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The Delegation of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, consisting of His Excellency Archbishop Job of Telmessos,
co-president of the Joint International Commission for the Theological
Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, His
Grace Bishop Maximos of Melitene, and the Reverend Deacon Vosporios
Magafas, Codex Writer of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, arrived to Rome on 27 June 2019 to participate in the
Thronal Feast of the Church of Rome. On 28 June, they took part in
the conversations with the members of the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity. During the meeting they discussed current
issues of the two Churches as well as future steps of the Joint
International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the
Catholic Churh and the Orthodox Church. The next meeting of the
Coordinating Committee is planned for this coming November at the
Monastery of Bose (Italy) to continue the study of a text entitled
«Primacy and Synodality in the Second Millennium and Today». They were
then received by His Holiness Pope Francis in a private audience, in the
presence of His Eminence Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council
for Promoting Christian Unity, and Monsignor Andrea
Palmieri, Under-Secretary of the Pontifical Council.
At the audience, Archbishop Job of Telmessos read the following
letter from His All-Holiness, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,
addressed to His Holiness Pope Francis:
Your Holiness,
Once again, the light of the feast day of the holy, glorious and
all-praiseworthy Chiefs of the Apostles, Peter and Paul, has dawned.
Therefore, we join in the celebration of our sister Church of Rome, “who
presides in love,” (St. Ignatius, To the Romans) conveying our
fraternal congratulatory wishes to Your Holiness, expressed in person
through our Patriarchal Delegation, which is sent on the occasion of the
Thronal Feast of your Church in accordance with the established blessed
tradition.
Today, the Church of Rome, where the Chiefs of the Apostles have
received the crown of martyrdom, is filled with light. As Saint Gregory
Palamas once said on this feast, “the appearance to us this day of both
these luminaries together brightens the Church, for their meeting
produces a wealth of light, not an eclipse. […] Light is not produced by
one and received by the other in such a way that the latter’s radiance
would vary sometimes depending on the distance between them. Rather,
both share equally in Christ, the everlasting Source of eternal light,
and have attained the same height, glory and radiance. That is why the
coming together of these lights signifies their solidarity and support
for one another, illuminating the souls of the faithful twice over.”
(Homily 28, 4)
The solemnity of today is indeed a synaxis, a gathering, a coming
together inviting our sister Churches to embrace in charity.
Unfortunately, due to various difficulties of our common history, the
light of today’s synaxisis darkened by the fact that our sister Churches
cannot yet share in the common cup of the Eucharistic synaxis.
Nevertheless, the restoration of communion between our Churches remains
our sincere hope, the main object of our prayers and the goal of the
dialogue of truth established between our Churches.
We are delighted that the Joint International Commission for
Theological Dialogue between our Churches, which is now working for
almost forty years, has progressed on a meaningful document on “Primacy
and Synodality in the Second Millennium and Today.” As we are informed,
the Coordinating Committee that met last November at the hospitable
Monastery of Bose fulfilled an important step forward, and we pray that
the future meeting next November will succeed in finalizing a text to be
discussed at the next plenary of the commission. Indeed, reflecting
together on this important topic is essential in order to restore
communion between our Sister Churches.
Our common participation in the Eucharistic synaxis presupposes
that we are progressing together on the same path. In fact, walking
together (synodos) is another image of the Church, or rather, another
definition of the Church. For this reason, synodality derives its origin
from the very depths of the mystery of the Church. It is not merely a
matter of canonical tradition, but of fundamental theological and
ecclesiological truth. Without synodality, the unity of the Church is
severed, the sanctity of its members is reduced to mere individual
morality and articulation about virtue, catholicity is sacrificed in
favor of particular individual, collective, national and other secular
interests or intentions, and the apostolic message falls prey to various
heresies and ruses of human reason.
Your Holiness has repeated on several occasions that the path of
synodality is the way that God expects of the Church in the third
millennium. But as the Ravenna document of the Joint International
Commission for Theological Dialogue underscored, synodality is mutually
interdependent on primacy. This means that synodality must be considered
in the context of primacy, just as primacy must be considered in the
context of synodality. (Ravenna Document, 43)
In times of trouble in the world and within our respective
Churches, reflecting on primacy and synodality is extremely important
not only for restoring communion between our sister Churches, but also
for the stability of our respective Churches. As your illustrious
predecessor in the see of Rome, Pope Benedict, once formulated, “if the
Church in the very depth of her being coincides with the Eucharist, then
the presidency of love carries with it a responsibility for unity,
which has a significance within the Church yet, at the same time, a
responsibility for distinguishing what is Christian as against worldly
society.” (J. Ratzinger, Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith: The Church as
Communion, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2005, p. 233-234)
In this spirit, we were glad to join you last July in Bari with
the heads of the Christian Churches of the Middle East, where we
gathered together to pray and reflect on peace and reconciliation. The
location of Bari, where the relics of Saint Nicholas of Myra, venerated
by both the Catholics and Orthodox, are kept, was certainly a symbol of
this strong desire for unity. And as the Holy and Great Council of the
Orthodox Church underlined, “True peace is not achieved by force of
arms, but only through love that “does not seek its own” (1 Cor 13.5).
