Pope Francis also noted that “it is highly significant that this journey of reconciliation, increasing closeness, and overcoming of obstacles still impeding full visible communion began with an embrace, a gesture that eloquently expresses the mutual recognition of ecclesial fraternity.”
Pope Francis every year sends a message on the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle to the ecumenical patriarch, who is the successor of St. Andrew and the “first among equals” in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
This year the pope expressed his “gratitude” and thanked the patriarch for his attendance at the ecumenical prayer vigil ahead of the opening of October’s Synod on Synodality. In a press release before the event, the Holy See said that the vigil was prepared in order to “emphasize the centrality of prayer in the synodal process, which is a spiritual process” and “underline the articulation between the synodal path and the ecumenical path.”
“Your personal support and that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, expressed also through the participation of a fraternal delegate in the work of the assembly, are a great source of encouragement for the fruitful continuation of the ongoing synodal process in the Catholic Church,” Pope Francis said in his letter.
The prayer vigil was also attended by other religious leaders including Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, Coptic Pope Tawadros II, and Pastor Anne Burghardt of the Lutheran World Federation.
In Instrumentum Laboris, the Vatican’s working document that guided Synod on Synodality discussions, the theme of ecumenism featured prominently.
“Indeed, both synodality and ecumenism are rooted in the baptismal dignity of the entire people of God. Together they invite renewed commitment to the vision of a missionary synodal Church. They are processes of listening and dialogue and invite us to grow in a communion that is not uniformity but unity in legitimate diversity. They highlight the need for a spirit of co-responsibility, since our decisions and actions at different levels affect all members of the body of Christ. They are spiritual processes of repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation in a dialogue of conversion that can lead to a healing of memory,” the document reads.
Francis closed his Nov. 30 letter by writing that both churches are “in service to humanity, especially those affected by poverty, violence, and exploitation.” The Holy Father implored for peace.
“Let us fervently pray to God, our merciful Father, that the clamor of arms, which brings only death and destruction, may cease, and that government and religious leaders may always seek the path of dialogue and reconciliation,” he wrote.
