The spiritual leader of an estimated 300 million Orthodox Church members worldwide is scheduled to arrive in Cuba today to honor dictator Fidel Castro with a church award.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will grant the church's Order of St. Andrew to recognize construction of a new cathedral in Old Havana, the official Cuban news service Granma International reported.
The St. Nicholas Cathedral, to be consecrated by the patriarch Jan. 25, will be constructed by Cuba's communist government.
Bartholomew is regarded by the Orthodox Church as the 270th successor of the Apostle Andrew but is seen as "first among equals" of 14 patriarchs. Cuba has an estimated 2,000 practicing Orthodox Christians.
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