Ecumenism
“Since St Nicholas lived at a time when Christianity was still undivided, his intercession and help are of key importance to the restoration of unity between the Church in the East and the Church in the West”. Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said this in a homily delivered yesterday morning – and relayed by L’Osservatore Romano – in the Catholic Basilica of St Catherine in St Petersburg. Indeed, the Catholic delegation – which also includes the Archbishop of Bari-Bitonto, Mgr. Francesco Cacucci – is currently in this city to bring St Nicholas’ relic back to Bari. “The exchange of relics that are exposed for the veneration of the faithful – the Cardinal said – is a beautiful way to bring our Churches closer together, because the people of God is more fully involved in this process. When the relic returns to its place of origin tomorrow, we will all continue in our task of praying for unity and asking for the saints’ intercession. Indeed, the saints of our Churches, who are already united in heaven, are our best intercessors and companions on our ecumenical journey, and they can help us achieve Christian unity”. In the afternoon, the President of the Vatican Dicastery for Christian Unity met with Metropolitan Hilarion, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, at the Novodevichy Convent. During their meeting – a statement from the Patriarchate reads – “the sides discussed several matters related to the bilateral relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Roman Catholic Church. They both stressed the extraordinary nature of the event that had brought the relics of St Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra, from Bari to Russia. Metropolitan Hilarion said that over two million faithful in Moscow and St Petersburg had a chance to venerate the relic. The transfer of the relics of the Saint, who is highly venerated in Russia, was made possible by the agreement reached during the historic meeting between Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Pope Francis on 12 February 2016 in Havana. Cardinal Kurt Koch expressed his deep joy for the enthusiasm with which the Russian people welcomed St Nicholas’ relics which testifies to the great veneration of the Saints of the early Church to “overcome prejudice and the differences existing between Christians”. Both sides agreed on the need to continue interfaith cooperation in this direction. Metropolitan Hilarion and Cardinal Koch also discussed issues related to the activities of the Joint Working Group for Cultural Cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Holy See.
