Josef Homeyer, bishop emeritus of Hildesheim, has received the Edith Stein Prize of the city of Göttingen for his services in Eastern Europe. The prize was presented to him at Göttingen on 6 November. As emphasized by Serafim Romuln Joantá, Metropolitan of the Romanian-Orthodox Metropolitanate for Germany and Central Europe, Homeyer “overcame limits in a period when this was not yet usual”. Thanks to his “efforts for a reconciliation with the Orthodox Churches in Eastern Europe, his personal relations with Orthodox patriarchs and his own commitment to a reference to God in the European Constitution, Homeyer became a bridge-builder between East and West”, added the Metropolitan. Bishop Homeyer said he was “deeply moved” by the award of the prize. “A Europe that is kept together only by virtue of politics and finance has no soul”, he declared in his thanksgiving speech. “Efforts for the reconciliation between East and West, especially on the part of the Churches, must therefore remain a priority objective”. According to Homeyer, the award of the prize especially has the sense of “keeping alive the memory of Edith Stein and continuing to make reference to her message: her concern for the future of Europe and her efforts for reconciliation”. The prize consists of a medal and a sum of money which Homeyer has donated to help fund the establishment of a centre for youth in Romania.
