A sign of Christian "communion". With these words, "mgr. Paolo Pezzi, archbishop of Moscow, defines the message that the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, Alexius II, sent a few days ago to Pope Benedict XVI and to the leaders of the Christian Churches for Easter. " I think says mgr. Pezzi that this message must be read in the right light, the light of Easter, so that in the life of the Christian, Death and Resurrection are always joined together. In this sense, I think it is a sign not so much of political openness or dialogue but of a Christian desire of a relationship of communion, as proven by the fact that, even if this year the two Easters are so distant from each other according to the Gregorian and Julian calendars, this does not prevent us recalling the common event of Easter even if at different times. It is Easter for us already, for the Orthodox and the other Eastern Churches it is still Lent and a period of great fasting. This could also raise the question whether it would not be worth for us thinking of joining the two dates, as it happens for instance in Greece. But this is of course a problem we cannot solve now. However I think this wish from the Patriarch to the Pope should be read in this Christian light of Easter".
