Istanbul, December 9, 2024
Photo: fosfanariou.gr
While there is hope to reach an agreement with the Roman Catholic church on a common date for celebrating Pascha, this concerns only a common date, and not concelebration with the Catholics, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople said last week.
The Patriarch addressed the topic in his address on the feast of St. Nicholas, December 6, in the Church of St. Nicholas in Cibali, Istanbul—the same church where in 1963 his predecessor, Patriarch Athenagoras, expressed his intention to travel to Jerusalem to meet with Pope Paul VI, reports Fos Fanariou.
Their meetings culminated in the lifting of the anathemas between Constantinople and Rome in December 1965. This lifting of anathemas between Constantinople and Rome did not, however, result in any pan-Orthodox recognition of the same.
Concerning the efforts towards rapprochement over the decades since, Pat. Bartholomew stated:
So many and such great things have been accomplished in the field of rapprochement and reconciliation between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches that it is impossible not to feel grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ for His abundant blessings...
Now with great joy and special honor, we are preparing to welcome the Pope again next May, within the framework of the celebratory events that we are organizing jointly with the Church of Elder Rome to honor the important anniversary of 1700 years since the convocation of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea. The festive celebration of this Council, as recognized and respected by all of Christianity, simultaneously serves as an occasion for a call to all for unity.
We deeply rejoice because the current Pope has the same dispositions as his immediate predecessors, from Paul VI to Benedict XVI, regarding the great issue of “the union of all,” for which our Holy Church prays unceasingly. As in the coming year the date of celebration of the feast of feasts, Holy Pascha, fortunately coincides for Eastern and Western Christianity, we believe we are given a golden opportunity to reach an agreement with brother Francis regarding the permanent establishment of celebrating Pascha by the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church on the same day for the following years, indeed according to the Canon of our Church. We are optimistic that the Anglican Church and other Protestant confessions will gladly adopt such an agreement.
In response to those who reacted to news about this endeavor, Pat. Bartholomew stated: “This agreement will exclusively concern the issue of the day of celebrating Pascha and certainly not concelebration with our brothers of the Roman Catholic Church.”
He continued: “Concelebration presupposes communion between our two Churches, which, despite the progress of theological dialogue and the significant steps that have been taken, we have not yet reached.”
The question as to why a common date would be needed if there was no intention to concelebrate, is left officially unanswered by the Phanar.
Nor does the Phanar declare which calendar reckoning will be used to determine Pascha in this new unification scheme—the Orthodox or the Roman Catholic.
For Pat. Bartholomew, the most fitting tribute to the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, who first established a common date for the celebration of Pascha, is precisely for the Orthodox and Catholic churches to find a common date:
Just as the majority of Orthodox Churches celebrate the approaching great Feast of Christmas on December 25 each year, the same date as the Roman Catholic Church, just as the Roman Catholic Communities in Greece follow the Orthodox Canon for determining Pascha in order to celebrate it together with their Orthodox brothers, just as in Finland for many years the date of Pascha has been common for all Christians in the country, we propose the same to be institutionalized at a pan-Christian level and indeed based on the way Pascha is determined by the Orthodox Church. We believe there is no better way to honor the memory of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, who, among other things, also regulated the issue of the common celebration of Pascha. It is indeed sad that 1700 years later we are still discussing this issue!
It must be noted, however that while the Constantinople, Greek, Romanian, Bulgarian and other smaller autocephalous and autonomous Churches use the Gregorian (new) calendar, the Russian, Serbian, Ukrainian, Georgian, Polish, Macedonian, and Jerusalem Churches, as well as Japan, Sinai, and—importantly—Mt. Athos use the Julian (old) calendar. These Churches in fact constitute a strong majority of practicing Orthodox Christians throughout the world.
It is time to overcome fanaticism and small-mindedness the Patriarch emphasizes:
It’s inconceivable and unacceptable to continue today, at the beginning of the 21st century, to live with fanaticism, small-mindedness, and prejudices. Our God is a God of love. And even if mistakes were made in the past, this doesn’t mean that we must perpetuate them. These simple but also great truths were taught to us throughout the long Patriarchate of our late great predecessor Patriarch Athenagoras. That is why we are always grateful to him. Today especially his soul soars here and rejoices with us. May his memory be eternal and unforgettable!
What Patriarch Bartholomew calls fanaticism and small-mindedness, it must be stated, is to the many Orthodox Christians who observe the Julian calendar a matter of adhering to Orthodox tradition and not conforming to Roman Catholic dictates and secular demands.
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