The oil of faith must be used to soothe and heal the wounds of others,
not to rekindle new fires of hatred.” (Encyclical, 17)
Your Holiness, dearest Brother Francis, as we celebrate today the
Thronal Feast of the Church of Rome, we reiterate our commitment for
our common advancement on “the coming together” of our Churches. We pray
that internal problems within our respective Churches may neither harm
nor stop this blessed goal. In this sense, may our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ grant you health, strength and perseverance in your primatial
ministry.Conveying to Your Holiness, the venerable Hierarchs and the
Christ-loving faithful of your Church, our warmest greetings, we embrace
you fraternally, and remain with much love and honorin Christ our God,
whom we beseech to strengthen our common efforts and lead us towards
unity.
At the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the twenty-ninth of June, 2019
Your Holiness’ beloved brother in Christ,
+ Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch
His Holiness Pope Francis responded with the following address:
Your Eminence, Dear Brothers in Christ,
I offer a cordial greeting and a warm welcome to you, the
distinguished members of the Delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
whom my beloved brother Bartholomew and the Holy Synod have sent on the
occasion of the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Your
presence manifests the solid bonds existing between the Churches of Rome
and Constantinople, and our common effort to journey towards the
fullness of communion for which we long, in obedience to the clear will
of Jesus (cf. Jn 17:21). The feast of Saints Peter and Paul, which falls
on the same day in the liturgical calendars of East and West, invites
us to renew the charity that generates unity.
At the same time, this feast reminds us of the apostolic courage
of proclamation, which also entails a commitment to respond to the new
challenges of the present time. This, too, is fidelity to the Gospel.
With regard to such concern for today’s situation, I like to think of
the attention given by the Ecumenical Patriarch to the protection of
creation; it has been a source of inspiration for me as well. Given the
alarming ecological crisis that we are experiencing, promoting care for
our common home is not only, for us believers as for all others, a
pressing need that can no longer be deferred, but also a concrete way to
serve our neighbour in the spirit of the Gospel. I likewise see as a
positive sign the cooperation between the Catholic Church and the
Ecumenical Patriarchate concerning other timely questions, such as
efforts to combat modern forms of slavery, the need to accept and
integrate migrants, displaced persons and refugees, and the promotion of
peace at various levels.
Last month, during my pastoral journeys to Bulgaria and Romania, I
had the joy of meeting Patriarchs Neofit and Daniel and their Holy
Synods, and was able to admire the faith and wisdom of those Pastors. On
such occasions, as in my different meetings with my brother Bartholomew
and with other Heads of Churches, I have been able to appreciate the
spiritual richness present in Orthodoxy. I assure you that I left those
countries with a greater desire for communion. I am increasingly
convinced that the restoration of full unity between Catholics and
Orthodox will come about through respect for specific identities and a
harmonious coexistence in legitimate forms of diversity. The Holy
Spirit, for that matter, is the one who creatively awakens a
multiplicity of gifts, harmonizes them and brings them into authentic
unity, which is not uniformity but a symphony of many voices in charity.
As Bishop of Rome I wish to reaffirm that, for us Catholics, the
purpose of dialogue is full communion in legitimate forms of diversity,
not a monotonous levelling, much less absorption.
For this reason, I consider it valuable in our encounters to
share our roots, to rediscover the goodness that the Lord has sown and
made grow in each of us, and to share it, learning from one another and
helping each other not to fear dialogue and concrete collaboration. The
scandal of divisions not fully healed can only be removed by the grace
of God as we journey together, accompanying in prayer each other’s
steps, proclaiming the Gospel in harmony, working to serve those in need
and dialoguing in truth, without allowing ourselves to be conditioned
by past prejudices. Thus, in that sincerity and transparency which the
Lord loves, we will grow closer to one another and come to appreciate
more fully our own identity. We will grow in knowledge and mutual
affection. We will experience the fact that, for all our differences,
there is indeed much more that unites us and inspires us to move forward
together.
Your Eminence, dear Brothers, I thank you for your visit and for
your kind expression of closeness. I ask you to convey my warm fraternal
greetings to His Holiness Bartholomew and to the members of the Holy
Synod. And I ask you also, please, to keep for me a place in your
prayers. May God the Almighty and Merciful, through the intercession of
the Holy Apostles Peter, Paul and Andrew, the brother of Peter, bless
and sustain our efforts on the path to full communion.
The delegation was then received for lunch by His Holiness Pope Francis.
On 29 June the members of the delegation attend the Solemn Mass for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul at Saint Peter’s Square.
