VATICAN CITY, FEB 2 (ZENIT).- For the first time in history, Iceland and the Vatican will jointly issue a postage stamp. The news was published by the Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Government of Vatican City.

    The stamp, which will be put into circulation on February 4, commemorates the millennium of Christianity's presence in this Atlantic island. The picture chosen represents a 15th century altar cloth that belonged to the Cathedral of Holar, which today is exhibited in Iceland's National Museum in Reykjavik. The stamp costs 1,500 Italian liras.

    The first inhabitants of Iceland were Irish monks, who arrived at the end of the 8th century and were expelled in the 9th by the Vikings and Normans. Scots and Irish settled in communities in the island sometime later; the communities were isolated and in conflict for a long time, in spite of the fact that at the end of the 10th century a Parliament was established to confirm the Island's political unity. The country was Christianized in the 11th century, and passed to Norwegian and later Danish political control, remaining in this state until the 19th century, when Parliament was re-established and autonomy recognized. ZE00020202