ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS MAR DINKHA IV TO POPE JOHN PAUL II
11 November 1994
Your Holiness, our beloved brother in the Lord, John Paul II,
most honoured Bishop of Rome
and Pope of the Holy Roman Catholic Church
We greet you today, along with this delegation, comprised of our brothers in the Episcopate, members of the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East, with hearts filled with joy. Our combined personal efforts, and those of the representatives of our two Churches, who have met in joint sessions as brothers in Christ, have at last enabled us, in his name, to come to mutual understanding and respect for the unique expression each of us has traditionally made of the faith we both hold in common. Today the time has come to bring down the walls which have separated us and kept us apart for 15 centuries. Today, the door of opportunity is open and we are bidden to enter and labour together toward the noble goal of unity in the Church, the unity for which our Lord Jesus Christ so fervently prayed, “that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me” (Jn17:21). It is with deep gratitude to God that we now gather to sign a common Christological declaration. This agreement will bring the sons and daughters of our two ancient and honourable traditions closer to one another than at any time in the last 15 centuries.
The Church of Rome and the Church of the East were both established during the first century by the Apostles, one in the West and the other in the East. Each gave birth to generations of believers who were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and their souls were nurtured by the faith the two sister Churches received from the blessed Apostles. Sts Peter and Paul, two illustrious and zealous Apostles, traveled to Rome and there became two strong pillars of the Church of Christ in the West. The vineyard of their labours, which was later nourished with the blood of apostles and martyrs, is today bearing fruit for the benefit of millions of believers in the four corners of the world. In a similar manner, Sts Thomas and Bartholomew from the 12 and Sts Addai and Mari from the 70 arrived in the East as proclaimers of the Good News and founders of the Church of the East in Mesopotamia and all Asia. The Apostolic and Patriarchal See of the Church of the East was founded in Seleucia-Ctesiphon, and the missionaries sent out by this See brought the Gospel to the nations of the far East with such success that in A.D. 1281 Mar Yahb’alaha III (a Mongol by race), became Catholicos-Patriarch of the East. From the earliest beginnings of the Christian faith the Eastern and Asian Churches have kept that faith in the Son of God alive for millions of people in what proved, at times, to be dire circumstances.
Our respective Churches are built upon the same foundation: the apostolic tradition and the Sacred Scriptures. Sharing this common heritage gives the Churches of the East and West a common source of living theology from which to draw as we move toward a more complete unity. The vision of unity between the Churches of the West and East has always been one of considerable power. Achieving reconciliation between our great historical traditions at this time in history will be as remarkable as it is necessary, for faithfulness to our Lord’s will, as expressed in his prayer to the Father, demands it.4
Therefore it is fitting and proper for the Patriarchate of the Assyrian Church of the East, as represented by the holder of that see and its synodically appointed episcopal delegates, having come to Rome to join Your Holiness on this historically important day, to agree on a statement of common faith – a statement providing a foundation of hope and promise for our current and future relationship.
Though 15 centuries have now come and gone since the eruption of the Christological controversies, the desire for ecclesial concord still burns in our hearts and souls. Though our two ancient Churches meet with some differences, yet it is our sincere hope that the statement of faith we sign today will be both a partial realization of past dreams and a significant step toward future cooperation and enhanced ecumenical relations. And how far does this hope extend? Certainly it extends so far as to encompass the “oneness” to which Christ calls all Christians.
This faith agreement will promote a new atmosphere of harmony and understanding between our distinct Churches as they live together and interact throughout the world. The “Decree on Ecumenism” (Unitatis redintegratio), promulgated by the Roman Pontiff, Pope Paul VI, at the Second Vatican Council on 21 November 1964, provides a foundation that, together with the faith agreement, gives us encouragement to continue the process of working toward unity. The witness which will be provided by that sought-after unity is no less than a witness to the love, fidelity, and forgiveness that Christ has revealed and offered to the whole world in his life, death, resurrection, and glorification at the right hand of the Father. We are already achieving significant unity in responding to the triuneGod’s call, freely given through the grace of the Holy Spirit, as today, with one voice, East and West confess as one their historic faith that Jesus Christ is the Father's only-begotten Son, and our Lord, God, and Saviour.
The Roman Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East both face similar social and political challenges to the work of proclaiming the Gospel of Christ in the modem world. Today’s faithful look to both East and West for moral leadership, spiritual guidance, a model and arena of Christian fellowship, and a strong pastoral response to the anxieties and questions encountered in everyday life. United we can give a stronger witness to the continuing mission of Christ to make all things new through the grace of God.
Our work toward unity is a testimony to the virtues of Christian hope in a world where many people have almost lost hope. The light of Christ shines clearly despite the many obstacles which threaten to dim its brightness. Through greater mutual understanding of our distinct theological and liturgical traditions, and appreciation for our differences, accompanied with an untiring effort toward renewal, our two Churches can proclaim the Gospel with a voice more alive and vibrant than would otherwise be possible. Learning from one another through faithful dialogue, and working together to be instruments of God’s loving presence in the world, we can demonstrate to all mankind a spirit of charity and co-operation befitting the Apostolic foundation upon which both our traditions firmly stand. When our ultimate goal of service in obedience to the one Head of his one Church, Jesus Christ, is realized, the benefits will be enjoyed by all the Christian faithful as they unite in a ministry of healing to the world. For “he is the head of the body, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. For in him all fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, making peace through him by the blood of his cross, whether for those on earth or those in heaven” (Col 1:18-20).
With joyful hearts we, with members of the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East, are pleased to greet Your Holiness with the statement of hope and to join in agreement on the faith. May this new understanding between our two venerable Churches add to the foundation of unity already laid with other Christian Churches, and lead us on further along the path toward restoring the Apostolic communion which once existed between the Apostles and their Churches during the earliest generations of Christians. May God the Father grant us wisdom, a spirit of charity, and courage as together we move ahead, striving to do his will as he has revealed it in and through his Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.
With thanksgiving for this day and the promise which it holds – and with prayers for the health and well-being of our most honoured brother, His Holiness, Pope John Paul II – we remember the words of the Psalmist, “How good and how comely for brothers to dwell in unity” (Ps 133:1). How good indeed, and fair in the eyes of God and men when in true humility the servants of Christ give themselves to one another in mutual love and service to the greater glory of the Father who loves them, and the Son who purchased their redemption with his own precious blood, and the Spirit of Holiness who perfects their sanctification by his ever present working. To you our brothers we offer the hand of fellowship and our unfeigned fraternal affection. May God's blessing seal our efforts with success, to whom be everlasting glory, and to the Holy Trinity we commit these our labours toward unity. Amen.