If he comes, after requesting a visit, I am not going to close the door, after all, even if it was the Mufti of Tehran who was coming I would accept it

Greek Archbishop Christodoulos

The announcement clears the way for the pontiff to realise his dream of following the footsteps of apostle Paul, from Syria and Greece to Malta.

His visit to Greece could be a first step towards healing the "Great Schism" that split the church into Orthodox and Roman Catholic branches nearly 1,000 years ago.

But a number of senior clerics oppose a papal visit, and there are fears that conservative church members and monks from the all-male monastic community of Mount Athos could stage protests during the trip.

Pilgrimage

We hope this trip will only have a positive result

Holy Synod spokesman Metropolitan Efstathios

Police and security services in Greece and at the Vatican have been warned about the possibility of problems.

The decision by the orthodox church's governing body, the Holy Synod, noted the opposition by some followers and insisted any papal trip be strictly a pilgrimage to biblical sites.

"In the broader spirit... the church does not want to say no to the pontiff especially since the trip has the character of a pilgrimage and only that" said a statement approved by the Holy Synod.

Greek President Costis Stefanopoulos officially invited the Pope to Athens when the two met at the end of January.

Orthodox Christians

The visit could take place on May 9 and 10 during the Pope's trip to Syria and Malta.

Orthodox Christians represent 99% of the Greek population.

Archbishop Christodoulos would even accept to meet the pontiff

There are only about 50,000 Roman Catholics among Greece's 10.2 million native-born population.

Some liberal clergymen could see the Pope's presence as helping heal the estrangement between Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians.

But many Greek Orthodox factions hold strong anti-Vatican views.

The Greek church last year rebuffed an attempt by the Pope to include Greece on his pilgrimage to biblical sites, demanding an apology for what it considers a long history of Vatican-sponsored aggression and arrogance.