杏MAP导航

By Lisa Zengarini

Following a long-standing tradition, on the occasion of today鈥檚 Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, patron saint of Constantinople, 杏MAP导航 Francis has sent a delegation to Istanbul to convey his greetings and the assurance of his 鈥渇raternal affection鈥� to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I.

The visit is part of the annual exchange of Delegations between the Holy See and the Patriarchate for their respective patronal feasts, on 29 June in Rome, the Feast of St. Peter and Paul, and on 30 November in Istanbul, Türkiye.

In his message, 杏MAP导航 Francis highlights  listening without condemning as the primary path toward unity between Catholics and Orthodox Christians, expressing his hope that the upcoming celebrations 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea may offer an opportunity to strengthen the fraternal relations they have developed over the past six decades.

60 years of fruitful dialogue

The 杏MAP导航 begins the message by remarking  the significant progress of Catholic - Orthodox dialogue since the promulgation of the Decree 鈥楿nitatis Redintegratio鈥� in 1964 which marked the Catholic Church鈥檚 official entry into the ecumenical movement. 

He notes that one of the first fruits obtained in this dialogue is the 鈥渞enewed fraternity鈥� they experience today  鈥渨ith particular intensity.鈥�

The ultimate goal of full communion

While acknowledging that the full Eucharistic communion envisioned by the Conciliar document has not been achieved yet, because 鈥渄ivisions dating back a millennium, cannot be resolved within a few decades鈥�, the 杏MAP导航 stresses that Christians must not 鈥渓ose sight of that ultimate goal鈥�, nor can they 鈥渓ose hope that this unity can be achieved in the course of history and within a reasonable time鈥�.

A synodal approach to ecumenical dialogue

杏MAP导航 Francis goes on to recall  that the Catholic Church鈥檚 鈥渋rreversible commitment to the path of dialogue鈥�  was  further affirmed by the recent Synod on synodality in which participants, from different backgrounds, were able 鈥渢o listen to each other without judging or condemning鈥�.

This approach, he says,  鈥渟hould also be the manner in which Catholics and Orthodox continue their journey towards unity.鈥�

Christian dialogue as a model for today's divided world

Bringing his message to a close, 杏MAP导航 Francis states that  the upcoming celebration of 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 2025 鈥渨ill strengthen existing bonds and encourage all Churches to offer renewed testimony in today's world."  

He remarks that the "fraternity lived and the witness given鈥� by Christians will also serve as a model for a world "plagued by war and violence." In this spirit, the 杏MAP导航  concludes  by reaffirming his hopes for peace in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, and all regions across the world experiencing  what his has repeatedly called  "piecemeal world war."

The Vatican delegation

The Vatican delegation is headed by Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity who delivered the 杏MAP导航鈥檚 message to H.B Bartholomew  on Saturday at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy held in the patriarchal church of St. George at the Phanar.

The delegation also included two senior officials of the Dicastery鈥擲ecretary Monsignor Flavio Pace, Undersecretary Monsignor Andrea Palmieri, and Apostolic Nuncio to Türkiye. Archbishop Marek Solczy艅ski.