Rome, July 2, 2020
Photo: thecatholicsun.com
For the first time in many years, the Patriarchate of Constantinople was unable to send a delegation to celebrate the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul with the Pope in Rome on June 29 this year due to restrictions in connection with the coronavirus pandemic.
Since the lifting of the mutual anathemas by Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople and Pope Paul VI in 1965, a delegation from Constantinople has traditionally visited the Vatican on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, while a delegation from the Vatican has visited Constantinople on the feast of St. Andrew the First-Called on November 30.
However, this year, the head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch notified Patriarch Bartholomew in advance that a number of crowd restrictions remain in force in Italy and thus a delegation could not attend, reports Blagovest-Info.
Contacts between the Vatican and the Phanar are expected to resume in the fall.
Pope Francis addressed his warm feelings for Patriarch Bartholomew the notable absence of a Constantinople delegation in his homily for the feast.
“Today too, in accordance with a fine tradition, we are united in a particular way with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Peter and Andrew were brothers, and, whenever possible, we exchange fraternal visits on our respective feast days. We do so not only out of courtesy, but as a means of journeying together towards the goal that the Lord points out to us: that of full unity,” he said.
However, “We could not do so today because of the difficulty of travel due to the coronavirus, but when I went to venerate the remains of Peter, in my heart I felt my beloved brother Bartholomew. They are here, with us.”
