From Nicaea to Jerusalem in 2033. The Joint Declaration that Bartolomeo and Leone signed together is also a step in this direction. In particular they appeal to ensure that religions are not exploited.
“The goal of Christian unity includes the aim of contributing in a fundamental and life-giving way to peace among all peoples,” we read in the Declaration. «Together we fervently raise our voices invoking God’s gift of peace upon our world. Tragically, in many of its regions, conflicts and violence continue to destroy the lives of many people. We appeal to those with civil and political responsibilities to do everything possible to ensure that the tragedy of war ends immediatelyand we ask all people of good will to support our plea.”
And then, in one passage they say: «In particular, we reject any use of religion and the Name of God to justify violence. We believe that authentic interreligious dialogue, far from being a cause of syncretism and confusion, is essential for the coexistence of peoples belonging to different traditions and cultures.”
They are looking together for a possible common date “for Easter, the feast of feasts” and are committed to continuing the dialogue.
The appointment for Jerusalem, whether it is a physical, theological or spiritual journey, it is what the Churches hope for and what Pope Leo strongly hopes for.
Pope Leo XIV with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I
(REUTERS)
Taking up his episcopal motto, “In illo Uno unum”, Prevost, in his speech at the conclusion of the morning meeting, held in the church of Mor Ephrem, had invited the Churches present, «to travel together the spiritual journey that leads to the Jubilee of the Redemption, in 2033, in the perspective of a return to Jerusalem, in the cenacle, the place of the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, where he washed their feet, and the place of Pentecost, a journey that leads to full unity». Underlining the importance of the meeting on the place where the first Ecumenical Council was celebrated, Leone “asked for and assured prayers so that new meetings and moments like the one experienced can be generated, even with those Churches that were unable to be present”, explained the Vatican press office, recalling «the primacy of evangelization and the announcement of the kerygma and remembering how division among Christians is an obstacle to their testimony”.
A closed-door meeting, that of Leone. On his third day in Türkiye the Pope speaks more with silences and closed-door meetings than with gestures.
He entrusts the official words to the homily of the Mass he celebrates in the Wolkswagen Arena sports hall, but, before that, in the brief speech he delivers in the patriarchal church of San Giorgio at the end of the doxology, that is, the praise of God, which sees Leo and Bartholomew together. To the patriarch who remembers his predecessors and the common commitment to “a dialogue of love and brotherhood” which is making progress towards unity, Leone confesses his “great emotion” at being there where Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have also been. It is said certain that «this meeting will also contribute to strengthening the bonds of our friendship, which have already begun to deepen when we saw each other, for the first time, at the beginning of my Ministry as Bishop of Rome, especially during the solemn celebration of the Holy Eucharist, at which Your Holiness was kind enough to be present.”
Prevost who, Bartolomeo underlined, kept his promise Francis – who «fell asleep on the second day of the feast of holidays» – to celebrate the 1,700 years of Nicaea together, he said he was encouraged in the common commitment «to seek the restoration of full communion among all Christians, task that we undertake with the help of God.”
