The primate of the Orthodox Church was invited by the Grand Imam of the
Al Azhar Mosque, Cheikh Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayyib. A strong sign of unity
among Christians
The Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople will be in Cairo on April 28 and 29, upon invitation of
the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Mosque, Cheikh Ahmed Mohamed
el-Tayyib, during the same days of Pope Francis' visits. A significant
presence that unites Christians and their witness of unity as a sign for
peace in the world, during these difficult times with the winds of war
blowing. The Pope of Rome, and the Patriarch of Constantinople will
therefore be next to the Pope of the Coptic Church Tawadros, whose
Christian community was hit and mortally wounded by the attacks carried
by the fundamentalists.
Bartholomew I was invited by el-Tayyib to participate to the
International Conference on Peace, during which Francis and the Grand
Imam are expected to speak. The Orthodox Patriarch had mentioned at the
end of Easter Divine Liturgy about the possibility of traveling to Egypt
as reported by Alberto Negri on the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore
on 16 April. Bartholomew had disclosed a handwritten letter from the
Pope, in which Francis thanked him for his friendship and hoped to see
him again soon. So, the Patriarch added, "The
opportunity could be very close: I have also been invited by the
University of Al Azhar in Cairo and on April 28 I could be with Pope
Francis at that same event”
Sources close to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople confirmed to Vatican Insider
that the decision to accept the invitation has been taken, and that
Bartholomew will be in Cairo. The friendship between the bishops of Rome
and Constantinople, successors of the apostles and brothers Peter and
Andrew, have always been very friendly. Francis and Bartholomew together went to the Holy Land in May 2014 and together prayed in the Holy Sepulcher.
A few days later, the Pope asked for the Patriarch’s presence in the
Vatican gardens during a prayer for peace in the region. The following
November, Francis visited Turkey and participated in the liturgical
celebration of St. Andrew in the patriarchal church of Fanar. A year
ago, in April 2016, Bartholomew invited Francis for a flash visit to
the Greek island of Lesbos, home of a large refugee camp, during what
was the Pope’s first entirely "ecumenical" journey, since Francis always
remained next to the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Orthodox
archbishop of Athens Hyeronimos without any specific celebrations or
meetings aimed at the Catholic community specifically.
The simultaneous presence of the
Pope and the Orthodox Patriarch at the meeting in the great Sunni
university, just a few days after the attacks that have bloodied the
Passover of the Copts in Egypt is thus an eloquent sign of unity and
proximity among Christians of different denominations, while it also
expresses the will to dialogue together with those Muslims who reject
violence and justification of terrorism and massacres in the name of
religion.
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