VATICAN - Pope Benedict XVI receives the delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople: “give thanks to the Lord who has granted us to accomplish a new step in the implementation of his will for unity and peace.”

Friday, 30 June 2006

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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) -, On receiving in audience the delegation sent by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on the occasion of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul 29 June in the late morning, Pope Benedict XVI greeted them with the words of Peter "Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours in the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord" (2 Pet 1:1-2)... The Delegation, presided by His Eminence Metropolitan John (Zizioulas), Co-President of the Mixed International Commission for Theological Dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox also included Bishop Kallistos Timothy Ware of Diokleia, assistant to the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain, and the Reverend Archimandrite Dionysius Papavasileiou.
“The fact that the feast of Saints Peter and Paul is celebrated on the same day by both Catholics and Orthodox - the Pope said - evokes our shared Apostolic succession and ecclesial fraternity. I am pleased to recall here how Byzantine hymnography attributes to Saint Peter a title charged with meaning, that of protocoryphaeus, the first in the choir who has the task of maintaining the harmony of the voices, for the glory of God and the service of his people. I am therefore grateful to you who have come to unite your prayer to ours, prompted by our common commitment to continue the journey that leads us step by step to eliminate all dissonance from the choir of the one Church of Christ.”.
After recalling many planned “important occasions of fraternal encounter and dialogue” the Pope said “Spontaneously we find ourselves wanting to pray that the Holy Spirit will enlighten and inflame our hearts, strengthening our common will to respond, insofar as it depends on us, to the Lord’s ardent prayer: "Ut unum sint"; in this way, may the disciples of Christ, united in faith, together proclaim his Gospel to the whole world, so that, believing in him, all will be saved..” Then the Pope said he hoped to be able “to undertake an apostolic pilgrimage to Turkey, a country of ancient and rich culture, a noble country where many holy Fathers of our ecclesial, theological and spiritual tradition spent their lives” for the feast-day of Saint Andrew the brother of Peter. “I am certain that this mutual exchange will strengthen our ecclesial fraternity and facilitate collaboration in our common initiatives.” Benedict XVI concluded saying, “May the Lord help us to move forward with renewed confidence towards the day when we will be able to celebrate together the Holy Eucharist of the Lord, as a sign of full communion.”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 30/6/2006 - righe 31; parole 443)