NAT da Polis

Bilateral issues, starting with terrorism, are at the centre of talks between Gul and Talabani. Pressures are on Turkey to participate in Erbil conference on Kurdish question. Moderate Islamist AKP is seen as a new Ottoman model, reconciling Muslims to parliamentarism and shielding against extremist temptations.

The invitation letters have gone out for the two preparatory meetings that will be held in June and December. Ten topics of discussion. The ecumenical patriarchate has been trying to hold a synod of Orthodox Churches since 1901.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate now expects an acceleration in the common journey toward the long-awaited grand pan-Orthodox synod.

The ecumenical patriarch emphasizes the importance that philosophy has had in Europe since the birth of Christianity. The apostles, contrary to what is said of them, were not uneducated people, as demonstrated for example by the letters of Peter.

The Nativity message of the ecumenical patriarch stresses that "the hopes" of men - including finance - have now been unmasked and humiliated. Young people are also suffering and protesting over the uncertainty of their future. The Church proclaims the only way to dispel the darkness enveloping the planet.

The Turkish foreign ministry and the state bureaucracy are trying to diminish the importance of the patriarchate for all of Orthodoxy. The shortcomings and errors of the report on minorities in Turkey. Putin hopes to visit Bartholomew.

The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople speaks with emotion of the last months of life for the deceased patriarch of Moscow, of reconciliation in the Orthodox world, and of the common mission to the contemporary world. A synod has been convened to decide on sending representatives from Constantinople to the funeral for Alexy II.

On the occasion of the feast of St. Andrew, founder of the Church of Constantinople, the patriarch and Cardinal Kasper reaffirm that the ecumenical journey is a road without alternatives.

The emotions generated by the address he gave to the Synod of Bishops last month are still fresh in the Ecumenical Patriarch’s mind. Currently, he is working on an international symposium in Africa for next year to save “creation”.

The satisfaction of the ecumenical patriarch, who yesterday reiterated the importance of the conclusions of the meeting in Ravenna between Catholics and Orthodox, at which it was affirmed that the interdependence of primacy and collegiality characterizes all levels of the Church's life, local, regional, and universal.

The meeting in Constantinople produced the decision to call a series of preparatory meetings within the next year. In the final document, the economic and social crisis, the religion-science relationship, the family. Positive comments from participants.

Following the example of the apostle Paul, the ecumenical patriarch launches an appeal "to unity" to resolve today's challenges. For the first time, leaders and representatives of the entire Orthodox world are meeting together.