“If Christians are divided, their testimony in the world is opaque”

«The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity calls us every year to renew our common commitment to this great mission, in the awareness that the divisions between us, if they do not certainly prevent the light of Christ from shining, However, they make the face that must reflect it on the world more opaque».

This is the hope expressed by the Pope that in Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls – where, shortly before the celebration, the mosaic portrait of Leo 59th Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Remembering the recent celebration for 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, in İznik, the Pontiff recalled the «2000th anniversary of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus in 2033» and urged: «Let us commit ourselves to further developing ecumenical synodal practices and to mutually communicating what we are, what we do and what we teach», was the Pope’s appeal which, addressed to other Christian leaders, underlined: «We are one! We already are! Let’s recognize it, let’s experience it, let’s manifest it”

The Pope recalled in particular the “courageous Christian testimony of the Armenian people throughout history, a history in which martyrdom has been a constant characteristic”.

Then he also recalled the Christian roots of Europe and hoped that the Gospel will continue to “bear fruit” in this continent: “Tradition gives us the testimony of Armenia as the first Christian nation, with the baptism of King Tiridates in 301 by Saint Gregory the Illuminator. We give thanks for how, through the work of intrepid announcers of the Word that saves, the peoples of Eastern and Western Europe welcomed faith in Jesus Christ; and we pray that the seeds of the Gospel continue to produce fruits of unity, justice and holiness on this Continent, also for the benefit of peace between the peoples and nations of the entire world».

He then recalls that the subsidies were prepared by the Churches in Armenia, an expression of “a courageous Christian testimony of the Armenian people throughout history, a history in which martyrdom has been a constant characteristic”. The Pope invites us to look to the holy Catholicos Saint Nersès Šnorhali “the Gracious”, who worked for the unity of the Church in the 12th century. He was able to understand that the search for unity concerns all the faithful and also contemplates “the healing of memory”: «Saint Nersès can also teach us the attitude that we should adopt in our ecumenical journey, as my venerated predecessor Saint John Paul II recalled: “Christians must have a profound interior conviction that unity is essential not for strategic advantage or political gain, but for the sake of preaching the Gospel”».

Pope Leo thanked the cardinal in his homily Kurt Kock, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, his collaborators, the members of the theological dialogues and other initiatives promoted by the Dicastery. The Pontiff then greeted in particular the Metropolitan of Italy and Exarch of Southern Europe Polykarpos, representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, of the archbishop Khajag Barsamian for the Armenian Apostolic Church of Etchmiadzin at the Holy See, and of the bishop Anthony Ball, director of the Anglican Center in Rome and representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury at the Holy See.

At the beginning of the celebration the Pope paid homage to the tomb of the apostle Paul, together with him Metropolitan Polykarpos, representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, who read the first prayer during vespers and the Anglican bishop Anthony Ball who instead read the second. Also alongside them were Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and Archbishop Flavio Pace, secretary of the same Dicastery.