Vatican City, 30 November 2014 (VIS) – Pope Francis’ final day in Turkey began with a meeting, early in the morning at the Pontifical Representation in Istanbul, of the Chief Rabbi of Turkey, Ishak Haleva. The Jewish community in Turkey, consisting of around 25 thousand people, is numerically the second largest in an Islamic country, following that of Iran. The most substantial Jewish settlement in Turkey dates from the period of the Spanish Inquisition (1492). At the beginning of the nineteenth century there were around 100 thousand, but this figure dropped drastically as a result of emigration to America and Israel. Pope Benedict XVI also met with the Chief Rabbi during his trip to Turkey in 2006. Following the celebration and after listening to the Patriarch’s words, the Pope addressed those present, recalling how as Archbishop of Buenos Aires he had frequently participated in the Divine Liturgy of the city’s Orthodox communities, but “today, the Lord has given me the singular grace to be present in this Patriarchal Church of Saint George for the celebration of the Feast of the holy Apostle Andrew, the first-called, the brother of Saint Peter, and the Patron Saint of the Ecumenical Patriarchate”. He continued, “Meeting each other, seeing each other face to face, exchanging the embrace of peace, and praying for each other, are all essential aspects of our journey towards the restoration of full communion. All of this precedes and always accompanies that other essential aspect of this journey, namely, theological dialogue. An authentic dialogue is, in every case, an encounter between persons with a name, a face, a past, and not merely a meeting of ideas. “This is especially true for us Christians, because for us the truth is the person of Jesus Christ”, observed the Pontiff. “The example of Saint Andrew, who with another disciple accepted the invitation of the Divine Master, ‘Come and see’, and ‘stayed with him that day’, shows us plainly that the Christian life is a personal experience, a transforming encounter with the One who loves us and who wants to save us. In addition, the Christian message is spread thanks to men and women who are in love with Christ, and cannot help but pass on the joy of being loved and saved. Here again, the example of the apostle Andrew is instructive. After following Jesus to his home and spending time with Him, Andrew ‘first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (meaning Christ). He brought him to Jesus’. It is clear, therefore, that not even dialogue among Christians can prescind from this logic of personal encounter”. Therefore, “it is not by chance that the path of reconciliation and peace between Catholics and Orthodox was, in some way, ushered in by an encounter, by an embrace between our venerable predecessors, Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI, which took place fifty years ago in Jerusalem. Your Holiness and I wished to commemorate that moment when we met recently in the same city where our Lord Jesus Christ died and rose. “By happy coincidence, my visit falls a few days after the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of Unitatis Redintegratio, the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Christian Unity. This is a fundamental document which opened new avenues for encounter between Catholics and their brothers and sisters of other Churches and ecclesial communities. In particular, in that Decree the Catholic Church acknowledges that the Orthodox Churches ‘possess true sacraments, above all – by apostolic succession – the priesthood and the Eucharist, whereby they are still joined to us in closest intimacy’. The Decree goes on to state that in order to guard faithfully the fullness of the Christian tradition and to bring to fulfilment the reconciliation of Eastern and Western Christians, it is of the greatest importance to preserve and support the rich patrimony of the Eastern Churches. This regards not only their liturgical and spiritual traditions, but also their canonical disciplines, sanctioned as they are by the Fathers and by Councils, which regulate the lives of these Churches”. The Pope emphasised the importance of reaffirming respect for this principle “as an essential condition, accepted by both, for the restoration of full communion, which does not signify the submission of one to the other, or assimilation. Rather, it means welcoming all the gifts that God has given to each, thus demonstrating to the entire world the great mystery of salvation accomplished by Christ the Lord through the Holy Spirit. I want to assure each one of you here that, to reach the desired goal of full unity, the Catholic Church does not intend to impose any conditions except that of the shared profession of faith. Further, I would add that we are ready to seek together, in light of Scriptural teaching and the experience of the first millennium, the ways in which we can guarantee the needed unity of the Church in the present circumstances. The one thing that the Catholic Church desires, and that I seek as Bishop of Rome, ‘the Church which presides in charity’, is communion with the Orthodox Churches. Such communion will always be the fruit of that love which ‘has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us’, a fraternal love which expresses the spiritual and transcendent bond which unites us as disciples of the Lord”. In today’s world, “voices are being raised which we cannot ignore and which implore our Churches to live deeply our identity as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first of these voices is that of the poor. In the world, there are too many women and men who suffer from severe malnutrition, growing unemployment, the rising numbers of unemployed youth, and from increasing social exclusion. These can give rise to criminal activity and even the recruitment of terrorists. We cannot remain indifferent before the cries of our brothers and sisters. These ask of us not only material assistance – needed in so many circumstances – but above all,our help to defend their dignity as human persons, so that they can find the spiritual energy to become once again protagonists in their own lives. They ask us to fight, in the light of the Gospel, the structural causes of poverty: inequality, the shortage of dignified work and housing, and the denial of their rights as members of society and as workers. As Christians we are called together to eliminate that globalisation of indifference which today seems to reign supreme, while building a new civilisation of love and solidarity”. A second plea, he said, “comes from the victims of the conflicts in so many parts of our world. We hear this resoundingly here, because some neighbouring countries are scarred by an inhumane and brutal war. I think in a particular way of the numerous victims of the