With warm and symbolically charged words, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew welcomed Pope Leo XIV to the Phanar yesterday, emphasizing that church unity represents an urgent need today. At the center of the meeting was once again the proposal for establishing a common date for Easter celebrations, which the Pontiff openly supported.
The statements by both hierarchs came after the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Cathedral of Saint George in Constantinople, where Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided and Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria concelebrated, in the presence of the Pope. Leo XIV arrived at the Phanar shortly after 10:30, where he was welcomed by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon. With bells ringing festively, the Pontiff proceeded to the cathedral, lit a candle, and together with the Patriarch venerated the relics of the Apostles Peter and Andrew, whose memory was honored yesterday.
The patriarchal divine liturgy was attended by hierarchs, diplomats, representatives of other Christian denominations, and a multitude of faithful. The Greek government was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Yannis Loverdos. In his address, delivered in English, His All-Holiness Bartholomew spoke of the close spiritual kinship between the two Apostles: Andrew, founder of the Church of Constantinople, and Peter, founder of the Church of Rome. He spoke of “bonds of spiritual brotherhood” and the shared, deep commitment of Orthodox and Catholics to build the path toward full ecclesiastical communion – a journey that would not have begun without the lifting of the anathemas of 1054 in 1965 by Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras.
The Ecumenical Patriarch also emphasized the importance of the joint celebration of 1,700 years since the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, which established the criterion for calculating the date of Easter – the first Sunday after the first full moon of the spring equinox. Today, different calculations by Orthodox and Catholics, as well as the use of different calendars, often lead to different celebration dates. This year’s meeting dynamically renewed the discussion for a common Easter, with Bartholomew confirming that both Churches are working toward this direction.
Referring to ongoing wars and the climate crisis, the Patriarch stressed that ecclesiastical unity is imperative “in the times we live in,” while regarding the war in Ukraine he emphasized that “we cannot be complicit in bloodshed.”
Pope Leo also expressed his support for the Constantinople-Rome dialogue, acknowledging that obstacles still exist on the path to full communion, but calling on both sides “not to abandon the struggle” and to continue seeing each other as sister Churches. He praised the role of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in international inter-Christian dialogue and reminded that the Catholic Church, respecting differences, aims for the common communion of all Christians.
Concluding, the Pontiff issued a call to all Churches “to assume the role of peacemaker,” in an era when, as became clear at the Phanar, unity and peace remain goals that can unite the voices of Christianity.
