At the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Pope Leo XIV arrived on Saturday noon, on his first apostolic journey since his election, in a visit of historical significance and high symbolism, concerning the unity of the Christian world and peace in the mutual strife the planet is experiencing in various places.
The Pope was welcomed at the entrance of the patriarchal Church of Saint George by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The two primates, after lighting a candle together and venerating the holy icon together in the church, where a Doxology was chanted.
Present were, among others, the Patriarch of Alexandria Theodore, hierarchs of the Churches of Constantinople and Rome, the United States Deputy Secretary of State Michael Rigas, the responsible for Religious Diplomacy issues in the European Union, Konstantinos Alexandris, as well as representatives of the diplomatic authorities.
During the Doxology, a prayer was said in various languages for peace and the two primates read together the “Our Father” in the Latin language.
In his speech, the Ecumenical Patriarch, after recalling that according to the liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church, the cleric before his participation in the Divine Eucharist reads a prayer known as the “Kairos”, told the Pope that he came to Nicaea to receive his own “Kairos” for strength and reinforcement, as he begins his ministry with the evident will to serve the Lord’s call for Christian unity, which is necessary more than ever.
For his part, Pope Leo XIV mentioned that from the celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea and inspired by the prayer of Jesus, so that all His disciples may be one, “we are encouraged in our effort to pursue the restoration of full communion among all Christians, a task we undertake with God’s help.”
After the conclusion of the Doxology, the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Pope proceeded to the Throne Room of the Patriarchal House for the signing ceremony of the Joint Declaration. After the signing of the declaration, the presentation of the hierarchs from both sides and the other members of the papal entourage followed, before the two primates withdrew for their private meeting in the patriarchal office.
In the afternoon, the Pope will conduct a mass Divine Liturgy at the “Volkswagen Arena” indoor event space of Constantinople.