grotesque and senseless attack which recently killed and injured so many Muslims who were praying in a Mosque in Kano, Nigeria. Taking away the peace of a people, committing every act of violence – or consenting to such acts – especially when directed against the weakest and defenceless, is a profoundly grave sin against God, since it means showing contempt for the image of God which is in man. The cry of the victims of conflict urges us to move with haste along the path of reconciliation and communion between Catholics and Orthodox. Indeed, how can we credibly proclaim the Gospel of peace which comes from Christ, if there continues to be rivalry and disagreement between us?” A third cry is that of young people. “Today, tragically, there are many young men and women who live without hope, overcome by mistrust and resignation. Many of the young, influenced by the prevailing culture, seek happiness solely in possessing material things and in satisfying their fleeting emotions. New generations will never be able to acquire true wisdom and keep hope alive unless we are able to esteem and transmit the true humanism which comes from the Gospel and from the Church’s age-old experience. It is precisely the young who today implore us to make progress towards full communion. I think for example of the many Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant youth who come together at meetings organised by the Taize community. They do this not because they ignore the differences which still separate us, but because they are able to see beyond them; they are able to embrace what is essential and what already unites us. Pope Francis concluded by addressing Bartholomaios I: “We are already on the way, on the path towards full communion and already we can experience eloquent signs of an authentic, albeit incomplete union. This offers us reassurance and encourages us to continue on this journey. We are certain that along this journey we are helped by the intercession of the Apostle Andrew and his brother Peter, held by tradition to be the founders of the Churches of Constantinople and of Rome. We ask God for the great gift of full unity, and the ability to accept it in our lives. Let us never forget to pray for one another”….
(Vatican Radio) On Friday November 28, Pope Francis touched town in Istanbul on the second day of his Apostolic visit to Turkey where he was greeted by the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew. Philippa Hitchen is accompanying the pope on this journey and filed this report on Friday’s events. Listen:
Pope Francis began his day in Istanbul’s famous Blue Mosque, slipping off his shoes and spending several minutes in silent prayer, his head bowed in the direction of Mecca. It was the same gesture of respect and adoration of the All-Merciful God that Pope Benedict XVI had made exactly eight years ago, but the atmosphere on this occasion was more relaxed and friendly, as the Grand Mufti explained to his guest about the Koranic verses illustrated on the huge stones pillars and the lofty tiled dome. The next stop on the agenda was a tour of the nearby Hagia Sophia, once the most impressive Byzantine basilica in the world, turned into a mosque after the fall of Constantinople in the mid-15th century and then transformed into a museum when Ataturk founded the modern Turkish state. To gaze up at the ancient gilded mosaic of the Virgin and Child, in between giant black and gold medallions bearing the names of Allah and the Prophet Muhammad is a moving reminder of those past centuries of war and conquest, as well as the modern day conflicts exploiting interreligious tensions to threaten the lives of so many people throughout the neighbouring Middle East region. In the afternoon, the Pope celebrated the only public Mass of his three day visit in Istanbul’s Latin Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Holy Spirit, where his predecessors, from Archbishop Angelo Roncalli to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI have also come to worship and to encourage this ancient yet fast dwindling flock. Eager crowds of flag waving, chanting faithful greeted the smiling Pope as he stopped to release two white doves and chat to those gathered in the small courtyard beneath a statue of Pope Benedict XV, that tireless prophet of peace at the time of the First World War. The liturgy reflected the diversity of this tiny Catholic community with ancient chants in Armenian, Chaldean, Syriac, Latin and Turkish, as well as an African hymn sung by some of the more recent immigrants to this country. Surrounded by Patriarch Bartholomew and leaders of all the other Christian communities here, Pope Francis gave a beautiful reflection on the Spirit who creates unity among believers. When we let the Spirit unsettle us to move us out of our comfort zones, turning instead to our brothers and sisters “with that tenderness which warms the heart”, then the Pope said, we have been touched by the Holy Spirit. At the end of his action packed day the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch celebrated Vespers in the Patriarchal church of St George, during which the Holy Father again bowed his head to receive a blessing from the Orthodox leader, with whom he has struck up a remarkably strong friendship. Don’t forget it was the Patriarch who took the unprecedented step of coming to Rome for the inauguration of Francis’ ministry to invite him to Turkey to celebrate the feast of St Andrew on Sunday November 30th. Surrounded by black clad bishops from different parts of the Greek Orthodox world, the Pope spoke of the promise of true peace which Jesus made to his first disciples. Just as the brothers Peter and Andrew were transformed by that promise, Pope Francis said, so today the successors of Peter and Andrew have the grace and the responsibility to walk together as brothers in the hope of the Risen Lord. The Patriarch described the Pope’s visit as “an historical event filled with favourable signs for the future” and on both the ecumenical and interfaith front, I have no doubt that this visit to Turkey will indeed be another significant step on the road towards overcoming past divisions and forging new partnerships between all those who put their trust in God. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew are celebrating the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of St. Andrew at the Church of St. George at the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Sunday is the third and last day of Pope Francis’ apostolic visit to Turkey. Upon conclusion of the Liturgy, the two Church leaders are expected to sign a Joint Declaration. This will be followed by lunch at the Patriarchate. In the early afternoon, before leaving Istanbul at 5pm local time, Pope Francis will meet students of the Salesian Oratory.
