In the sentence for permanent establishment of the celebration of Easter by the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches on the same day, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was mentioned again and addressed those who react to this perspective, emphasizing that this agreement will only concern the question of the day of celebration and not the joint liturgy.

THE Ecumenical Patriarch officiated, on Friday, at the divine liturgy for his feast day Agios Nikolaos in the celebratory feronymous Holy Temple in Jivali, Constantinople, which has been granted for the service of the Ukrainian-speaking community.

In his speech, Patriarch Bartholomew stated, among other things: “We rejoice deeply, because the current Pope has the same dispositions as his immediate predecessors, from Paul VI to Benedict XVI, regarding the great issue of “the union of all things”. , for which our Holy Church prays unceasingly. And as next year the date of the celebration of the feast day, Holy Easter, coincides, good fortune, for Eastern and Western Christianity, we consider that we are given a golden opportunity to reach an agreement with brother Francis on the permanent establishment of the celebration of Easter under the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church on this day and for the following years, indeed in accordance with the Canon of our Church. We are optimistic that the Anglican Church and the other Protestant Confessions will certainly adopt such an agreement”.

Then, His Holiness, taking the opportunity, addressed those Orthodox Christians who react to this perspective by clarifying that:

“The agreement in question will concern exclusively the question of the day of Easter celebration and certainly not a joint liturgy with our brothers of the Roman Catholic Church, which joint liturgy presupposes communion between our two Churches, in which, despite the progress of theological dialogue and the important steps that have been taken, we have not yet arrived. Just as the majority of the Orthodox Churches celebrate the great despotic holiday of Christmas on December 25 every year, the same date as the Roman Catholic Church, just as the Roman Catholic Communities in Greece follow the Orthodox Canon for the determination of Easter, in order to they celebrate together with their Orthodox brothers, as in In Finland, for many years, the date of Easter has been common to all Christians in the country, we propose that this be institutionalized on a pan-Christian level, based on the way Easter is determined by the Orthodox Church. We believe that there is no better way to honor the memory of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, who, among other things, regulated the question of the common celebration of Easter. It is truly sad that 1700 years later we are still debating this issue.”

“It is incomprehensible and unacceptable that today, at the beginning of the 21st century, we continue to live with fanaticism, small-mindedness and prejudices. Our God is a God of love. And if mistakes were still made in the past, this does not mean that we should perpetuate them” added the Ecumenical Patriarch.

Mr. Bartholomew, after reminding that the church of Saint Nicholas in Tzivali, on the shores of the Horned Gulf, has been granted to serve the liturgical needs of the Ukrainian speakers living in Constantinople, prayed for the Russian clergy and laity, who support their wintering Orthodox brothers in Ukraine and they are persecuted and imprisoned because they resist in the inhuman – as he characterized it – policy of the Russian president Vladimir Putin and of his “anti-Christian preaching”. Patriarch of Moscow Kirillou.

Specifically, he stated:

“However, the constant interest of the Mother Church of Constantinople also extends to the faithful and severely tested people of Ukraine, who for almost three years have been experiencing the horror of a terrible war on the part of the Russian Federation. The upcoming Christmas holiday, the day par excellence for the declaration of “peace on earth”, should mobilize everyone for a final end to the war with a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine. We pray unceasingly for the speedy and complete restoration of the health of the injured and for the repose of the souls of the victims and the deafness of their families both in Ukraine and in Russia. Today we address a special request to the celebrated Saint Nicholas and in favor of all those Russian clergy and laity, who support their Orthodox brothers wintering in Ukraine and suffer silent persecution and imprisonment, precisely because they raise their voices against the inhumane policy of the president Putin and the Patriarch’s anti-Christian preaching Kirillou. May their example awaken consciences inside and outside their country.”