ISTANBUL, TURKEY - Pope Benedict XVI turned Wednesday from efforts to repair his damaged relations with Muslims to the central aim of his trip to Turkey: to help heal the 1,000-year rift between the once-united Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.

In a prayer service at the Patriarchal Church of St. George, which is the seat of Bartholomew, the spiritual first among the Orthodox patriarchs, Benedict said, "It gives me great joy to be among you, my brothers in Christ, in this cathedral church, as we pray together to the Lord and call to mind the momentous events that have sustained our commitment to work for the full unity of Catholics and Orthodox."

A millennium of bad blood, mistrust and some violence has separated the two Christian churches. Forty years of talks have resulted in warmer relations, but not the goal of a greater formal unity that would allow them to celebrate communion together. A pope has yet to visit Russia, home to most of the world's 220 million Orthodox Christians.

Despite that history, Benedict faced a far friendlier audience with his fellow Christians, a tiny minority in Istanbul, than he had on Tuesday, the first day of his visit, reaching out to Muslims offended by a speech he gave two months ago, which Muslims felt equated Islam with violence.

Nevertheless, a broad variety of Turks in the lively port city said Wednesday that they supported his efforts to reconcile with them. They said they had still not forgotten the speech in September, but after conciliatory speeches, hand shaking, and a flurry of public meetings with Muslim leaders, many Turks said they were willing to give Benedict the benefit of the doubt.

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