Pope Benedict XVI Sends Message to Ecumenical Patriarch to Mark Patronal Feast
Text of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI's Message to His Holiness, Bartholomew I,
Archbishop of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch, on occasion of the Feast of St.
Andrew To His Holiness Bartholomew I Archbishop of Constantinople, Ecumenical
Patriarch
“Grace to you and peace from God the Father”' (Gal 1: 3)
It
is with deep joy that I address these words of Saint Paul to Your Holiness, the Holy
Synod and all the Orthodox clergy and lay people assembled for the feast of Saint
Andrew, the brother of Saint Peter and, like him, a great apostle and martyr for Christ.
I am pleased to be represented on This festal occasion by a delegation led by my venerable
brother Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian Unity, to whom I am entrusting this message of greetings. My own prayers
join with yours as we plead with the Lord for the well-being and unity of the followers
of Christ throughout the world. I give thanks to God that he has enabled us to
deepen the bonds of mutual love between us, supported by prayer and ever more regular
fraternal contact. In the course of the year that is now drawing to a close, we have
been blessed three times by the presence of Your Holiness in Rome: on the occasion
of your magisterial address at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, which is honoured
to number you among its alumni; at the opening of the Pauline Year on the feast of
Rome’s patron saints, Peter and Paul; and at the Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly
of the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church, held in October on the Word of God
in the Live and Mission of the Church, when you delivered a most thoughtful address. As
a sign of our growing communion and spiritual closeness, the Catholic Church for her
part was represented at the celebrations of the Pauline Year overseen by Your Holiness,
including a symposium and a pilgrimage to the Pauline sites in Asia Minor. These experiences
of encounter and shared prayer contribute to an increase in our commitment to attain
the goal of our ecumenical journey. In this same spirit, Your Holiness has informed
me of the positive outcome of the Synaxis of the Primates and Representatives of the
Orthodox Churches, which took place recently at the Phanar. The hopeful signs which
emerged for inter-Orthodox relations and ecumenical engagement have been welcomed
with joy. I believe and pray that these developments will have a constructive impact
on the official theological dialogue between the Orthodox Churches and the Catholic
Church, and will lead to a resolution of the difficulties experienced in the last
two sessions. As Your Holiness remarked during your address to the Synod of Bishops
of the Catholic Church, the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue
between Catholics and Orthodox is now addressing a crucial issue which, once resolved,
would draw us closer to full communion. On this feast of Saint Andrew, we reflect
with joy and thanksgiving that the relations between us are entering progressively
deeper levels as we renew our commitment to the path of prayer and dialogue. We trust
that our common journey will hasten the arrival of that blessed day when we will praise
God together in a shared celebration of the Eucharist. The inner life of our Churches
and the challenges of our modem world urgently demand this witness of unity among
Christ's disciples. It is with these brotherly sentiments that I extend to Your
Holiness my cordial greetings in the Lord, who assures us of his grace and peace.