Posted on 03/15/2013 6:28:31 PM PDT by marshmallow
The metropolitans of Argentina and Italy will accompany Bartholomew. Moscow Patriarchate hopes in closer cooperation with Rome but excludes for now a meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill.
Istanbul (AsiaNews) - The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I will attend Pope Francis's inaugural Mass. The Ecumenical Patriarchate Press Office informed AsiaNews about the decision, noting that this is the first time such an event occurs since the Catholic-Orthodox split in 1054, an important sign for Christian unity.
The ecumenical patriarch will be accompanied by Ioannis Zizioulas, metropolitan of Pergamon and co-president of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Church, as well as Tarassios, Orthodox Metropolitan of Argentina, and Gennadios, Orthodox Metropolitan of Italy.
Relations between Catholics and Orthodox have been improving since the Second Vatican Council through mutual visits, acts of friendship and theological dialogue.
Under Benedict XVI, the dialogue picked up in earnest after a lull. In trying to promote it, the pope suggested ways to express the primacy of Peter's successor that could be acceptable to the Orthodox, finding his inspiration from the undivided Church of the first millennium.
Catholic ecumenism has met however with great resistance from the Russian Orthodox Church and the Moscow Patriarchate, seat of the 'Third Rome'.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church's Department for External Relations, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, said on Thursday that a meeting between the pope and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow was "possible but the place and timing will depend on how quickly we will overcome the consequences of the conflicts from the turn of 1980s and 1990s".
(Excerpt) Read more at asianews.it ...
Glad this is happening. Christians who follow the teachings of Jesus need to stand together now more than ever.
I have respect for the Serb Orthodox Christians. They have been in the breech between the Christian and Muslim world for centuries. Since WWII the Serbs have been vilified, in my opinion, without basis.
The Serbs I have known in the US and have talked to abroad have always seemed genuine, warm, honest, hard working and smart.
I am not Catholic, but respect all legitimate followers of Christ.
I pray this leads to an honest unification of purpose of believers. Caution is always in order, trust must be earned among men.
God protect his children, God Bless the U.S., God Bless Texas, God Bless your family and mine.
I think the light is finally dawning on all Orthodox that the most divisive arguments amongst them are nothing compared to the real hostility directed against all of them in the world.
March 15, 2013 According to Interfax-Religion, prominent MP ecumenist (and second in charge), Met. Hilarion (Alfeyev) will lead the delegation of MP clergy to celebrate the installation of the new Pope Francis.
Met. Hilarion (Alfeyev), has long been known for his promotion of inter-confessional union, and for his longtime association with the previous Pope. The eagerness with which previous delegations of Moscow Patriarchate clergy wished to kiss the Pope’s hand, as well as the official policy of the Moscow Patriarchate to give communion to Roman Catholic laity (in certain circumstances that don’t involve those laity renouncing their previous theology), have become well-known as time continues.
The call from Moscow Patriarchate hierarchs for close unity with the Roman Catholic Church has certainly been heeded by their own clergy. In all of this, one wonders if the hierarchs of the ROCOR-MP, will join in with their patriarch’s and other fellow hierarchs great endorsement of the Roman Papal system. Or will they issue their own statements distancing themselves from the pronouncements of the Patriarch and his second in command, Met. Hilarion (Alfeyev)? With recent insistence from well-known ROCOR-MP clergy that the Roman Catholic Church possessing true Sacraments that are beneficial, and therefore must be part of the Church (which statements, of course, are a complete misunderstanding of even the widespread Augustinian position held by Russian Orthodox in the 18th and 19th century), we wonder how long the ROCOR-MP can hold out?
This is a good sign! Yes, Christians need to stand together as one in the body of Christ in these hard times.
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