Pope returns relics to eastern Orthodox

Pope John Paul returned relics of two early Christian saints to the Patriarch of Constantinople Saturday in another bid to warm ties with eastern Orthodoxy.
Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of some 300 million eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide, accepted the treasured relics, looted by Roman Catholic crusaders centuries ago, during a mass in Vatican City, the BBC reported.
The relics are bones believed to be those of two early "Doctors of the Church," St. John Chrysostom and St. Gregory.
Both were archbishops of Constantinople, now called Istanbul, long before the split between the eastern and western Churches nearly 1,000 years ago.
The gift follows another ancient holy icon returned by the Pope to the head of Russia's Orthodox church.