The Associated Press

Fri, Oct 10, 2008 (6:54 a.m.)

The spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians is calling for greater unity between the Orthodox Churches.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I says the Orthodox Church often appears as a "federation of Churches" instead of "one unified Church."

The Churches in Moscow and Kiev are locked in a dispute over the creation of an independent Ukrainian church, which Russia opposes.

Bartholomew was addressing Orthodox Church leaders on Friday at the start of a three-day meeting in Istanbul to mark the second millennium since the birth of St. Paul, the apostle.

The Patriarch, who is based in Istanbul, will read out a joint declaration at the end of the gathering Sunday. The church leaders will later travel to sites visited by St. Paul in Turkey and Greece.

There are 250 million Orthodox Christians in the world.