“We cannot forget, at this solemn moment, the brotherly love and esteem that bind our Modesty, Bishop of New Rome, to our Most Holy Brother Bishop of the Church of Ancient Rome, Pope Francis, to whom we send our greetings and the Kiss of Peace”.
The Lectio Magistralis given by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the award ceremony of the St. Nicholas Ecumenical Prize in Bari this morning opened with this thought full of affection addressed to the “Most Holy Brother” Pope Francis and was met with lengthy applause. Speaking off the cuff, the Patriarch also recalled that the “sixth” and last time he had met with Pope Francis was in Assisi. “We are extremely touched and grateful for the decision to award the prestigious St Nicholas Ecumenical Prize to the Ecumenical Patriarch”, he added, referring to the prize. “On the one hand, we accept it as a gift from God not just for our Modesty, but also as a recognition of the Holy and Great Church martyr of Christ, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the First Throne of the Orthodox Church, which presides over the unity of the Local Autocephalous Orthodox Churches in charity and diakonia. On the other hand, we accept it as a prophetic sign of the unity of all the Holy Churches of God, whose theological journey between our Churches and love, respect and cooperation are one of the fundamental traits”.