At 9:00am today in Rome, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience a delegation sent by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, continuing the tradition of visits to Rome for the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (which will be observed on June 29).
The delegation was headed by His Eminence, Ioannis (Zizioulas) Metropolitan of Pergamo and included His Eminence Maximos, Metropolitan of Silyvria and Reverend Father Heikki Huttunen, representing the Orthodox Church of Finland.
Dear Brothers in Christ,
It is with joy and heartfelt friendship that I greet you and welcome you to Rome on the feast of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, principal patrons of this Church. Your presence at the celebrations of our feast testifies once again to the deep relationship between the sister Churches of Rome and Constantinople, foreshadowed by the bond which unites the respective patron Saints of our Churches, the Apostles Peter and Andrew, brothers in blood and faith, united in apostolic service and martyrdom.
I recall with gratitude the warm welcome given to me at the Phanar of my beloved brother, Bartholomew, by the clergy and faithful of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, on the feast of Saint Andrew last November. The ecumenical prayer on the vigil of the feast, and then the Divine Liturgy in the Patriarchal Church of Saint George, offered us the possibility of together praising the Lord and asking him with one voice for that day to draw nearer when full, visible communion between Orthodox and Catholics may be reestablished. The embrace of peace exchanged with His Holiness was an eloquent sign of that fraternal charity which encourages us along the path of reconciliation, and which will enable us one day to participate together at the altar of the Eucharist.
Attaining that goal, towards which we have set out together in trust, represents one of my main concerns, for which I do not cease to pray to God. I hope, therefore, that opportunities may increase for meeting each other, for exchange and cooperation among Catholic and Orthodox faithful, in such a way that as we deepen our knowledge and esteem for one another, we may be able to overcome any prejudice and misunderstanding that may remain as a result of our long separation. It is my desire that we may be able to face, in truth but also with a fraternal spirit, the difficulties which still exist. In this way, I wish also to renew my support for the important work of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. The problems which we may encounter in the course of our theological dialogue must not lead us to discouragement or resignation. The careful examination of how in the Church the principle of synodality and the service of the one who presides are articulated, will make a significant contribution to the progress of relations between our Churches.
Dear brothers, as preparations for the Pan-Orthodox Synod are intensifying, I assure you of my prayers and that of many Catholics, that these extensive efforts may come to fruition. I trust also in your prayers for the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church, on the theme of the family, which will take place here in the Vatican this coming October, at which we are looking forward also to the participation of a fraternal delegate from the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
With regard to agreement and cooperation on the most urgent issues, I am pleased to recall that in the recent conference that presented my Encyclical Laudato si’ on care for our common home, the Patriarch Bartholomew sent you, dear Metropolitan John, to address the conference on this occasion.
I renew my gratitude for your presence and for your cordial expressions of closeness. I ask you to convey my fraternal greeting to His Holiness, Patriarch Bartholomew and to the Holy Synod, together with my most heartfelt appreciation for having desired to send eminent representatives to share our joy. Please pray for me and for my ministry.
Peace to all of you that are in Christ! (1 Pt 5:14).
His Holiness and Beatitude Pope Francis of Elder Rome: rejoice in the Lord.
It is with delight and thanksgiving to the God in Trinity that we hasten once again this year to concelebrate with You the sacred commemoration of the Chief among the Apostles, Peter and Paul, founders and protectors of Your most holy Church and unshakeable pillars of the universal One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ. We do so again herewith in adherence to an already long and blessed tradition of the exchange of formal visits of Delegations from our two ancient Churches during one another’s Thronal feast as an expression and manifestation of the bond of love, which by God’s grace holds us together, guiding our steps to greater rapprochement between us until the dawn of that much-desired day of our unity in the common faith of the Gospel and of the Fathers in the same Chalice of life.
Following this sacred custom, this year we again recall with profound sentiments and much gratitude the great gift from God toward our most holy Church of Constantinople that was honoured by Your Holiness’ personal visit and participation in the celebration of our Thronal feast last year. This communion person-to-person left behind an indelible joy in our heart, and so we would like to use this occasion to express once more the thanks of our Church and ourselves personally in the hope and wish that we shall again have in the not too distant future the joy of this personal communion with each other.
