INTERVIEWS ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH IN KATHIMERINI : WE MUST STRIVE FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCHES

We all understand that 1,000 years of division has inflicted a deep wound that cannot be healed easily… We have an obligation, however, to strive to heal the wound,’ Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew tells Kathimerini’s Dora Antoniou and Manolis Kostidis ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Turkey for the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council and to the Phanar.

Dora Antoniou , Manolis Kostidis, ekathimerini

On Friday, November 28, the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council is bringing together Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Nicaea (present-day Iznik). The pope will visit the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Phanar in Istanbul the following day, during which a joint declaration will be signed, and on Sunday, November 30, he will attend the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Church of Saint George. Kathimerini visited the Phanar on the occasion of this historic moment and spoke exclusively with His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

Your holiness, Pope Leo XIV, at your invitation, is making his first trip abroad with a visit to Turkey, in order to join you in Nicaea in honoring the anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council. What are the expectations of this meeting?

It is with great joy that we look forward to welcoming His Holiness Pope Leo XIV of Rome, with whom we have already met and spoken twice, first at the papal enthronement and again a short time after, when we returned to Rome to receive an award for our humble ministry and actions for the protection of the environment. We are pleased that our beloved brother responded to the invitation we had initially extended, back in 2014, to his predecessor, the late Pope Francis – an invitation he had accepted – so that together we might honor the historic 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council and travel together to Nicaea in Bithynia, the site where the Council convened in AD 325. Pope Leo, though only recently ascended to the Apostolic Throne of Rome, accepted the renewed invitation we extended directly after his election. We will, thus, be together at a particularly symbolic moment in Nicaea, after which he will make an official visit to the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the feast of Saint Andrew the First-Called, founder of the Church of Constantinople – just as his predecessors John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis did on that same significant occasion.

The successors of the bodily brothers, the Holy Apostles Peter and Andrew – founders of the Churches of Rome and Constantinople respectively – will, therefore, meet once again, sending a message in every direction of sincere fraternal relations and love, and above all of our unwavering commitment to advancing and further deepening the ongoing official theological dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. Our desire and endeavor is the restoration of the visible unity of Christ’s Church and of communion between us, for which we continually pray.

Could your meeting with the pope in Nicaea serve as a message that the reunification of a divided Christianity is indeed possible?

We all understand that 1,000 years of division has inflicted a deep wound that cannot be healed easily. The distance appears impossible to bridge to some. Yet, if we want to call ourselves good Christians, we cannot forget that our Lord Jesus Christ prayed to His heavenly father for His disciples to remain unified even as He was about to be led to the cross of His martyrdom. This is His will, His command to the people of God, to all who believe in Him, although, regrettably, throughout the centuries we have often failed to live up to His wishes. We have an obligation, however, to strive to heal that wound, mend the injuries, bridge the distances and restore unity – faithful to the teachings of our Lord, unwavering in His commandments, and steadfast in our faith in the Redeemer, never forgetting that “what is impossible with man is possible with God.” We must correct the mistakes of the past, overcome ego and prejudice, and continue along the difficult yet redemptive path of dialogue, with constant and heartfelt prayer, in the hope that the day will soon come when we may celebrate the restoration of unity.

‘More than 60 years since the restoration of communication between us, we will – from Nicaea and from the humble Phanar – declare in all directions and to every person of goodwill that we carry on the dialogue in a spirit of fraternal love’

In this spirit, our forthcoming presence in Nicaea will be an exceptional event in every respect, unquestionably of historic significance. It will not simply be an act of honoring a great anniversary, but will serve as yet another reminder of our shared journey during the first millennium of the undivided Church, but also of our collective responsibility for a common Christian witness in the contemporary world, in the second millennium. Humanity is being tested by wars, conflicts, economic crises and social inequalities. Poverty and social marginalization, in combination with environmental degradation and the climate crisis – that is, the destruction of our shared home, our planet – threaten more and more of our fellow human beings. As Christian shepherds, who pray daily “for the peace of the whole world” and preach love, we bear the great responsibility to articulate a message that is not only timely, but above all, persuasive. But how can we be persuasive and credible if we are not at peace with one another and do not love one another?

