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ANKARA: Four Churches Meet in Turkey as Pope Aims for Christian Unit

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  • ANKARA: Four Churches Meet in Turkey as Pope Aims for Christian Unit

    Daily Sabah, Turkey
    Nov 30 2014

    FOUR CHURCHES MEET IN TURKEY AS POPE AIMS FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY


    The spiritual head of the Catholic world, Pope Francis, and the
    ecumenical patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Bartholomew I,
    issue a message of unity from Istanbul and call for an end to the
    millennium-old schism that divides Christianity

    Daily Sabah

    ISTANBUL ' Spiritual leaders from the Catholic and Orthodox Churches
    signed a Common Declaration on Sunday in an attempt to forge stronger
    ties between the two flocks and called for interfaith dialogue.
    Leaders of the Armenian and Assyrian Orthodox Churches of Turkey were
    also present at the joint Mass conducted by Ecumenical Patriarch
    Bartholomew and Roman Catholic Pope Francis.

    The Mass was interpreted by some as cementing efforts to heal the
    1,000-year-old schism between the 300 million followers of Orthodox
    Christianity and the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics. "We cannot
    resign ourselves to a Middle East without Christians," the pope and
    patriarch said in a joint statement, noting that members of the faith
    have lived in the region for 2,000 years.

    Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Istanbul-based
    leader of many of the world's Orthodox Christians, met at the
    Patriarchate in Istanbul as part of the three-day visit of the 77-year
    old pontiff in Turkey. The two leaders emphasized the importance of
    the declaration for "Christian unity and momentous impact on the
    suffering of Christians in the Middle East."

    "We also recognize the importance of promoting a constructive dialogue
    with Islam based on mutual respect and friendship," the joint common
    declaration said. "Inspired by common values and strengthened by
    genuine fraternal sentiments, Muslims and Christians are called to
    work together for the sake of justice, peace and respect for the
    dignity and rights of every person, especially in those regions where
    they once lived for centuries in peaceful coexistence and now
    tragically suffer together the horrors of war."The declaration was
    signed after the Divine Liturgy to commemorate the feast of St. Andrew
    the Apostle on Nov. 30. Along with Pope Francis, Greek Foreign
    Minister Evangelos Venizelos, Turkey's chief rabbi, Itzhak Helava, as
    well as senior figures from other Christian churches attended the
    service celebrated by Bartholomew.

    Bartholomew became the first Orthodox patriarch to ever attend a papal
    inauguration ceremony since the split between the two churches when he
    took part in Pope Francis's inauguration last year at the Vatican. The
    leaders of Catholic and Orthodox Christianity also called for an end
    to the conflict in Ukraine and "respect for international law" in
    resolving the violence. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said there
    was still a way to go before there could be true and total unification
    of the churches, but noted that the pope and patriarch have been
    meeting frequently in an "incredibly friendly, cordial way."

    As part of his interfaith efforts during the trip, Francis also met
    Turkey's chief rabbi on Sunday, after spending time with Muslim
    leaders on Saturday.

    During the second day of his visit, Francis and Bartholomew prayed for
    world peace on Saturday in the Church of St. George. The service took
    place after Francis celebrated a special Mass at the Catholic
    Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in the city's BeyoƄ?lu district.

    In 2006, Pope Francis' predecessor, Benedict XVI visited the same
    mosque during a visit to Turkey.


    http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2014/11/30/four-churches-meet-in-turkey-as-pope-aims-for-christian-unity

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