Communion between Catholics and Orthodox “must not be a bland uniformity”, says pope
Francis met with a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Rome for the traditional feast of Saints Peter and Paul. In the first millennium, united, Christians cultivated "a variety of theological, spiritual and canonical traditions compatible with the teaching of the apostles and the ecumenical councils.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis met today with an Orthodox delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate who are in Rome to celebrate the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. A Vatican delegation will later travel to Istanbul for the feast of Saint Andrew, patron saint of the Orthodox Patriarchate.
In his address, the pontiff said that he hoped to see full communion between Catholics and Orthodox based on the same truths of faith along with a variety of traditions compatible with the teachings of the apostles and the ecumenical councils.
“The exchange of delegations between the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople on their respective patronal feasts increases our desire for the full restoration of communion between Catholics and Orthodox, of which we already have a foretaste in fraternal encounter, shared prayer and common service to the Gospel.
“In the first millennium, Christians of East and West shared in the same Eucharistic table, preserving together the same truths of faith while cultivating a variety of theological, spiritual and canonical traditions compatible with the teaching of the apostles and the ecumenical councils. That experience is a necessary point of reference and a source of inspiration for our efforts to restore full communion in our own day, a communion that must not be a bland uniformity.
The pope noted that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the visit by Pope Paul VI to the Fanar in July 1965 and the visit of Patriarch Athenagoras in Rome in October of that same year.
“The example of these courageous and farsighted pastors, moved solely by love for Christ and his Church, encourages us to press forward in our journey towards full unity.”
To this effect, Francis mentioned the upcoming meeting in September, in Leros, Greece, of the Coordinating Committee of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.
“It is my hope,” he said, “that the meeting will take place in a spiritual climate of attentiveness to the Lord’s will and in a clear recognition of the journey already being made together by many Catholic and Orthodox faithful in various parts of the world, and that it will prove most fruitful for the future of ecumenical dialogue.
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