Pope
Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople venerate
the Stone of Unction in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher on May
25.
Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis celebrated and extended the
outreach of their predecessors Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch
Athenagoras yesterday. Meeting at the Apostolic Delegation in the Old
City of Jerusalem, the contemporary heads of the Orthodox and the Roman
Catholic churches commemorated the historic meeting 50 years ago in
Jerusalem between the two leaders of Christianity's diverging branches.
That meeting, in 1964, was the first time an Ecumenical Patriarch and a
Pope assembled in over five hundred years. The historic encounter led to
the Lifting of the Anathemas (December 7, 1965) that had separated the
two churches since 1054.
On this anniversary meeting, Pope Francis and Patriarch
Bartholomew signed a Joint Declaration affirming their commitment to and
anticipation of full sacramental unity in obedience to the commandment
of Jesus Christ that his “disciples may be one.” They also expressed
their profound concern for the plight of Christians in the Middle East
and reaffirmed their fervent commitment to respect and protect God’s
creation. Finally, they underlined the importance of dialogue among the
world’s religions.
"Standing as pilgrims in these holy places," Pope Francis said, "we
also remember in our prayers the entire Middle East, so frequently and
lamentably marked by acts of violence and conflict. Nor do we forget in
our prayers the many other men and women who in various parts of our
world are suffering from war, poverty and hunger, as well as the many
Christians who are persecuted for their faith in the risen Lord. When
Christians of different confessions suffer together, side by side, and
assist one another with fraternal charity, there is born an ecumenism of
suffering, an ecumenism of blood, which proves particularly powerful
not only for those situations in which it occurs, but also, by virtue of
the communion of the saints, for the whole Church as well."
After the Joint Declaration (see below) was signed, the two global
Christian leaders proceeded to the Church of the Resurrection, where
they venerated the Holy Sepulcher, the Tomb of Christ. Following some
private moments in the Cenotaph, they offered an ecumenical prayer of
thanksgiving, which was attended by other local Christian leaders and
faithful from all over the world. In his address, Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew said, "Fifty years ago, two great church leaders, the late
Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, cast out fear; they
cast away from themselves the fear which had prevailed for a millennium,
a fear which had kept the two ancient Churches of the West and East at a
distance from one another. And so here we are with His Holiness Pope
Francis, as their successors, following in their footsteps and honoring
their heroic initiative. We have exchanged an embrace of love, even as
we continue along the path toward full communion with one another in
love and truth in order that the world may believe that no other way
leads to life except the way of love, reconciliation, genuine peace and
fidelity to the Truth."
"Let us receive the special grace of this moment," Pope Francis said.
"We pause in reverent silence before this empty tomb in order to
rediscover the grandeur of our Christian vocation: we are men and women
of resurrection, and not of death. From this place we learn how to live
our lives, the trials of our Churches and of the whole world, in the
light of Easter morning. Every injury, every one of our pains and
sorrows, has been borne on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd who
offered himself in sacrifice and thereby opened the way to eternal life.
His open wounds are the cleft through which the torrent of his mercy is
poured out upon the world. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of
the basis of our hope! Let us not deprive the world of the joyful
message of the resurrection! And let us not be deaf to the powerful
summons to unity which rings out from this very place, in the words of
the One who, risen from the dead, calls all of us 'my brothers' (cf. Mt
28:10; Jn 20:17).
"Clearly we cannot deny the divisions which continue to exist among
us, the disciples of Jesus: this sacred place makes us even more
painfully aware of how tragic they are. And yet, fifty years after the
embrace of those two venerable Fathers, we realize with gratitude and
renewed amazement how it was possible, at the prompting of the Holy
Spirit, to take truly significant steps towards unity," the pope said.
"We know that much distance still needs to be travelled before we attain
that fullness of communion which can also be expressed by sharing the
same Eucharistic table, something we ardently desire; yet our
disagreements must not frighten us and paralyze our progress. We need to
believe that, just as the stone before the tomb was cast aside, so too
every obstacle to our full communion will also be removed.
Pope Francis continued: "Your Holiness, beloved brother, dear
brothers and sisters all, let us put aside the misgivings we have
inherited from the past and open our hearts to the working of the Holy
Spirit, the Spirit of love (cf. Rom 5:5) and of truth (cf. Jn 16:13), in
order to hasten together towards that blessed day when our full
communion will be restored. In making this journey, we feel ourselves
sustained by the prayer which Jesus himself, in this city, on the eve of
his passion, death and resurrection, offered to the Father for his
disciples. It is a prayer which we ourselves in humility never tire to
make our own: 'that they may all be one… that the world may believe' (Jn
17:21)."
The decision to commemorate the 1964 meeting of Paul VI and
Athenagoras was initiated by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew during the
installation of the new Pontiff in March of 2013. This was the first
documented occasion in history that an Ecumenical Patriarch attended the
installation of the Bishop of Rome. During those celebratory days, the
agreement to commemorate this remarkable anniversary was born in their
private meeting. Subsequently, both leaders announced their intention to
meet in Jerusalem to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the
meeting of their predecessors, Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch
Athenagoras.
Joint Declaration by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis
1. Like our venerable predecessors Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical
Patriarch Athenagoras who met here in Jerusalem fifty years ago, we too,
Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, were determined to
meet in the Holy Land "where our common Redeemer, Christ our Lord,
lived, taught, died, rose again, and ascended into Heaven, whence he
sent the Holy Spirit on the infant Church".
[1] Our
meeting, another encounter of the Bishops of the Churches of Rome and
Constantinople founded respectively by the two Brothers the Apostles
Peter and Andrew, is a source of profound spiritual joy for us. It
presents a providential occasion to reflect on the depth and the
authenticity of our existing bonds, themselves the fruit of a
grace-filled journey on which the Lord has guided us since that blessed
day of fifty years ago.
