Christians european Churches” “
Cec All the Christians of Europe join with Catholics in prayers of thanksgiving for the life and witness of John Paul II, said pastor Keith Clements, general secretary of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), an organization that represents 125 Churches of Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic tradition. In his statement Clements recalls the commitment of Wojtyla as believer, then as pastor in Poland and lastly as Pope against totalitarianism and for the freedom and rights of man, the unity of Europe and peace in the world. Clements, without concealing the theological divergences and the difficulties in dialogue between the Churches, recognizes Wojtyla’s support for ecumenism and assures the prayers of all Christians for the conclave that will elect John Paul II’s successor “in the unity of the Holy Spirit”. Constantinople: The “profound grief” of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, for the Pope’s death was expressed with a prayer for “the eternal rest of our brother” Wojtyla. “We express the deep sorrow of the ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople and our own personal grief for the loss of our brother in Christ John Paul II and share in mourning together with our brothers of the Church of Rome, scattered all over the world”. Bartholomew I recalled that the Pope “dreamt of and worked for the restoration of Christian unity”, and “did not spare himself for peace in the world. Courageous personalities like him are lacking in the world today”. Russia John Paul II “left his mark on a whole epoch in the life of the Roman Catholic Church and on the whole of contemporary history”, declares the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia, Alexis II in a message of condolence sent to Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, dean of the Sacred College. The Patriarch emphasises the moral value of the suffering supported by the Pope with such fortitude in the last period of his life, when “in spite of the gravest infirmity he continued to remain faithful to his duty, courageously tending his flock until the last days of his life”. The Russian Orthodox Church will be represented at John Paul II’s funeral by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, who heads the Department of Foreign Relations of the Patriarchate of Moscow and is considered number 2 in the Russian Orthodox hierarchy. “The Pope – said Kirill succeeded in telling contemporary man something very important about the values of the Christian tradition”. Greece The “standard-bearer of freedom and human rights”: that’s how the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Greek-Orthodox Church and Metropolitan of Athens, Archbishop Christodoulos, remembered John Paul II in a brief but heartfelt statement broadcast on the main Greek radio and television stations. In expressing his “profound grief” for the death of the pontiff, Christodoulos declared that it “represented a loss not only for his Church but for the whole of Christianity and for the international community that yearns for peace and justice”. “The Church of Greece wishes to express its deep condolences to the Holy See and to Catholics throughout the world continues the Metropolitan’s message for the death of a great Pope, a great personality of Catholicism who has justly been described as the standard-bearer of freedom and human rights”. Romania A large number of Orthodox faithful in Romania have gone to Catholic churches to light a candle and pray for the Pope. St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Bucharest has especially become an ecumenical place of prayer for the Holy Father. After the news broke of the Pope’s death, the bells of all the churches pealed in mourning and Requiem masses began. The churches have remained open even at night. So reports the Romanian Catholic Church, which followed the last days of the Holy Father with great emotion. Romanian television has transmitted several documentaries about the Pope, as well as comments by theologians, historians and experts in recent days. Germany “With Pope John Paul II, the world has lost a formidable witness of the Gospel”, said Evangelical bishop Wolfgang Huber, chairman of the Council of the German Evangelical Church, who issued a communiqué with the first reaction to the death of John Paul II. “His humanity and his faith have made the Polish Pope an important spiritual guide and moral authority” said Hubner and given to the papacy an “extraordinary popularity even beyond the confines of the Catholic Church”. Huber recalled “with gratitude” his personal meetings with the Pope, including the last one on the occasion of a private audience at Castelgandolfo in August 2004. “The German Evangelical Church is in mourning for Pope John Paul II together with our Catholic sisters and brothers. With his death, the world has become poorer; it has lost a great man. May God grant his soul peace and release him from all the sufferings of his body”. United Kingdom All the religious authorities of the United Kingdom have paid tribute to John Paul II with warmth and sincere appreciation. The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, in a statement issued on the announcement of the Pope’s death, declared: “We remember his life and ministry with thankfulness and hold the church that he led in our thoughts and prayers”. The Anglican bishop of Bristol added: “the great Christian community recognises that John Paul II was an extraordinary leader of the Roman Catholic community in the world and that his loss will be perceived with profound grief. May you be comforted by our prayers in this moment of sorrow”. France The French Bishops’ Conference has published the messages of affection and condolence sent by the French Protestant Federation and Metropolitan Emmanuel, president of the Assembly of Orthodox bishops of France, to the president of the French episcopate, Archbishop Jean-Pierre Ricard. “Pope John Paul II writes pastor Gill Daude on behalf of French Protestants has passed away in and towards the peace of God. United by this profound communion in Christ says the communiqué we share with you in prayer and brotherhood the trial that the pope is going through and with him the whole Catholic community of France and of the world”. “Deeply committed to Christian unity writes Metropolitan Emmanuel the pope tirelessly supported the process of the dialogue of charity with the Orthodox Church and acted to overcome the difficulties that hamper the common path to unity. In this spirit of dialogue and openness, he performed highly symbolic acts that help to heal the memory of painful moments bequeathed by History and to establish a climate of trust, serenity and brotherhood between the Churches”. Taizè “A soul intent on preparing a future of peace”: that is the memory that frère Roger treasures of the Pope. Frère Roger is the founder of the ecumenical community of Taizé that the Pope knew well and esteemed. Indeed he regularly sent a special message to the meeting of European youth held in a different capital of Europe on the initiative of the Community each year. Frère Roger also recalls that he first got to know the Holy Father in 1962, at the Second Vatican Council. “The pope received me in private audience every year and I often had occasion to think of the trials and tribulations of his life; he lost his mother in his infancy, and his father and his only brother in his youth. And I said to myself: seek words to gladden, and also console, his heart by speaking to him of a hope we are discovering in many young people and by assuring him of the trust that our community places in him”.
