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"Let us work for the unity of Christians", Pope Leo XIV alongside Patriarch Bartholomew at the Divine Liturgy in Istanbul

2025-11-30 12:47:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

"Let us work for the unity of Christians", Pope Leo XIV alongside

Pope Leo XIV visited the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul today, at the invitation of Patriarch Bartholomew, to participate in the Divine Liturgy at the Venerable Patriarchal Church of Saint George.

Over 400 members of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and members of the Episcopate comprised the congregation at the Divine Liturgy on the feast day of Saint Andrew, the founder of the Church of Constantinople.

In his address given at the celebration, Pope Leo noted how this common pilgrimage to the places where the First Ecumenical Synod in the history of the Church took place, in Nicaea, culminates with this solemn Divine Liturgy on the feast of Saint Andrew.

The Pope recalled that according to ancient tradition, the Apostle Andrew brought the Gospel to this city and "his faith is the same as our faith, that is, the one that was defined by the Ecumenical Synods and that is confessed by the Church today."

The Holy Father noted how the ecumenical prayer service has united the Heads of Churches and Representatives of the World's Christian Communities.

Despite the many misunderstandings, past conflicts, and present challenges in achieving full unity, Pope Leo expressed that Christian believers must continue to strive toward unity, continue to consider each other as brothers and sisters, and love one another.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, during his homily for the Divine Liturgy, expressed words of joy for this day on which the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Andrew and welcomed Pope Leo for this fraternal visit.

"As descendants of the two holy Apostles, founders of our respective Churches, we feel bound by bonds of spiritual brotherhood, which compel us to work diligently to give the world the message of salvation. Your blessed visit today, like the exchange of delegations from our Churches on the occasion of our respective throne feasts, cannot be reduced to merely protocol events, but on the contrary, expresses in a very concrete and personal way our deep commitment to the search for Christian unity and our sincere aspiration for the restoration of full ecclesial communion ," said Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

"Let us work for the unity of Christians", Pope Leo XIV alongside

The two spiritual leaders recalled the visits to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of previous Popes, in particular sixty years ago, when Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras solemnly lifted the mutual excommunication of 1054.

Pope Leo said that this historic gesture by their venerable predecessors inaugurated a path of reconciliation, peace, and growing unity between Catholics and Orthodox, which has been fostered through frequent contacts, fraternal meetings, and promising theological dialogue.

And given the significant progress that has been made since then, Pope Leo expressed that today they are even more committed to restoring full unity.

The two leaders also underlined a shared commitment to respond to the call to work for justice, peace, and to show concrete charity and mercy to all people. In particular, they mentioned war-torn areas of the world and how Catholics and Orthodox are called to be peacemakers.

Pope Leo noted that this means acting, making choices, and adopting gestures that build peace, while also acknowledging that peace is not simply the fruit of human efforts, but is a gift from God that we must seek through prayer, penance, meditation, and cultivating a living relationship with God.

Pope Leo expressed to Patriarch Bartholomew his wishes for good health and peace and also expressed his deep gratitude for the warm and fraternal welcome offered. /CNA