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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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CWN - Halki seminary, opened by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1844 and closed by the Turkish government in 1971, remains closed despite calls by President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, and others to reopen it. The seminary educated nearly 1,000 clergy.
Although the Turkish government recently returned 400 acres to the seminary, the Patriarchate’s strategy of relying on foreign pressure rather than taking legal action is a failed one, argues Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a Turkish human rights attorney.
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risu.org.ua - “Reconciliation between our churches will help the Russian and Ukrainian people understand one another. As often happens between neighbors, we have many mutual historical problems, but we cannot build a future without Christian communication. The process of reconciliation will also help overcome Ukrainophobia in Russia and stop the Russification of Ukraine,” Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), said in an interview with KAI (Catholic Information Agency).
Talking about the relationship of the UGCC with the UOC-MP, the head of the church said that until now there has only been informal discussion. “Furthermore, we believe that we are the heirs of the same tradition of the Kyivan Church, that we originate from the same Baptism of Rus’, the 1025th anniversary of which we are celebrating this year,” he said.
Now, according to the head of the UGCC, Greek Catholics seek understanding and reconciliation with the Orthodox to “keep to their roots and bear witness to Christ.”
As for ecumenical cooperation of the UGCC, Patriarch Sviatoslav said that in this respect the testimonies of the UGCC martyrs are important because they were “martyrs for the unity of the church.”
“Our church is a thorn in the side for those who do not seek true unity. My predecessor, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, said that the biggest obstacle to the unity of the church is that not everyone wants it. We feel it is not good when we are separated, in the Catholic Church, and in relations with the Orthodox. Our mission is to remind about our unity,” he continued.
The Primate of the UGCC supported his statement with an example. He said Metropolitan Hilarion, head of the Department for External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, said that the Orthodox Church is interested in forming a strategic alliance with the Catholic Church to come together and bear witness to traditional moral values. However, according to the metropolitan, we have to tolerate each other, work together, but not unite.
“I was recently in Istanbul, where I met with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. I was surprised by his openness and desire to unite our churches. He did not treat us as Uniates that interfere with the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue. We saw the great patriarch and his desire to seek church unity,” said the Patriarch Sviatoslav.
According to the Primate of the UGCC, Greek Catholics should seriously think about how to do the will of Jesus Christ, “so that all may be one.”
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CWN - During a visit to China, Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has been urging government officials to approve the Russian Orthodox Church as a “recognized religion.”
The Beijing government currently recognizes Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, and Catholic and Protestant churches. However the government does not recognize Orthodox Christianity, and insists that Catholic and Protestant churches must be subject to state control.
AsiaNews analyst Nina Achmatova observes that the Russian Patriarch is asking for recognition from the very government officials who have oppressed believers. In Russia the Orthodox Church has traditionally had a close relationship with the government.
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CWN - A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced two Christians-- one Saudi, one Lebanese-- to be flogged and imprisoned for converting a Muslim to Christianity and helping a young woman escape the country.
The young woman, who is now taking refuge in Sweden, has said that she embraced the Christian faith freely and does not wish to return to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia imposes the death penalty on Muslims who convert to another faith.
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CWN - For the embattled Christians of Egypt, “the sharing of daily suffering can become an effective instrument of unity,” Pope Francis said on May 10, as he met with Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II.
The Pope praised the leader of Egypt’s largest Christian body for establishing a National Council of Christian Churches, as a means of strengthening ties among the members of the country’s religious minority. Pope Francis said that it is a “law of Christian life” that sharing in trials will strengthen the Church. “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together,” he said.
The Pope also paid homage to the Christians of Egypt, who trace their roots to the preaching of St. Mark the apostle, and their “inestimable heritage of martyrs, theologians, holy monks, and faithful disciples of Christ, who have borne witness to the Gospel from generation to generation, often in situations of great adversity.”
The meeting between Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros came exactly 40 years after their predecessors, Popes Paul VI and Shenouda III, signed a joint declaration of faith, largely resolving theological disputes that had divided the two faiths for centuries. Pope Francis referred to that agreement as “a milestone on the ecumenical journey,” which had “prepared the ground for a broader dialogue between the Catholic Church and the entire family of Oriental Orthodox churches.”
Pope Tawadros, in his turn, suggested that May 10, the date of that agreement, should be observed annually as a day for joint celebrations by the Catholic and Coptic communities. The Egyptian prelate issued an invitation to Pope Francis to visit his patriarchal church.
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CWN - Church leaders in Syria have not been able to establish the whereabouts of two Orthodox bishops who were kidnapped on April 22, or to understand the motive for the abductions.
“We are groping in the dark,” admitted Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart of Aleppo. The Melkite Catholic archdiocese has been seeking to make contact with the kidnappers—to date, without success. Orthodox Church leaders have remained quiet about the matter, hoping to avoid the spread of false or alarming stories.
Archbishop Jeanbart reports that the continuing civil war in Syria has strained the resources of the people in Aleppo, causing shortages of food, fuel, and other resources. With electrical and internet service breaking down, the only communication with the outside world is by cell phones, he said.