Christians and Muslims joined together for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, celebrated on 29 June in a special way by the Christian community of Antioch in southern Turkey, which is the “Antioch of Syria” mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. The parish priest of the local Catholic community, Father Domenico Bertogli, has described the ecumenical celebration in a letter to SIR . The feast was preceded by the 10th symposium of Tarsus-Antioch held at Iskenderun. “Everything took place – says Father Bertogli – in an atmosphere of festivity and unity together with our Greek-Orthodox brethren, with the traditional prayer meeting before the civic authorities. Monsignor Antonio Lucibello, together with the apostolic vicar Luigi Padovese and the Maronite bishop of Aleppo, Monsignor Joseph Anis Abi Aad, also participated in the celebration”. It bore witness to an ecumenical and interfaith commitment that sees the Catholics of Antioch in the front line, especially in view of the forthcoming visit of Benedict XVI to Turkey. In this regard Father Bertogli has no doubts: “we know that, in his forthcoming visit to Turkey in November 2006, Benedict XVI will not be able to pay a visit to Antioch, due to logistic problems and problems of time. However, Christians will welcome in spirit and pray for the Successor of Peter from the city where they were called ‘Christians’ for the first time. We will pray together with our oriental brothers and with no less than five Patriarchs of this city. It will be a formidable sign of ecumenism. The faithful here experience no divisions: all hope that the Pope’s visit may accelerate this journey in the right direction: that of unity”.
