Acta Francisci Pp. 967

DECLARATIO COMMUNIS

Francisci Papae et Bartholomaei I Patriarchae Oecumenici apud Sedem Pa- triarchatus in Constantinopolitana urbe.

We, Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, express

our profound gratitude to God for the gift of this new encounter enabling

us, in the presence of the members of the Holy Synod, the clergy and the

faithful of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to celebrate together the feast of

Saint Andrew, the first-called and brother of the Apostle Peter. Our re-

membrance of the Apostles, who proclaimed the good news of the Gospel

to the world through their preaching and their witness of martyrdom,

strengthens in us the aspiration to continue to walk together in order to

overcome, in love and in truth, the obstacles that divide us.

On the occasion of our meeting in Jerusalem last May, in which we

remembered the historical embrace of our venerable predecessors Pope

Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, we signed a joint dec-

laration. Today on the happy occasion of this further fraternal encounter,

we wish to re-affirm together our shared intentions and concerns.

We express our sincere and firm resolution, in obedience to the will

of our Lord Jesus Christ, to intensify our efforts to promote the full uni-

ty of all Christians, and above all between Catholics and Orthodox. As

well, we intend to support the theological dialogue promoted by the Joint

International Commission, instituted exactly thirty-five years ago by the

Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios and Pope John Paul II here at the Phanar,

and which is currently dealing with the most difficult questions that have

marked the history of our division and that require careful and detailed

study. To this end, we offer the assurance of our fervent prayer as Pastors

of the Church, asking our faithful to join us in praying « that all may be

one, that the world may believe ».1

We express our common concern for the current situation in Iraq, Syria

and the whole Middle East. We are united in the desire for peace and sta-

bility and in the will to promote the resolution of conflicts through dialogue

and reconciliation. While recognizing the efforts already being made to

1 Jn17:21.