Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Pope Benedict XVI today will aim to make more inroads on his mission to reconcile the Roman Catholic Church with other religions as he arrives in Istanbul to meet the head of the Greek Orthodox Church.

On the second leg of his four-day trip to Turkey, the first by a pontiff in almost 30 years, Benedict will hold talks with Patriarch Bartholomeos I in an attempt to bring closer two branches of Christianity estranged for almost 1,000 years.

Benedict's visit to the predominantly Muslim country of 70 million people has so far been marked by his efforts to make peace with Islam, which he praised for its ``benevolence,'' and his support for Turkey's desire to join the European Union. The pontiff sparked anger in the Muslim world in September when he cited a 14th century Byzantine emperor who described Islam and its Prophet Muhammad as violent.

On his way to Istanbul, Benedict stopped by a shrine believed by Christians to be the last home of the Virgin Mary, near Ephesus, 46 kilometers (29 miles) south of the western city of Izmir. Reading the Mass in Italian to no more than 100 people, the pope said, ``The mother of Christ and of the church is the mother of that mystery of unity, which Christ and the church inseparably signify and build up.''

The pope spoke in Turkish at the start of the Mass, greeting worshippers with, ``Love and peace be with you.'' Later, during his homily, Benedict echoed Pope John XXIII, saying ``I love the Turks.'' John served as the Holy See's ambassador to Turkey in the late 1930s and introduced Turkish when he celebrated Mass.

Benedict's tour will include contact with Turkey's widely scattered Christians, a community of about 100,000 people in denominations ranging from Syrian to Armenian.

John Paul II

Turning his attention to the Orthodox church, Benedict takes over his predecessor John Paul II's mission of unifying the eastern and western branches of Christianity, which split in the Great Schism of 1054. In 2004, the late pontiff had formally apologized for the sacking in 1204 of Constantinople, now Istanbul.

Benedict will ``want to send the message that he respects all faiths, even if different from his own,'' said James Walston, professor of political science at the American University of Rome, in a telephone interview.

The German-born pope, who as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was a close collaborator of John Paul, will pay tribute today to the relics of 4th century patriarchs St. Gregory Nazianzen and St. John Chrysostom, whose bones were returned to the patriarchate in 2004, 800 years after Catholic crusaders snatched them from Istanbul.

The pope and the patriarch will hold a private meeting at 7:30 p.m. local time and early tomorrow will read a joint statement, the Vatican said.

Leadership Dispute

The planned meeting with Bartholomeos has irked Turkey's political establishment, which doesn't recognize him as the spiritual leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians. Turkey insists he is merely the leader of Greek Orthodox followers who live within its borders. That group has dwindled to about 3,000 people from 160,000 when the Turkish Republic was founded in 1923, according to figures from the patriarchate.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II, who has vied with Bartholomeos for influence over the Orthodox churches, also doesn't recognize him as their leader.

The patriarchate has been in Istanbul for 17 centuries. Bartholomeos's seat is a remnant of the Byzantine Empire, whose capital was the center of Greek Orthodoxy until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

Bartholomeos, who was born on the Turkish island of Gokceada in 1940, became patriarch 15 years ago, the 270th successor to the Christian church founded by St. Andrew two millennia ago.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ayla Jean Yackley in Istanbul at ayackley@bloomberg.net; Flavia Krause-Jackson in Istanbul at fjackson@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 29, 2006 08:32 EST