Pope meets the Delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

June 28, 2012: ‘We raise our voices in the hymn of praise to God for the path of peace and reconciliation that he gives us to travel together’, said Pope Benedict XVI while addressing a delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on Thursday. The delegation has arrived in Rome for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul celebrated on 29 June. They will be present at the Eucharistic celebration presided over by the Holy Father at the Vatican Basilica.

On this joyful occasion of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, patrons of the City and the Church of Rome, I am particularly pleased to welcome you, the Pontiff told the delegates. Your presence here in Rome, on this occasion, offers us a special opportunity to raise our song of praise for the wonders that divine grace, has made in the lives of the two Apostles.

It is their preaching, and sealed by the testimony of martyrdom, and in fidelity to the deposit of faith transmitted by them we find the roots of communion that we already experience between us, the Pontiff added.

Recalling Vatican II, the Pope said that this year marks the 50^th anniversary of the Council, which had some representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as fraternal delegates, who began an important new phase of relations between our Churches.

The Pope also highlighted the path taken in recent years by the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.

The Pontiff also recalled the unforgettable activities of Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras. He along with Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI, animated by the passion for the unity of the Church, became promoters of bold initiatives that paved the way for new relations between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Catholic Church. This is continued today for the 'commitment to proclaiming the Gospel in the contemporary world.

In the context of the traditional exchange of visits between the Church of Rome and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on the occasion of their feasts, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, has sent the delegation.

This exchange of delegations between Rome and Constantinople began in 1969 with a visit to Constantinople by Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, President of the then 'Secretariat for Christian Unity ", the Feast of St. Andrew, patron of the ecumenical Patriarchate.

The delegation consisted of Emmanuel Adamidis, Metropolitan of France and Director of the Office of the Orthodox Church to the European Union; Ilias Katre, Bishop of Philomelion, USA; Deacon Paisios Kokkinakis, Codicografo of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

The Delegation will also meet with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.