Ecumenical conference with Bartholomew I” “

Diversity of ecclesiastical traditions is no obstacle to Christian unity, said ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I on opening, on 24 November, the annual conference of friendly bishops of the Focolare Movement now underway in Istanbul. The conference is bringing together 52 bishops from 23 countries and various Churches of East and West: Orthodox, Syro-Orthodox, Apostolic Armenians, Anglicans, Evangelicals, Lutherans, and Catholics of various rites. Theme of the conference “Wherever two or more of you are gathered together in my name… A single people in the multiplicity of traditions”. Reflecting on the theme of the conference, the Patriarch spoke of the diversity of human traditions, “in music, in dress, in customs, in education, in professions, in architecture, and in the other arts” and he added: “all these traditions, however different they are, do not hamper the union between men”. The same goes for the religious tradition: “everything that concerns the exterior elements of cult – said the Patriarch -, the ritual order of the liturgy, the architecture of churches, the vestments of the clergy and the like. On all these matters various ecclesiastical traditions exist, but they don’t hamper Christian unity”. It is admittedly true – emphasized Bartholomew – that “differences about the faith alienate the faithful and hamper the construction of a single people of God”. Meanwhile, the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity today published the programme of the visit of the ecumenical Patriarch to Rome for the handing over of the relics of the Patriarch Saints Chrysostom and Gregory of Nazianzen. On the evening of 27 November, the bishops will participate in a ceremony to welcome the arrival of the relics of the Fathers of the undivided Church John Chrysostom and Gregory of Nazianzen, Bishops of Constantinople in the 4th–5th century, handed over by John Paul II in person to Patriarch Bartholomew. On 29 and 30 November the bishops will attend the celebrations for the Feast of St. Andrew Apostle, Founder and Patron of the ecumenical Patriarchate, presided over by Patriarch Bartholomew. A delegation of the Holy See, led by Cardinal Walter Kasper, will also participate in the rite.