Pope Francis to Orthodox priests: ‘Unity does not come about by standing still’.
Pope Francis meets with a delegation of priests and monks from Eastern Orthodox churches at the Vatican on June 3, 2022. / Vatican MediaPope Francis met at the Vatican on Friday with a delegation of priests and monks from Eastern Orthodox churches.
“Unity is not simply an end in itself, but is closely tied to the fruitfulness of the Christian proclamation: unity is for mission. Jesus prayed for his disciples that they ‘may all be one … so that the world may believe,’” the pope told the Orthodox delegation on June 3.
“At Pentecost, the Church was born as a missionary Church. Today too, the world is waiting, however unconsciously, to hear the Gospel message of charity, freedom and peace. It is a message that we are called to bear witness to with one another, not against one another or apart from one another.”
The Orthodox delegation at Rome included 18 priests and monks from Egypt, Armenia, Lebanon, Syria, India, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.
Among those present were clerics from the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, and many others.
Pope Francis spoke to the delegation about the Solemnity of Pentecost and the gift of Christian unity.
He said that unity is a gift “of the working of the Holy Spirit, to whom we need to open our hearts in trust, so that he can guide us along the path to full communion.”
The pope also noted that “unity is not uniformity,” but rather a “harmony in the diversity of the charisms bestowed by the Spirit.”
The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity invited the Orthodox delegation to the Vatican. Cardinal Kurt Koch, the council’s president, welcomed the group to Rome on May 31.
The delegation will visit the Vatican Secretariat of State, the Congregation for Oriental Churches, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Congregation for Catholic Education, the Pontifical Armenian College, and the Pontifical Maronite College while in Rome.
“Unity does not come about by standing still, but by moving forward with the new energy that the Spirit, from the day of Pentecost, impresses on the disciples,” Pope Francis said.
Citing St. Irenaeus of Lyon, whom the Pope recently proclaimed the patron saint of “Doctor of Unity,” the pope said that the Church is “tõn adelphõn synodía, a caravan of brothers.”
Pope Francis also commended the priests who have preached the Gospel in the face of Christian persecution and violence in their own nations..
“Dear brothers, may the cross of Christ be the compass that directs us on our journey towards full unity. For on that cross Christ, our peace, reconciled us and gathered us into one people,” he said.