Leaders

Published by The National Herald, July 22, 2005

Patriarch Meets with E.U. Leaders, Invites Pope to Constantinople

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople held a series of meetings in Brussels last week. One of the primary topics of discussion was protecting the rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, in light of the beginning of accession negotiations between the European Union and Turkey on October 3.

The European Commission President's Advisor on Religious Issues, Michael Weninger, referred to as meetings of "historic significance." Mr. Weninger attended the Patriarch's working luncheon, together with four European Commissioners on July 12 (European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament President Josep Borrel, among them).

The Commissioners requested information from the Patriarch on the problems facing the Ecumenical Patriarchate and minorities in Turkey. Specific issues discussed included the property rights of minority foundations, and of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, while the arrangement concerning the Ecumenical Patriarchate's legal status was also examined, as was the question of reopening of the Halki School of Theology as an ecclesiastical institution, as it was before the Turkish Government forcibly shut down its operations in 1971.

The patriarch arrived in Brussels at the invitation of Mr. Barroso, accompanied by Metropolitans Meliton of Philadelphia, Panteleimon of Belgium and Emmanuel of France.

The permanent representatives of Greece and Turkey to the European Union hosted dinners in honor of the Patriarch, who also met with the U.S. Ambassador in Brussels, Greek American Tom Korologos.

Bartholomew is also scheduled to attend the Inter-religious Conference, "Islam in a Pluralistic World," to be held in Vienna from November 14-16, at the invitation of Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel.

On the occasion of the announcement of his participation in the upcoming Conference, the Ecumenical Patriarch praised the efforts of the Austrian Chancellor and Austrian Government in favor of the religious freedom of Christian minorities in Turkey.

The Patriarch praised the role of Mr. Schuessel, who will be presiding over the EU in the first half of 2006, "and who supports, in an exemplary way, the safeguarding of the rights of churches, and of religious communities, in EU accession candidate Turkey, as well."

The Patriarch also invited Pope Benedict XVI to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) to attend celebrations for the feastday of St. Andrew the Apostle on November 30.

"We sent our invitation after (the Greek Orthodox) Easter, at the beginning of May," said Dositheos Anagnostopoulos, a Patriarchal spokesman.

Benedict has been relishing his first Papal vacation in the Italian Alps. Pope Benedict XVI has found a few surprises during his first papal vacation, making his first public appearance last Sunday, July 17, since he arrived in Les Combes the week before, blessing some 7,000 people who wound their way up a single lane mountain road to reach the retreat in the shadow of Mount Blanc on Italy's northwest border with France.

Papal Spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the 78-year-old Pontiff has been taking a "true vacation," although Benedict is still doing some work, writing and meeting with some key aides, he added.

Mr. Navarro-Valls confirmed that the new Pope received the Ecumenical Patriarch's invitation to visit Constantinople, but said a possible date for the trip has not been set.

Following the death of John Paul II this past April, Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s 300 million Orthodox worshippers called on the new Pope to pursue the dialogue between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches launched by his late predecessor, John Paul II. John Paul visited Constantinople in 1979, just one year after he was elected Pope, and met with Bartholomew’s predecessor, the late Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios, for the creation of a joint Orthodox-Catholic committee to resolve the differences between the two Churches, which formally interrupted communion with one another in 1054.

The dialogue was suspended in 2000 after a row over the status of Eastern Catholic (Uniate) churches, which practice Byzantine rites, but recognize the authority of the Papacy. At a meeting at the Vatican in July 2004, John Paul II and Bartholomew issued a joint declaration for the resumption of the Orthodox-Catholic theological talks.

The above incorporates information from reports posted by the Athens News Agency (July 15), Agence France Presse (July 12) and the Associated Press (July 17).



Volume 7 Number 30 - Tuesday, July 26th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY