Ping!
Our Archbishop Kyrill of the Orthodox Church in America was personal friends with the Pope since the days they attended college together in Switzerland. Archbishop Kyrill frequently serves at my church, he was there today. He said that Pope John Paul II did more to mend the rifts between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches than any Pope in many centuries. Yes, we prayed for John Paul II. May his memory be eternal!
Consider what Castro would do for the church if the Pope would vigorously protest the US sanstions against Cuba. The same kind of pandering could be used in almost every marginal country on Earth. Think of the corrupt rulers of the UN and what they could continue to get away with if the next Pope sided with Kofi the Klepto against the US. It is unlikely that W will get a replacement Pope as good as John Paul!
Correction. Maybe a mistranslation. Fact is that the Orthodox does does have common Eucharistic communion with Rome. That is a different thing than dialogue.
But, w/o Eucharistic communion, no bishop of Rome may be prayed for at Divine Liturgy. That is just the way it is.
Alot of history here. I hope the phrase "Time heals all wounds" aplies here. But after, what, 500 years I think it will be a very long time.
Relax.
Alexy hasn't played ball, however. It's been frustrating to watch.
But I suppose I hold some hopes that his words here suggest that perhaps a new pontificate will soften his stance.
Yes I'm sure that the average rabbi or mullah is praying for him alright. Just the other day, I heard Hezbullah will not kill any Catholic Lebanese to mark a week of morning for the pope. /sarcasm Welcome to reality. What the leadership says in all these branches (to include Catholicism) does not mean that the people/masses will follow. By the way, when was the last time the Catholic priests in Poland prayed for the soul of an Orthodox Patriach after his death? I'd bet never.
We all have planks in our eyes, try to control your self righteousness.
Or that he so disliked the Holy Father, always steadfast in his faith and beliefs, that the Patriarch refused him outright. I've grown up exposed to both branches of faith, the Orthodox and Roman. I've never really understood the Patriarch's disdain for this Pope, Pope John Paul II (I am aware of the issues that divide them), as other Orthodox leaders have agreed to meet with him, even without any pretense of dialogue or ecumenism. Maybe it has something to do with their Soviet era days.
MOSCOW, April 3 (RIA Novosti) - Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and All Russia has expressed his deep condolences to the world's Roman Catholic community over the death of Pope John Paul II.
As the Russian Patriarch pointed out in a message to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, John Paul II's papacy defined a whole era in the life of the Roman Catholic Church and the global community at large; his personality, his books and ideas made a great impact on the course of history.
Patriarch Alexis II said he was hopeful that in the coming years, the feelings of mutual respect and brotherly Christian love would be restored to the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church. He also said that he was praying to God for the repose of the deceased Pope's soul.
The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church described John Paul II as a person committed to his Christian mission and ministry, with an ardent desire to bear public witness to the Gospel.
Even when gravely ill, the Pope tried to remain close to his flock. The humble way in which he endured all hardship, trusting in God's mercy, offered an inspiring example to many, remarked Alexis II.
Metropolitan Cyril of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, head of the department of exterior church relations in the Moscow Patriarchate, has also forwarded a letter of condolences to Cardinal Ratzinger. According to the Metropolitan, the Russian Orthodox Church shares the Pope's views on many social issues, and is appreciative of his efforts to promote Christian values across the world and to revive the Christian community's role in enhancing spirituality and morality amid today's massive secularization. He expressed hope that Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic ministers would continue the Pope's efforts to reconcile the two Churches and have them put their differences behind them.
No you idjit! It means their was a dialogue which of course can't contiunue with the Pope being that he is now dead so the Orthodox will RENEW their discussions once a new Pope is chosen.