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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The Patriarch Visits the PopeOn the feast day of St. Peter and St. Paul, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholmaios I visited Pope John Paul II, ostensibly to establish the groundwork in solving differences between the two Churches. Bartholomaios spoke of a “sincere desire to remove obstacles” between them. The Pope, in response, acknowledged that, “the road is certainly not easy or without obstacles.” The Pope also expressed remorse over what he described as “painful episodes of history...” In particular, he said, “We cannot forget what happened in the Month of April 1204,” referring to the destruction of Constantinople by the Crusaders, that is thought to have contributed to the collapse of the Byzantine Empire three centuries later. We would all welcome the solving of the remaining issues dividing these two Churches. However, one can hardly expect, after so many centuries of being divided that they will somehow solve these differences, even if it means that they will forgo their worldly powers and privileges and somehow unite into one Christian Church. On the other hand, there is no question that this visit strengthens Bartholomaios, as it is coming not long after his near all out war with the Church of Greece that left him weaker than ever before. In that respect, it was indeed a useful trip for His All Holiness, for it proved the Pope continues to recognize him as “first among equals,” among his peers. Meanwhile, it was widely reported that the Turkish government would have announced during President Bush’s trip there the opening of the Theological School of Halki, which has been closed by the Turkish government for 33 years. However, no such announcement has been made so far. Sources tell us that Mr. Bush brought the issue up with his Turkish “friends” but they gave him the usual run around. His visit to Turkey offered him the chance to publicly voice his opposition to the school’s closing, and show, in a concrete way, that he supports issues important to the Greek American community.
Not that many people feel the opening of the
school would make much difference, unless the
Turkish government would allow it to be free and
open to anyone who wished to study there. But at
least, should it open, we could claim some kind of
victory. And that is something. |
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