.

Uniates have Orthodox rites yet regard the Pope as their spiritual leader.

As Catholics have denied the Russian accusations, they have stated clearly that their missionaries have been instructed only work among people that are as of yet, undecided in their faith.