Pope Francis praises dialogue with the Orthodox Church

Pope Francis praised the dialogue with the Orthodox Church as “particularly fruitful”. In a greeting to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I on Saturday, Francis praised the relationship between the two churches: “Catholics and Orthodox must never stop praying and working together in order to prepare ourselves to accept the divine gift of unity.” The path to Unity should be characterized by “listening without condemning”.

Francis cited the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea as another opportunity to grow together. In the year 325, in what is now Iznik, Turkey, the central Christian creed was formulated at the first ecumenical meeting in church history. “The memory of this important event will certainly strengthen the bonds that already exist and encourage all churches to a renewed witness in today’s world,” Francis said. “The lived fraternity and witness of Christians will also be a message for our world plagued by war and violence.”

Vatican delegation in Istanbul

The Pope’s greeting to the honorary head of Orthodox Christians worldwide was read out at the end of a service on the feast day of the Apostle Andrew in Istanbul. A Vatican delegation led by the Vatican’s ecumenical commissioner, Cardinal Kurt Koch, also traveled to the celebration with the patriarch.

Traditionally, representatives of the Vatican also take part in the Orthodox celebrations of St. Andrew’s Day. In return, envoys from the Ecumenical Patriarchate will visit the Catholic celebrations of the feast day of Peter and Paul on June 29 in the Vatican. While the Pope is considered the successor of the Apostle Peter, the Ecumenical Patriarch invokes Peter’s brother, Saint Andrew.