It began in 1054. Is it finally ending? Patriarch Bartholomew of the Greek Orthodox Church, God bless him, appears to have said Catholic-Orthodox Re-Union is inevitable. Are we witnessing the end of a tragic event? Thoughts? Head of Phanar in Athos persuades monks to unite with Catholics 25 November 2019, 19:12 Elena Konstantinova Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople with the brethren of Athos at the service at the Notre Dame de Saint-Remy Abbey in Rochefort. Photo: Facebook The Patriarch of Constantinople believes that only historical differences rather than dogmas separate Orthodoxy and Catholicism, hence their unity is inevitable. Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople stated that there are only historical rather than dogmatic controversies between Orthodox Christians and Catholics. He said this during his last visit to the Holy Mount Athos. In particular, according to the UOJ sources, during a visit to the Greek monastery Pantokrator, Patriarch Bartholomew, in the presence of the brethren and guests of the monastery, claimed that the unity of the Orthodox Church with Roman Catholics was inevitable. In his opinion, the division that now exists between the Orthodox and Catholics has historical roots but is not in the field of dogma. Patriarch Bartholomew is convinced that Catholics are “exactly the same Christians as we are”. He also emphasized that Pope Francis's gift of holy relics of St. Peter the Apostle is a testimony of good graces of the Catholic Church in relation to the Orthodox Church. The UOJ sources said that during the speech of Patriarch Bartholomew, Archimandrite Gabriel, Abbot of Pantokrator monastery, Archimandrite Alexy, Abbot of Xenophontos monastery, Archimandrite Ephraim, Abbot of Vatopedi monastery, brothers of several monasteries and guests were present. Most of the brethren of monasteries after such words of the head of Phanar were perplexed, but none of those present protested to Patriarch Bartholomew. In addition, some monks, after the words of the head of Phanar that unity with the Catholics is inevitable, cried. According to the eyewitnesses, numerous patriarchal guards did not allow anyone from the brethren to record the speech of Patriarch Bartholomew. Earlier, the UOJ wrote that in Belgium, Patriarch Bartholomew and Abbot of Xenophontos prayed jointly with Catholics.
It's shocking, right, Padraig? But the site and the author seem legit, so I'm hopeful. It says Union of Orthodox Journalists: https://spzh.news/en/author/jelena-konstantinova-1008
Praised be Jesus and Mary.... I hope so! That would be awesome. We need them, and they need us. Another poster expressed hope that this happen, but not under Francis; under a more orthodox Pope.
I pray this is true. Awesome! It's hard to believe anyone would re-unite under Francis pontificate given all the mixed messages and non-sense. But the Holy Spirit works best in impossible situations
I think that the Patriarch of Constantinople is taking a practical view of the situation. Under Turkish law, his successor must be a Turkish citizen by birth and foreign clergymen don't qualify for citizenship or work permits. With a population only about 2,000, the number of clerics eligible for selection must be tiny. They don't even have a seminary in Turkey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodoxy_in_Turkey Added to that, there's a schism between the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches.
I am hesitant to rejoice at this point. You know that it is possible that this news concerns the one-world church, that the Orthodox might join with NewChurch. It remains to be seen. I am cautious.
St. Andrew is the Patron of the See of Constantinople, as St. Peter his brother is the Patron of the Holy See, the See of Peter in Rome. We just kept the feast of St. Andrew yesterday and began his Novena. Whatever we may think about this, we can pray that Constantinople and Rome may be united in the Catholic Faith again. Pope and Patriarch, like brothers St. Peter and St. Andrew, should become brothers again in the True Faith, and in Catholic Communion, Lord willing.