That is why Nicaea – where the primates of the ancient Eastern patriarchates, namely Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, have also been invited, along with representatives of other Christian churches and confessions, as well as inter-Christian organizations – will stand witness to our fraternal relations and a source of hope for the future restoration of Christian unity. At the same time, it will serve as a shared witness for the support and spiritual empowerment of humanity against the challenges of our troubled world.

The pope will also pay an official visit to the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. What is the message the two leaders of Christianity seek to convey from the Phanar?

Pope Paul VI was the first primate of the Church of Rome to visit the seat of the Church of Constantinople after many centuries. It was July 1967, and that visit deeply moved our blessed predecessor, the great Patriarch Athenagoras, who rightly described it as being of historic significance. Athenagoras was able to reciprocate the gesture with a visit to Rome a few months later, strengthening the fraternal communication between the two, which had begun in 1964 during their meeting in Jerusalem – the first meeting between East and West after centuries of silence. The path of love initiated by Paul VI and Athenagoras was later continued by their successors, John Paul II and Demetrios, who in 1980 inaugurated the official theological dialogue between our churches, a dialogue that continues to this day.

It is our great pleasure, therefore, to welcome our brother, Pope Leo XIV, to our city, to our Ecumenical Patriarchate, to the center of Orthodoxy. On this day, more than 60 years since the restoration of communication between us, we will – from Nicaea and from the humble Phanar – declare in all directions and to every person of goodwill that we carry on. We carry on the dialogue in a spirit of fraternal love; we move forward in solidarity in the face of contemporary challenges; we share the experiences of our ministry for the support of our fellow human beings who are being tested; and we fervently pray to God for the triumph of love and peace in the world, for an end to wars and for the relief of all who suffer from them – especially children – as well as for the return of refugees to their homes.

How close are we to seeing the reopening of the Halki Theological School, also in light of your recent visit to the United States?

We sincerely hope that the day when our historical seminary will operate once more is not too far away. We are very optimistic. Exploratory discussions have started between the ministry and the Patriarchate regarding its reopening since May 2024, when the minister of national education, His Excellency Yusuf Tekin, visited the school on the directive of the president of the Republic of Turkey, His Excellency [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan. We believe that the constructive dialogue which is under way will be fruitful. The reopening of this historic educational institution – which has given the Church devoted and well-educated clergy of every rank and society, outstanding theologians and teachers – will be a significant moment in the modern history of the Mother Church. We want to hope that the joyous news will come soon from the state authorities and that the reopening of our school will coincide with the completion, within the next few months, of the extensive renovation work that is being carried out with the gracious sponsorship and general support of the honorable archon exarch of the Mother Church, Mr Athanasios Martinos, ecumenical grand benefactor, and his gracious wife, Mrs Marini. We hope and remain optimistic, and at the same time envision a revitalized Theological School, a dynamic educational institution that will contribute greatly to Orthodoxy, as well as to the local community, to the city, to Turkey and to the entire world. And we are profoundly grateful that this just request of ours is supported by many distinguished individuals, as well as by ordinary people of every nationality and faith, here in Turkey and across the world.

Do you feel that something is changing for the better in relations between the Turkish state and the Ecumenical Patriarchate?

Look, even the developments regarding the matter of Halki demonstrate a positive change, in my opinion. Indeed, important steps have been taken in the past two decades to resolve issues affecting the minorities and, among them, the Patriarchate and our community. The climate has most certainly improved, despite the occasional difficulties that may arise. There is a lot more that can be done, of course. One of these issues concerns the recognition of the legal personality of our Ecumenical Patriarchate, the oldest continuously functioning institution in the country, with an immense contribution and one that is intrinsically linked with the history of this land. In any case, we are patient, we hope, we pray, and we remain optimistic about resolving the issues that concern us.