Messages of unity from the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Pope at the Phanar – Joint Declaration Signed
At midday on Saturday, Pope Leo XIV arrived at the Ecumenical Patriarchate on his first apostolic journey since his election, in a visit of historic and high symbolic significance regarding the unity of the Christian world and peace amid the fratricidal conflicts afflicting various parts of the planet.
The Pope was welcomed at the entrance of the Patriarchal Church of Saint George by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The two primates, after lighting a candle together and venerating the holy icon, entered the church, where a Doxology was chanted.
Present were, among others, His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria, Hierarchs of the Churches of Constantinople and Rome, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Michael Rigas, the European Union’s official responsible for Religious Diplomacy, Konstantinos Alexandris, as well as representatives of diplomatic missions.
During the Doxology, prayers for peace were offered in various languages, and the two primates together read the “Our Father” in Latin.
In his address, the Ecumenical Patriarch, after recalling that according to the liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church, a cleric before participating in the Divine Eucharist recites a prayer known as the “Kairos”, told the Pope that he had come to Nicaea to receive his own “Kairos” for strength and support, as he begins his ministry with a clear will to serve the Lord’s call for Christian unity, which is more necessary now than ever.
For his part, Pope Leo XIV stated that from the celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, and inspired by Jesus’ prayer that all His disciples may be one, “we are encouraged in our effort to pursue the restoration of full communion among all Christians, a work that we undertake with the help of God.”
After the Doxology, the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Pope proceeded to the Throne Room for the signing ceremony of the Joint Declaration. Following the signing of the declaration, the hierarchs on each side and the other members of the papal delegation were presented, before the two primates withdrew for their private meeting in the patriarchal office.
H αναδημοσίευση του παραπάνω άρθρου ή μέρους του επιτρέπεται μόνο αν αναφέρεται ως πηγή το ORTHODOXIANEWSAGENCY.GR με ενεργό σύνδεσμο στην εν λόγω καταχώρηση.
Ακολούθησε το ORTHODOXIANEWSAGENCY.gr στο Google News και μάθε πρώτος όλες τις ειδήσεις.
