Ecumenical Patriarch sends greetings to Pope on 50th anniversary of historic joint declaration
December 07, 2015
Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople sent his greetings to Pope Francis on December 7, marking the 50th anniversary of the day when Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras issued a historic statement lifting the mutual excommunications that had precipitated the schism of 1054.
Cardinal Kurt Koch, the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, met with Pope Francis on December 7. Having recently returned from a visit to Constantinople-- where he led a Vatican delegation joining Patriarch Bartholomew for the feast of St. Andrew, the patron of the Constantinople see-- the cardinal personally delivered the Patriarch's message. The Orthodox prelate also sent a token gift: a photo of himself with the Pope, during the Pontiff's trip to Turkey last year.
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