Joint Declaration by Pope Leo XIV and Patriarch Bartholomew

On Saturday, 29 November, at the Phanar, after attending a doxology at the Patriarchal Church of St. George, during which he thanked Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for his welcome, Pope Leo XIV signed a Joint Declaration with the Patriarch at the Patriarchal Palace.

Referring to the commemoration of the Council of Nicaea, the declaration emphasises that “the purpose for commemorating this event, however, is not simply to call to mind the historical importance of the Council, but to spur us on to be continuously open to the same Holy Spirit who spoke through Nicaea, as we wrestle with the many challenges of our time”.  The two primates express their ‘shared desire to continue the process of exploring a possible solution for celebrating together the Feast of Feasts every year’

Also mentioning the 60th anniversary of the lifting of the excommunications of 1054, the Pope and the Patriarch encourage the work of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, urging “all the faithful of our Churches, and especially the clergy and theologians, to embrace joyously the fruits that have been achieved thus far, and to labor for their continued increase”.