The celebration of the Thronal feast of our Churches is a reminder, Your Holiness, of the very significant fact that, despite the regrettable interruption of full communion among us, both of our Churches remain united in honouring the memory of our common Saints, who comprise the stable foundation on which we are called to build full union inasmuch as the Church of Christ is essentially a communion of Saints. This holds true especially for the Chief among the Apostles, Peter and Paul, who through their preaching but also with their blood invite us even today to increase our efforts in order that our already existing communion in honouring the Saints may as in the past become a communion also in the body and blood of the Leader of our Faith, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our efforts toward this sacred goal are rendered for years in the field of erasing theological differences, which have been accrued by an entire millennium of estrangement among our Churches, through our ongoing Dialogue. We are called to support this Dialogue with all our strength by means of active participation in the appropriate Committee of the best theological representatives at the disposal of our Churches, so that this difficult work may continue beyond political or other forms of motivations, particularly in the present critical phase when we are examining the thorny issue of Primacy in the Church.
However, as Your Holiness has emphasized, our unity must be sought and edified not only in our common past, but also in the contemporary reality lived in the world, which invites us jointly to transmit to modern man the message of the Gospel about joy, hope and love. Therefore, we personally greet the recent Apostolic Exhortation of Your Holiness to the world, namely Evangelii gaudium in 2013 and especially the Encyclical published only days ago and entitled Laudato si'. The latter filled us with immense satisfaction, given that our most holy Church of Constantinople was the first in the Christian world to proclaim publicly the urgent need to protect the natural environment, which is deplorably threatened by human greed, which we did through the Encyclical of our late predecessor Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios in 1989, as well as with a series of conferences and other activities initiated by our Modesty.
Wherefore, by together conveying the message of the Gospel to the contemporary world and the existential problems of concern to it, we also approach one another in our responsibility of continuing the work of the saintly Apostles that we honour, thereby manifesting through our efforts that they did not run their course in vain (Phil 2:16) and that our faith is declared throughout the world (Rom 1:8).
These personal thoughts and sentiments, together with our congratulatory fraternal wishes on the occasion of the Thronal feast of Your sister Church, will be brought to Your Holiness by our Delegation led by His Eminence, Metropolitan John of Pergamon, accompanied by His Eminence, Metropolitan Maximos of Selyvria and the Very Reverend Protopresbyter Heikki Huttunen, who will assure You of the deepest feelings of love and great honour of our most holy Church to Your Holiness and Your most holy Church. May the Protocoryphaeoi Apostles, whom we honour together, always intercede for the stability of the holy churches of God and for the unity of all. Amen.
Your Holiness' beloved brother in the Lord
June 19, 2015
The delegation was headed by His Eminence, Ioannis (Zizioulas) Metropolitan of Pergamo and included His Eminence Maximos, Metropolitan of Silyvria and Reverend Father Heikki Huttunen, representing the Orthodox Church of Finland.
Address of His Holiness, Pope Francis
for the meeting with the delegation sent
by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Dear Brothers in Christ,
It is with joy and heartfelt friendship that I greet you and welcome you to Rome on the feast of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, principal patrons of this Church. Your presence at the celebrations of our feast testifies once again to the deep relationship between the sister Churches of Rome and Constantinople, foreshadowed by the bond which unites the respective patron Saints of our Churches, the Apostles Peter and Andrew, brothers in blood and faith, united in apostolic service and martyrdom.
I recall with gratitude the warm welcome given to me at the Phanar of my beloved brother, Bartholomew, by the clergy and faithful of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, on the feast of Saint Andrew last November. The ecumenical prayer on the vigil of the feast, and then the Divine Liturgy in the Patriarchal Church of Saint George, offered us the possibility of together praising the Lord and asking him with one voice for that day to draw nearer when full, visible communion between Orthodox and Catholics may be reestablished. The embrace of peace exchanged with His Holiness was an eloquent sign of that fraternal charity which encourages us along the path of reconciliation, and which will enable us one day to participate together at the altar of the Eucharist.
Attaining that goal, towards which we have set out together in trust, represents one of my main concerns, for which I do not cease to pray to God. I hope, therefore, that opportunities may increase for meeting each other, for exchange and cooperation among Catholic and Orthodox faithful, in such a way that as we deepen our knowledge and esteem for one another, we may be able to overcome any prejudice and misunderstanding that may remain as a result of our long separation. It is my desire that we may be able to face, in truth but also with a fraternal spirit, the difficulties which still exist. In this way, I wish also to renew my support for the important work of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. The problems which we may encounter in the course of our theological dialogue must not lead us to discouragement or resignation. The careful examination of how in the Church the principle of synodality and the service of the one who presides are articulated, will make a significant contribution to the progress of relations between our Churches.
