Vatican
City, 30 November 2013 (VIS) – Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, is leading a
delegation sent by the Holy See to Istanbul to participate in
celebrations marking the Feast of St. Andrew, patron of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Holy See and the
Patriarchate exchange regular annual visits for the feast days of
their respective patrons – the Saints Peter and Paul, celebrated on
29 June in Rome and St. Andrew, celebration on 30 November in
Istanbul.
The
Holy See delegation to the celebration is made up of Cardinal Koch;
Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity; Fr. Andrea Palmieri, an official of the
same dicastery, and Archbishop Antonio Lucibello, apostolic nuncio to
Turkey. The group attended a solemn divine liturgy celebrated by
Bartholomew I in the patriarchal church of Fanar, then met with the
Patriarch and the synodal commission which oversees relations with
the Catholic Church.
Cardinal
Koch presented a gift and a message from Pope Francis to Bartholomew
I following the divine liturgy. The delegation also visited the Holy
Theological School of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Halki, closed by
the Turkish authorities in 1971 and awaiting permission to reopen.
In
his message, the Pope writes: “Your Holiness, beloved brother in
Christ, this is the first time that I address you on the occasion of
the feast of the Apostle Andrew, the first-called. I take this
opportunity to assure you of my intention to pursue fraternal
relations between the Church of Rome and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
It is for me a source of great reassurance to reflect on the depth
and the authenticity of our existing bonds, the fruit of a
grace-filled journey along which the Lord has guided our Churches
since the historic encounter in Jerusalem between Pope Paul VI and
Patriarch Athenagoras, the fiftieth anniversary of which we will
celebrate shortly. God, the source of all peace and love, has taught
us throughout these years to regard one another as members of the
same family. For indeed we have one Lord and one Saviour. We belong
to him through the gift of the good news of salvation transmitted by
the apostles, through the one baptism in the name of the Holy
Trinity, and through the holy ministry. United in Christ, therefore,
we already experience the joy of authentic brothers in Christ, while
yet fully aware of not having reached the goal of full communion. In
anticipation of the day in which we will finally take part together
in the Eucharistic feast, Christians are duty-bound to prepare to
receive this gift of God through prayer, inner conversion, renewal of
life and fraternal dialogue.
“Our
joy in celebrating the feast of the Apostle Andrew must not make us
turn our gaze from the dramatic situation of the many people who are
suffering due to violence and war, hunger, poverty and grave natural
disasters. I am aware that you are deeply concerned for the situation
of Christians in the Middle East and for their right to remain in
their homelands. Dialogue, pardon and reconciliation are the only
possible means to achieve the resolution of conflict. Let us be
unceasing in our prayer to the all-powerful and merciful God for
peace in this region, and let us continue to work for reconciliation
and the just recognition of peoples’ rights.
“Your
Holiness, the memory of the martyrdom of the apostle Saint Andrew
also makes us think of the many Christians of all the Churches and
Ecclesial Communities who in many parts of the world experience
discrimination and at times pay with their own blood the price of
their profession of faith. We are presently marking the 1700th
anniversary of Constantine’s Edict, which put an end to religious
persecution in the Roman Empire in both East and West, and opened new
channels for the dissemination of the Gospel. Today, as then,
Christians of East and West must give common witness so that,
strengthened by the Spirit of the risen Christ, they may disseminate
the message of salvation to the entire world. There is likewise an
urgent need for effective and committed cooperation among Christians
in order to safeguard everywhere the right to express publicly one’s
faith and to be treated fairly when promoting the contribution which
Christianity continues to offer to contemporary society and culture”,
the Pope concluded.
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