Orthodox representative speaks to Catholic Synod

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 12, 2008 (Zenit.org) - A representative of the Orthodox Church who addressed the world Synod of Bishops spoke of the Bishop of Rome as a sign of unity among Christians.

Archimandrite Ignatios Sotiriadis, fraternal delegate from the Orthodox Church of Greece, spoke Saturday to the synod, which is focusing on the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church.

His address brought more applause than any other intervention in the first week of the synod.

"Your Holiness," he said, "our society is tired and sick. It seeks but does not find! It drinks but its thirst is not quenched. Our society demands of us Christians -- Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Anglicans -- a common witness, a unified voice. Here lies our responsibility as pastors of the Churches in the 21st Century."

"Here," the Orthodox pastor continued, "is the primary mission of the First Bishop of Christianity, of him who presides in charity, and, above all, of a Pope who is Magister Theologiae: to be the visible and paternal sign of unity and to lead under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and according to Sacred Tradition, with wisdom, humility and dynamism, together with all the bishops of the world, fellow successors of the apostles, all humanity to Christ the redeemer."

"This is the profound desire of those who have the painful longing in their heart for the undivided Church, 'Una, Sancta, Catholica et Apostolica,'" he concluded. "But it is also the desire of those who, again today, in a world without Christ, fervently, but also with filial trust and faith, repeat the words of the apostles: 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!'"

Comments

  1. AndrewOctober 13, 2008 at 9:58 PM

    It's an interesting development, unthinkable a few years ago. I think the Holy Father Pope John Paul II's apostolic visit to Greece has changed the whole dynamic of the relationship between the Orthodox Church of Greece and the Catholic Church. I remember the hatred and vitriol of the Greeks before his visit, the protests in the streets and the rather cold response of the Archbishop of Athens the late Christodoulos prior to that.

    But towards the end of the trip, the mood began to change for the better and now the Orthodox Church of Greece seems to have a very cordial relationship with the Church of Rome.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Byzantine, TXOctober 13, 2008 at 11:19 PM

    Those Orthodox blogs that have reposted this article have almost uniformly called it some form of "odd." I expect the wording to swing more polemical with time. :)

    I'll remain hopeful nonetheless.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 14, 2008 at 1:47 PM

    I appreciate that you linked this article, which, in my estimate, was quite moving. I was interested to read that some, in Orthodox circles, thought the address was odd. Why do you believe that, in some Orthodox circles, this delegate's message is viewed to be odd?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Byzantine, TXOctober 14, 2008 at 1:56 PM

    Because it speaks to an affinity and respect for the Latin Church that is seldom visible on a large stage such as this synod.

    The position of the Pope, what it means to be a Pope, how the position would be exercised in a reunified Church, and how such a reunified Church would function are topics of concern for the Orthodox Church. The joint dialogues seek to find those answers, but there is still a reserved distance that this representative stepped beyond in a welcome way.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EP calls different Paschal dates a "scandal"

( Orthodox Times ) - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew extended in his homily his heartfelt wishes to all the non-Orthodox Christians who celebrated the Holy Easter on Sunday, March 31, after presiding over the Sunday Divine Liturgy at the Church of Saint Theodore of the Community of Vlanga. “On this day, the timeless message of the Resurrection resonates more profoundly than ever, as our non-Orthodox Christian brethren and sisters commemorate the resurrection of our Lord from the dead, celebrating Holy Easter. We have already sent our representatives to all the Christian Communities of the confessions here, to extend our heartfelt wishes of the Holy Great Church of Christ and our Patriarchal congratulations. But also from this position we extend a heartfelt greeting of love to all Christians around the world who celebrate Holy Easter today. We beseech the Lord of Glory that the forthcoming Easter celebration next year will not merely be a fortuitous occurrence, but rather the beginning...
Read more

Coptic Church SUSPENDS dialogue with Catholic Church

Image
( OCP ) - Cairo – Egypt: The plenary session of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church was held on March 07.2024, at the Logos Center at the Papal Residence in the Monastery of Saint Anba Bishoy in Wadi Natroun, headed by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, and attended by 110 of its 133 members. His Holiness the Pope delivered a speech at the opening of the session, in which he spoke about the importance of fruit in the life and service of the shepherd through “the parable of the unfruitful fig tree” (Luke 13:6-9). The main committees of the Holy Synod held their annual meetings starting last Monday and for three days, at the papal headquarters in St. Mark’s Cathedral in Abbasiya, to discuss the reports submitted to them by their subcommittees.  It issued its recommendations, which were presented to the members of the Academy in today’s plenary session for approval. The Church announced its opinion on the issue of “homosexuality” through a statement issued by the Holy Synod (to b...
Read more

"Those people in the back" - a quandary

Image
"I am the door. By me if any man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture." - John 10:9 At every parish where I have had the pleasure of attending services, there is always a small group of people who find their way all the way up to the church building but don't actually attend services. At one parish it was a group of male gypsies who talked on cellphones or smoked cigarettes. At another it was a few Protestant husbands who, though they never attended services, opened the parish doors for people as they filed in. At yet another parish the men stood in the narthex and chatted until it was time to receive and then got in line. Latin or Greek Catholic, Eastern or Oriental Orthodox I see the same small throng of men standing next to the front door, but not standing, sitting, or kneeling amongst the people. If it were me (and I can only speak for myself here) this option would be an unsavory one. The boredom would be immediate. The anxiety of som...
Read more