Visits from the East

Following the tradition of exchanges of delegations for the Feasts of their respective patron saints, on June 29th in Rome for the celebration of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and on November 30th in Istanbul for the celebration of Saint Andrew the Apostle, a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate will visit in Rome from June 27 to 29, 2013.

The delegation will be headed by the Metropolitan of Pergamon, Ioannis (Zizioulas), Co-chairman of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, accompanied by Bishop Athenagoras of Sinope (Peckstadt), Assistant to the Metropolitan of Belgium, and by Archimandrate Father Prodromos Xenakis, Deputy Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Eparchial Church of Crete.

On Friday, June 28, the delegation of the Patriarchate will be received in audience by the Holy Father Pope Francis and will have conversations with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

On Saturday, June 29, the delegation will attend a solemn Eucharistic celebration presided by the Holy Father, which will take place in Saint Peter's Square.