Posted on 12/02/2019 6:14:12 PM PST by marshmallow
Vatican City, Nov 30, 2019 / 02:07 pm (CNA).- Marking the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, Pope Francis sent a message to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople on Saturday, voicing his desire for full communion between the Catholic and Orthodox.
“It is with great spiritual joy and in profound communion of faith and charity that I join the prayer of the Church of Constantinople in celebrating the feast of its holy patron, the Apostle Andrew, the first-called and brother of the Apostle Peter,” the pope said in his letter.
Each year, the Holy See sends a delegation to Istanbul on Nov. 30, the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, while the Patriarchate of Constantinople sends a delegation to Rome each year on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, celebrated June 29.
Leading the Holy See delegation this year was Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
“Through the delegation, I convey the assurance of the unwavering intention of the Catholic Church, as well as my own, to continue in our commitment to working towards the reestablishment of full communion among the Christians of the East and the West,” Pope Francis said.
He noted that it has been 40 years since the establishment of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, created by Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Dimitrios I, and he thanked all those who have contributed to the commission over the years.
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicnewsagency.com ...
It was only a matter of time.
Why would the Son stand in the way?
Maybe. Do the Orthodox, who are, if nothing, orthodox, really want communion with the Catholic Church while it is headed by a highly UN orthodox pope?
If he wants full communion with the Orthodox, he should do the opposite of everything he has ever done. He seems more interested in full communion with the Soviets.
Q&A website quote:
The essential matter in the filioque clause is a desire to protect the deity of the Holy Spirit. The Bible clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). Those who oppose the filioque clause object because they believe the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son makes the Holy Spirit “subservient” to the Father and Son. Those who uphold the filioque clause believe that the Holy Spirit proceeding from both the Father and the Son does not impact the Spirit being equally God with the Father and the Son.
The filioque clause controversy likely involves an aspect of God’s person that we will never be able to fully grasp. God, who is an infinite being, is ultimately incomprehensible to our finite human minds. The Holy Spirit is God, and He was sent by God as Jesus Christ’s “replacement” here on earth. The question of whether the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father, or by the Father and the Son, likely cannot be decisively answered, nor does it absolutely need to be. The filioque clause will perhaps have to remain a controversy.
indeed. and he forgets that the Soviets went out of business in 1991.
Not if he hasn’t required them to convert to Catholicism first. Then again, Bergoglio needs to do that first.
A lot more than that stands in the way.
Who knows but the communion, I believe, will come.
There's no rush but it will come.
Besides, the Pope is 82 years old. He might not live too much longer.
I sure don’t believe that the Holy Spirit is unequal. But, I’m from the bygone days when He was called the HOLY GHOST.
>> It was only a matter of time.
We’ll see. In the past our Orthodox brothers have been, shall we say, pretty “snotty” about their being the one true line of the faith.
One of the top tennis players in the world is a member of the Serbian Orthodox Church: Novak Djokovic. He has never been known to be snotty about his faith.
He USED to make the Sign of the Cross, starting with the right shoulder, but not so much after all these years.
This is not news.
A legion of heirarchs on both sides have stated this as a goal since the Schism.
How it is executed is another thing entirely.
I know.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.