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Pope Benedict XVI- Addresses |
 Pope's
Address to Patriarch Bartholomew I
"Great Joy to Be Among You, My Brothers in Christ"
H.H. Benedict XVI
November 29, 2006
www.zenit.org
"Behold, how good and pleasant it
is when brothers dwell in unity" (Ps 133:1)
Your Holiness,
I am deeply grateful for the fraternal welcome extended to me by you
personally, and by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. I
will treasure its memory forever. I thank the Lord for the grace of
this encounter, so filled with authentic goodwill and ecclesial
significance.
It gives me great joy to be among you, my brothers in Christ, in
this Cathedral Church, as we pray together to the Lord and call to
mind the momentous events that have sustained our commitment to work
for the full unity of Catholics and Orthodox. I wish above all to
recall the courageous decision to remove the memory of the anathemas
of 1054. The joint declaration of Pope Paul VI and Patriarch
Athenagoras, written in a spirit of rediscovered love, was solemnly
read in a celebration held simultaneously in Saint Peter's Basilica
in Rome and in this Patriarchal Cathedral. The Tomos of the
Patriarch was based on the Johannine profession of faith: "Ho Theós
agapé estin" (1 Jn 4:9), Deus caritas est! In perfect agreement,
Pope Paul VI chose to begin his own Brief with the Pauline
exhortation: "Ambulate in dilectione" (Eph 5:2), "Walk in love." It
is on this foundation of mutual love that new relations between the
Churches of Rome and Constantinople have developed.
Signs of this love have been evident in numerous declarations of
shared commitment and many meaningful gestures. Both Pope Paul VI
and Pope John Paul II were warmly received as visitors in this
Church of Saint George, and joined respectively with Patriarchs
Athenagoras I and Dimitrios I in strengthening the impetus towards
mutual understanding and the quest of full unity. May their names be
honored and blessed!
I also rejoice to be in this land so closely connected to the
Christian faith, where many Churches flourished in ancient times. I
think of Saint Peter's exhortations to the early Christian
communities "in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" (1
Pet 1:1), and the rich harvest of martyrs, theologians, pastors,
monastics, and holy men and women which those Churches brought forth
over the centuries.
I likewise recall the outstanding saints and pastors who have
watched over the See of Constantinople, among them Saint Gregory of
Nazianzus and Saint John Chrysostom, whom the West also honors as
Doctors of the Church. Their relics rest in the Basilica of Saint
Peter in the Vatican, and a part of them were given to Your Holiness
as a sign of communion by the late Pope John Paul II for veneration
in this very Cathedral. Truly, they are worthy intercessors for us
before the Lord.
In this part of the Eastern world were also held the seven
Ecumenical Councils which Orthodox and Catholics alike acknowledge
as authoritative for the faith and discipline of the Church. They
are enduring milestones and guides along our path towards full
unity.
I conclude by expressing once more my joy to be with you. May this
meeting strengthen our mutual affection and renew our common
commitment to persevere on the journey leading to reconciliation and
the peace of the Churches.
I greet you in the love of Christ. May the Lord be always with you.
[Text issued by the Holy See]
© Copyright 2006 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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