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Published by The National Herald, December 3, 2004

Pope Hopes Return of Relics will Lead to Reunification

By Daniel Williams

VATICAN CITY – Pope John Paul II last Saturday, November 27, handed over the bones of two saints to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, in hopes that the gesture will revive talks over unifying Roman Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity, two major forces in Christendom.

The saints, John Chrysostom and Gregory Nazianzen, are venerated as early Christian leaders by the world’s 250 million Orthodox believers, but the Vatican had held their relics for centuries.

The Pope hopes to unify the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches, divided since 1054.

The restitutions exemplified the doggedness of John Paul II’s efforts to reconcile with the Orthodox, and to continue his mission to forge Pan-Christian unity. Bartholomew, who is Patriarch of Constantinople, had asked for the relics when he visited the Vatican last June.

The two church leaders described the ceremony last Saturday as a step forward in Christian unity. In words read on his behalf by an assistant, the Pontiff described the restitution as a way to "purify our wounded memories" and "strengthen our path to reconciliation." Bartholomew called the return an act of goodwill that repaired an "ecclesiastical injustice" and said the event showed that "no insurmountable problems exist in the Church of Christ."

The Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches have been formally divided since 1054, when Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael Cerularios excommunicated each other. The two Churches had squabbled over rites, the wording of prayers, the use of unleavened bread in the Catholic Eucharist, territory and even the calendar.

Vatican and Orthodox officials said last weekend’s handover would be followed by discussions about bridging divisive issues. Chief among them, from the Orthodox point of view, is suspicion that the Roman Church is trying to proselytize among Eastern believers, especially in Ukraine and Romania. In both countries, several Eastern Church communities (i.e., Uniates) have declared themselves "in communion" with Rome, meaning that they retain their own liturgy and practices but accept the authority of the Pope

The Vatican’s welcome of the Uniate churches is an irritant to many Orthodox leaders. The Papacy regards Uniatism as a breach of the Pope's oft-repeated assertion that Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy are brothers, not competitors.

"In Orthodox terminology, we are stealing their sheep," said Cardinal Walter Kasper, who heads the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Kasper said it was not Roman Catholic policy to lure Orthodox believers, but that the Catholic Church had no choice but to welcome Christians who voluntarily accept Vatican stewardship. "We take seriously the free decision of people to unite with Rome," he said.

Ignatios Sotiriadis, Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece and thereby in charge of questions concerning inter-Christian relations, said that "proselytizing is an old model for unifying the church. Cardinal Kasper’s position is balanced, but we must make sure we live as brothers in fidelity to Christ. There is still a problem of trust."

The last major conference on relations between the two Churches, which took place in Baltimore in 2000, was marred by heated arguments, including a dispute over Uniate churches. Neither Kasper nor Sotiriadis would predict when new meetings of substance might resume.

The ceremony took place in St. Peter’s Basilica, which was packed with Catholic and Orthodox prelates and worshipers. John Paul and Bartholomew sat at the altar above the tomb of St. Peter, the first Pope. The relics, visible inside crystal boxes encased by alabaster grating, lay on tables a few steps below the two Church leaders. Plumed Swiss Guards stood sentinel, and hymns from a male choir echoed through the massive church. Both the Pope and the Patriarch kissed the containers, which Vatican ushers ferried between them.

In Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) later that day, bells rang out in celebration as the saints’ remains were carried in a candlelight procession into the Cathedral of St. George, the Associated Press reported. Kasper had said earlier that he would fly to Constantinope with Bartholomew’s entourage for the ceremony there.

The remains of Gregory Nazianzen were taken to Rome in the 8th Century to safeguard them from a wave of attacks on iconography in Constantinople.

The events surrounding the remains of John Chrysostom are particularly symbolic of the hostilities between the two Churches. His relics were looted by Catholic marauders in 1204 from Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. The Crusaders plundered the city and set Byzantium, the Eastern Orthodox Christian Empire, along the road to decline.

Orthodox Christians regard the conquest of Constantinople as an example of Roman Catholic Church efforts to undermine its religious rival. John Paul apologized for the incident in 2001.

Pope Innocent III had dispatched the Fourth Crusade to free Jerusalem from Muslim control, but monarchical participants conjured up an alternate plan. At the request of Alexios Angelos, a pretender to the Byzantine imperial throne, the Crusaders agreed to attack Constantinople.

Alexios complained that his father, Isaac, was deposed unjustly. In return for being placed in power, Alexios promised cash and submission of the Church of Constantinople to Rome. Venice, the wealthiest city in Europe, supplied ships on credit for the invasion.

At first, the scheme succeeded. Venetian, Frankish and other troops breached the city’s defenses and routed the Byzantine forces. Isaac was enthroned alongside Alexios. But the joint emperors reneged on the pledge to pay off the Venetians. Byzantine rivals in Constantinople then revolted against Isaac and Alexios. The two died in a dungeon.

Venetian leaders of the expedition realized that the only way to obtain the promised financial windfall was to conquer Constantinople outright. It was also an opportunity to crush a primary commercial rival.

Three days of looting climaxed the assault. A Byzantine chronicler described the theft of holy images, destruction of relics, the ripping of jewels from chalices and use of the cups for drunken revelries.

The victors divvied up the massive loot. Among the best-known souvenirs harvested by the Venetians were four bronze horses that still stand atop the door of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. The Crusaders did not bother going onto Jerusalem.

Innocent III was horrified and criticized Papal representatives who abandoned the Holy Land to join in the establishment of the new "Latin order" in Constantinople. Nonetheless, Innocent accepted the outcome.

The Crusaders set up their own kingdom and effectively, if briefly, unified the Eastern and Western churches. Their rule lasted only 60 years, however, until Greek avengers reconquered Constantinople. Roman Catholicism and Greek Orthodox Christianity then resumed their rivalry, their separation hardened by brutal war.

The above article was published in the November 28 issue of the Washington Post. The original headline is "Pope Returns Relics To Orthodox Leader, Vatican Move Is Seen as an Attempt To Revive Talks on Unifying Christianity."



Volume 6 Number 49 - Tuesday, December 7th, 2004	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY