RESPONSE OF POPE PAUL VI TO
HIS HOLINESS SHENOUDA III

6 May 1973

Beloved Brother in Christ,

It is with joy that we extend to you our heartfelt greetings in the Lord as we welcome you in this great Basilica dedicated to the Apostle Peter, who until his death gave witness to his ardent faith in the Incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, and whom, with Saint Paul, we venerate as the Founder of the Church of Rome.

We greet also your brother bishops, the clergy and the distinguished laymen, worthy representatives of the entire community of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Our greetings go moreover to the two venerable bishops of the Ethiopian Church who form a worthy part of your delegation. Welcome into our home and into our hearts.

It is not only in our own name that we speak. Surrounding us are our brothers in the episcopate and thousands of our Christian priests and laity gathered here at the tomb of the Apostle to honour another great witness to the faith, Athanasius of Alexandria.

On this solemn day the Church of Rome greets the Church of Alexandria in a gesture of brotherly love and peace.

Over sixteen hundred years ago, the great Saint Athanasius was welcomed by our predecessor Julius I, who saw in him a champion of that faith which was being compromised and even denied by people who were stronger than him in political power but weaker in faith and understanding. The Church of Rome supported him steadfastly. He in turn recognized in the Church of the West a secure identity of faith despite differences in vocabulary and in the theological approach to a deeper understanding of the mystery of the Triune God. His successor Peter was to find the same brotherly reception and support from our predecessor Damasus. A half century later, the Churches of Alexandria and Rome, in the person of their bishops Cyril and Celestine, were to serve once more as beacons of light when belief in the God-Man, Jesus Christ, was obscured by those who refused to render to the holy Mother of God her glorious title of “Theotokos”. These are our great Fathers, Doctors of the faith and Pastors of men.

Humbly conscious of our own frailties we look to them to strengthen us now as we seek to fulfil the vocation to which God has called us. For God has truly called us to great things. In a particular way, he wishes us to bring to the world his gift of faith, reconciliation and peace. Men, estranged from him and from each other, are to be reconciled by our humble ministry.

First, however, we must ask ourselves how far we can accomplish this if we Christians are not reconciled with each other. The question is an important one for us. By the grace of God we share with you faith in the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In Jesus Christ we profess the Incarnate Son of God, who for us and for our salvation was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered, died and rose from the dead. Incorporated into him by baptism, we share his divine life in the sacraments of his Church; we share the Apostolic traditions handed down by our common Fathers; our liturgical, theological, spiritual and devotional life are nourished from the same sources, even though they receive various legitimate expressions. We are particularly mindful of the fact that the principles of the spiritual life propounded by the great fathers of the Egyptian desert, beginning with Saint Anthony, have had an influence upon the entire Christian world.

Yet in humility and sorrow we must recognize that in the history of our Churches we have experienced fierce disputes over doctrinal formulae by which our substantial agreement in the reality they were trying to express was overlooked. Methods alien to the Gospel of Christ were at times used by some to try to impose that Gospel. Reasons of a cultural and political order as well as theological ones have been used to justify and even extend a division which should never have taken place. We cannot ignore this sad legacy. We recognize that a great deal must yet be done to overcome its harmful effects. However, we are determined that we will not let it continue to influence our relations.

A new phenomenon is taking place, of which our meeting today gives eloquent testimony. In mutual fidelity to our common Lord, we are rediscovering the many bonds which already bind us together.

In response to the brotherly invitation extended by our venerable predecessor John XXIII, your own predecessor of happy memory Kyrillos VI sent observers to all sessions of the Second Vatican Council. They were able to experience the efforts made by that great assembly to assist the reform and renewal of the Catholic Church. We are happy to greet two of them as they return to this Basilica with you today as bishops of your Church.

In 1968 we shared in the joy of the return of the relics of the Evangelist Saint Mark, from Venice to the venerable Church of Alexandria.

In 1969 we had the pleasure of greeting a large pilgrimage of Coptic Orthodox clergy and lay people; and more recently our own special delegation assisted at the solemn enthronement of Your Holiness as Father and Head of your Church. We recognize in these events signs coming from God. This is the favourable time which the Lord is granting us and we share with Your Holiness the determination to take advantage of it, knowing full well that there are still obstacles of a theological, psychological and institutional order to be overcome. Not denying them, we refuse to be frightened by them. At one time, the Christian world, torn apart by strife and schism, finally was able to recognize in the faith preached by both Damasus of Rome and Peter of Alexandria the genuine Catholic faith.

Trusting in God’s grace and walking in his Spirit, we will strive to overcome the obstacles which still exist, so that once more our Churches can give a common and more perfect witness to the world which has so much need of him.

Venerable Brother, we meet on this solemn and joyful occasion when the Church of Rome celebrates the sixteenth centenary of the death of Saint Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria. He was a man of constant faith, buoyant hope and generous openheartedness, even to those who opposed him. Because he was constant in his faith, he could hope against hope. And when, after bitter exile, God allowed him to return to his flock, he opened his heart to all men, ever seeking that reconciliation and peace which are God’s gifts to us in his Incarnate Son.

May Athanasius, our common Father, intercede for us, that we may be more faithful servants of God in his Church and more effective pastors to those for whose sake Christ has given us the mission of breaking the bread of his Word and of his Body.

(Information Service 22 (1973/IV) pp.6‒7. Reproduced in special issue of Information Service 76 (1991/I) pp.6‒7).