Dear brothers, as preparations for the Pan-Orthodox Synod are intensifying, I assure you of my prayers and that of many Catholics, that these extensive efforts may come to fruition. I trust also in your prayers for the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church, on the theme of the family, which will take place here in the Vatican this coming October, at which we are looking forward also to the participation of a fraternal delegate from the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
With regard to agreement and cooperation on the most urgent issues, I am pleased to recall that in the recent conference that presented my Encyclical Laudato si’ on care for our common home, the Patriarch Bartholomew sent you, dear Metropolitan John, to address the conference on this occasion.
I renew my gratitude for your presence and for your cordial expressions of closeness. I ask you to convey my fraternal greeting to His Holiness, Patriarch Bartholomew and to the Holy Synod, together with my most heartfelt appreciation for having desired to send eminent representatives to share our joy. Please pray for me and for my ministry.
Peace to all of you that are in Christ! (1 Pt 5:14).
Message of His All Holiness, Batholomew I
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
His Holiness and Beatitude Pope Francis of Elder Rome: rejoice in the Lord.
It is with delight and thanksgiving to the God in Trinity that we hasten once again this year to concelebrate with You the sacred commemoration of the Chief among the Apostles, Peter and Paul, founders and protectors of Your most holy Church and unshakeable pillars of the universal One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ. We do so again herewith in adherence to an already long and blessed tradition of the exchange of formal visits of Delegations from our two ancient Churches during one another’s Thronal feast as an expression and manifestation of the bond of love, which by God’s grace holds us together, guiding our steps to greater rapprochement between us until the dawn of that much-desired day of our unity in the common faith of the Gospel and of the Fathers in the same Chalice of life.
Following this sacred custom, this year we again recall with profound sentiments and much gratitude the great gift from God toward our most holy Church of Constantinople that was honoured by Your Holiness’ personal visit and participation in the celebration of our Thronal feast last year. This communion person-to-person left behind an indelible joy in our heart, and so we would like to use this occasion to express once more the thanks of our Church and ourselves personally in the hope and wish that we shall again have in the not too distant future the joy of this personal communion with each other.
The celebration of the Thronal feast of our Churches is a reminder, Your Holiness, of the very significant fact that, despite the regrettable interruption of full communion among us, both of our Churches remain united in honouring the memory of our common Saints, who comprise the stable foundation on which we are called to build full union inasmuch as the Church of Christ is essentially a communion of Saints. This holds true especially for the Chief among the Apostles, Peter and Paul, who through their preaching but also with their blood invite us even today to increase our efforts in order that our already existing communion in honouring the Saints may as in the past become a communion also in the body and blood of the Leader of our Faith, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our efforts toward this sacred goal are rendered for years in the field of erasing theological differences, which have been accrued by an entire millennium of estrangement among our Churches, through our ongoing Dialogue. We are called to support this Dialogue with all our strength by means of active participation in the appropriate Committee of the best theological representatives at the disposal of our Churches, so that this difficult work may continue beyond political or other forms of motivations, particularly in the present critical phase when we are examining the thorny issue of Primacy in the Church.
However, as Your Holiness has emphasized, our unity must be sought and edified not only in our common past, but also in the contemporary reality lived in the world, which invites us jointly to transmit to modern man the message of the Gospel about joy, hope and love. Therefore, we personally greet the recent Apostolic Exhortation of Your Holiness to the world, namely Evangelii gaudium in 2013 and especially the Encyclical published only days ago and entitled Laudato si'. The latter filled us with immense satisfaction, given that our most holy Church of Constantinople was the first in the Christian world to proclaim publicly the urgent need to protect the natural environment, which is deplorably threatened by human greed, which we did through the Encyclical of our late predecessor Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios in 1989, as well as with a series of conferences and other activities initiated by our Modesty.
Wherefore, by together conveying the message of the Gospel to the contemporary world and the existential problems of concern to it, we also approach one another in our responsibility of continuing the work of the saintly Apostles that we honour, thereby manifesting through our efforts that they did not run their course in vain (Phil 2:16) and that our faith is declared throughout the world (Rom 1:8).
These personal thoughts and sentiments, together with our congratulatory fraternal wishes on the occasion of the Thronal feast of Your sister Church, will be brought to Your Holiness by our Delegation led by His Eminence, Metropolitan John of Pergamon, accompanied by His Eminence, Metropolitan Maximos of Selyvria and the Very Reverend Protopresbyter Heikki Huttunen, who will assure You of the deepest feelings of love and great honour of our most holy Church to Your Holiness and Your most holy Church. May the Protocoryphaeoi Apostles, whom we honour together, always intercede for the stability of the holy churches of God and for the unity of all. Amen.
Your Holiness' beloved brother in the Lord
June 19, 2015
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