A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 27 - Tuesday, July 6th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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The Orthodox Christian News Service |
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Bartholomaios I and Pope Meet to Mend Church Split VATICAN CITY (AP) - Sitting side by side on the altar, Pope John Paul II and the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians made passionate appeals Tuesday for unity among all Christians while acknowledging that serious obstacles remain. With Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomaios I of Constantinople saying the joy of the occasion was clouded by “disappointment” over lack of unity, the Pope assured him that Roman Catholics are irrevocably committed to mending the historic rupture between the Eastern and Western branches of Christianity. These efforts “cannot be abandoned,” said the Pope. He urged all Christians to make intensified efforts, what he called “a leap forward.” “The road is certainly not easy or without obstacles,” John Paul declared, holding up well in the two-hour service despite his frail physical condition. Both men insisted their presence on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica was not merely ceremonial but a genuine attempt to mend their split in the 11th century over the growing power of the papacy, with more recent tensions over the expansion of the Catholic Church's reach in the former Soviet Union. Bartholomaios, speaking in Italian (like the Pope), acknowledged it could still take some time to achieve the goal but said there is a “sincere desire to remove obstacles.” The Patriarch, a gold and purple cape over his black robes, sat to the right of John Paul, wearing red vestments, on the flower-filled altar for a Mass on the feast day of St. Peter and St. Paul. Vatican officials said the two men will sign a joint declaration later in the week. A top cardinal, Walter Kasper, suggested the churches might agree to resuming theological talks interrupted three years ago and establish regular contacts. When the Pope met with the Patriarch earlier in the day, the Pope again expressed remorse over “painful episodes of history” that have darkened their relations. “In particular, we cannot forget what happened in the month of April 1204,” the Pope said, referring to the sacking of Constantinople by Crusaders that contributed to the collapse of the Byzantine Empire about three centuries later. “How can we not share, at a distance of eight centuries, the anger and the pain,” the Pope said. The Pope had expressed his remorse before, issuing a sweeping apology during a 2001 visit to Athens that included remorse for the sacking of Constaninople. “We are praying that the Lord of history purifies our memories of every prejudice and resentment and allows us to freely proceed on the road of unity,” John Paul said. The Patriarch's visit to the Pope came 40 years after two of their predecessors–Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagorus– met for a historic embrace in Jerusalem. Eastern Orthodoxy had long been isolated from the Western Church. “That embrace has become a symbol of the hoped-for reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches, as well as a symbol of hope in the path toward full communion among all Christians,” John Paul said. Bartholomaios came to the Vatican in 1995, joining John Paul in an appeal for unity. The Patriarch is called the “first among equals” of the five Eastern Orthodox Church leaders.
During the Mass, the Pope bestowed a pallium–a
band of white wool decorated with black crosses
that symbolizes the bond with the Vatican–on 44
archbishops. |
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