2. Our fraternal encounter today is a new and necessary step on the
journey towards the unity to which only the Holy Spirit can lead us,
that of communion in legitimate diversity. We call to mind with profound
gratitude the steps that the Lord has already enabled us to undertake.
The embrace exchanged between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras
here in Jerusalem, after many centuries of silence, paved the way for a
momentous gesture, the removal from the memory and from the midst of the
Church of the acts of mutual excommunication in 1054. This was followed
by an exchange of visits between the respective Sees of Rome and
Constantinople, by regular correspondence and, later, by the decision
announced by Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Dimitrios, of blessed
memory both, to initiate a theological dialogue of truth between
Catholics and Orthodox. Over these years, God, the source of all peace
and love, has taught us to regard one another as members of the same
Christian family, under one Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and to love
one another, so that we may confess our faith in the same Gospel of
Christ, as received by the Apostles and expressed and transmitted to us
by the Ecumenical Councils and the Church Fathers. While fully aware of
not having reached the goal of full communion, today we confirm our
commitment to continue walking together towards the unity for which
Christ our Lord prayed to the Father so "that all may be one"
(Jn 17:21).
3. Well aware that unity is manifested in love of God and love of
neighbour, we look forward in eager anticipation to the day in which we
will finally partake together in the Eucharistic banquet. As Christians,
we are called to prepare to receive this gift of Eucharistic communion,
according to the teaching of Saint Irenaeus of Lyon
[2] ,
through the confession of the one faith, persevering prayer, inner
conversion, renewal of life and fraternal dialogue. By achieving this
hoped for goal, we will manifest to the world the love of God by which
we are recognized as true disciples of Jesus Christ (cf. Jn 13:35).
4. To this end, the theological dialogue undertaken by the Joint
International Commission offers a fundamental contribution to the search
for full communion among Catholics and Orthodox. Throughout the
subsequent times of Popes John Paul II and Benedict the XVI, and
Patriarch Dimitrios, the progress of our theological encounters has been
substantial. Today we express heartfelt appreciation for the
achievements to date, as well as for the current endeavours. This is no
mere theoretical exercise, but an exercise in truth and love that
demands an ever deeper knowledge of each other's traditions in order to
understand them and to learn from them. Thus we affirm once again that
the theological dialogue does not seek a theological lowest common
denominator on which to reach a compromise, but is rather about
deepening one's grasp of the whole truth that Christ has given to his
Church, a truth that we never cease to understand better as we follow
the Holy Spirit's promptings. Hence, we affirm together that our
faithfulness to the Lord demands fraternal encounter and true dialogue.
Such a common pursuit does not lead us away from the truth; rather,
through an exchange of gifts, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
it will lead us into all truth (cf. Jn 16:13).
5. Yet even as we make this journey towards full communion we already
have the duty to offer common witness to the love of God for all people
by working together in the service of humanity, especially in defending
the dignity of the human person at every stage of life and the sanctity
of family based on marriage, in promoting peace and the common good,
and in responding to the suffering that continues to afflict our world.
We acknowledge that hunger, poverty, illiteracy, the inequitable
distribution of resources must constantly be addressed. It is our duty
to seek to build together a just and humane society in which no-one
feels excluded or emarginated.
6. It is our profound conviction that the future of the human family
depends also on how we safeguard – both prudently and compassionately,
with justice and fairness – the gift of creation that our Creator has
entrusted to us. Therefore, we acknowledge in repentance the wrongful
mistreatment of our planet, which is tantamount to sin before the eyes
of God. We reaffirm our responsibility and obligation to foster a sense
of humility and moderation so that all may feel the need to respect
creation and to safeguard it with care. Together, we pledge our
commitment to raising awareness about the stewardship of creation; we
appeal to all people of goodwill to consider ways of living less
wastefully and more frugally, manifesting less greed and more generosity
for the protection of God's world and the benefit of His people.
7. There is likewise an urgent need for effective and committed
cooperation of Christians in order to safeguard everywhere the right to
express publicly one's faith and to be treated fairly when promoting
that which Christianity continues to offer to contemporary society and
culture. In this regard, we invite all Christians to promote an
authentic dialogue with Judaism, Islam and other religious traditions.
Indifference and mutual ignorance can only lead to mistrust and
unfortunately even conflict.
8. From this holy city of Jerusalem, we express our shared profound
concern for the situation of Christians in the Middle East and for their
right to remain full citizens of their homelands. In trust we turn to
the almighty and merciful God in a prayer for peace in the Holy Land and
in the Middle East in general. We especially pray for the Churches in
Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, which have suffered most grievously due to
recent events. We encourage all parties regardless of their religious
convictions to continue to work for reconciliation and for the just
recognition of peoples' rights. We are persuaded that it is not arms,
but dialogue, pardon and reconciliation that are the only possible means
to achieve peace.
9. In an historical context marked by violence, indifference and
egoism, many men and women today feel that they have lost their
bearings. It is precisely through our common witness to the good news of
the Gospel that we may be able to help the people of our time to
rediscover the way that leads to truth, justice and peace. United in our
intentions, and recalling the example, fifty years ago here in
Jerusalem, of Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, we call upon all
Christians, together with believers of every religious tradition and all
people of good will, to recognize the urgency of the hour that compels
us to seek the reconciliation and unity of the human family, while fully
respecting legitimate differences, for the good of all humanity and of
future generations.
10. In undertaking this shared pilgrimage to the site where our one
same Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and rose again, we humbly
commend to the intercession of the Most Holy and Ever Virgin Mary our
future steps on the path towards the fullness of unity, entrusting to
God's infinite love the entire human family.
" May the Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!" (Num 6:25-26).