Pope Francis began the day Sunday with a private mass at the papal nunciature in Istanbul. Following Mass, he met the Great Rabbi of Turkey, Isak Haleva, head of the 25,000 strong Jewish community in the predominantly Muslim country. Rabbi Haleva previously had met Pope Benedict XVI in Istanbul, during the former pontiff’s pastoral visit to Turkey on 30 November 2006.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis participated in an ecumenical prayer service on Saturday evening with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I. Below, please find the full text of Pope Francis’ remarks on the occasion.
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Your Holiness, my dear Brother,
Each evening brings a mixed feeling of gratitude for the day which is ending and of hope-filled trust as night falls. This evening my heart is full of gratitude to God who allows me to be here in prayer with Your Holiness and with this sister Church after an eventful day during my Apostolic Visit. At the same time my heart awaits the day which we have already begun liturgically: the Feast of the Apostle Saint Andrew, Patron of this Church.
In the words of the prophet Zechariah, the Lord gives us anew in this evening prayer, the foundation that sustains our moving forward from one day to the next, the solid rock upon which we advance together in joy and hope. The foundation rock is the Lord’s promise: “Behold, I will save my people from the countries of the east and from the countries of the west… in faithfulness and in righteousness” (8:7.8).
Yes, my venerable and dear Brother Bartholomew, as I express my heartfelt “thank you” for your fraternal welcome, I sense that our joy is greater because its source is from beyond; it is not in us, not in our commitment, not in our efforts – that are certainly necessary – but in our shared trust in God’s faithfulness which lays the foundation for the reconstruction of his temple that is the Church (cf. Zech 8:9). “For there shall be a sowing of peace” ( Zech 8:12); truly, a sowing of joy. It is the joy and the peace that the world cannot give, but which the Lord Jesus promised to his disciples and, as the Risen One, bestowed upon them in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Andrew and Peter heard this promise; they received this gift. They were blood brothers, yet their encounter with Christ transformed them into brothers in faith and charity. In this joyful evening, at this prayer vigil, I want to emphasize this; they became brothers in hope. What a grace, Your Holiness, to be brothers in the hope of the Risen Lord! What a grace, and what a responsibility, to walk together in this hope, sustained by the intercession of the holy Apostles and brothers, Andrew and Peter! And to know that this shared hope does non deceive us because it is founded, not upon us or our poor efforts, but rather upon God’s faithfulness.
With this joyful hope, filled with gratitude and eager expectation, I extend to Your Holiness and to all present, and to the Church of Constantinople, my warm and fraternal best wishes on the Feast of your holy Patron. And I ask you one favor: to bless me and the Church of Rome.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on the second day of his Apostolic visit to Turkey on Saturday evening participated at an Ecumenical prayer service with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew the 1st at the Patriarchal Church of St George in Istanbul. Follow the service they held a private meeting. Earlier in the afternoon the Holy Father celebrated Mass in the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in the city where he urged Christians to throw off their defensiveness, and move away from their comfort zone and be led by the Holy Spirit.
Vatican Radio’s correspondent Philippa Hitchen is travelling with the Pope and spoke to Lydia O’Kane about some of Saturday’s highlights. Listen
On Sunday, the final day of the Pope’s journey, he will meet with the Chief Rabbi of Turkey and sign a Joint Declaration with Patriarch Bartholomew the 1st.
(from Vatican Radio)…