Wij, Paus Franciscus en Oecumenisch Patriarch Bartholomeüs I, drukken onze diepe dank uit aan God voor de gave van deze nieuwe ontmoeting die ons in staat stelde om, in de aanwezigheid van de Heilige Synode, de geestelijkheid en de gelovigen van het Oecumenisch Patriarchaat, het feest van Sint-Andreas te vieren, de eerst-geroepene en broeder van de apostel Petrus. Onze herinnering aan de apostelen, die de Blijde Boodschap als eerste aan de wereld verkondigden door hun prediking en hun getuigenis als martelaren, versterkt in ons het verlangen om door te gaan op de weg die ons in staat stelt om, in liefde en waarheid, de obstakels die ons scheiden te overwinnen.

Ter gelegenheid van onze ontmoeting in Jeruzalem afgelopen mei, waarin wij de historische omarming tussen onze eerbiedwaardige voorgangers paus Paulus VI en de Oecumenische Patriarch Athenagoras herdachten, tekenden we een Paus Franciscus - Toespraak
Gemeenschappelijke verklaring van Paus Franciscus en Patriarch Bartholomeus I
Apostolische Delegatie, Jeruzalem
(25 mei 2014). Vandaag, op de gelukkige gelegenheid van deze verdere broederlijke ontmoeting, willen we opnieuw onze gezamenlijke intenties en bedoelingen bevestigen.

We geven uitdrukking aan onze oprechte en ferme wil, om in gehoorzaamheid aan de wil van onze Heer Jezus Christus, onze inspanningen ter bevordering van de volledige eenheid van alle christenen te intensifiëren, en vooral tussen katholieken en orthodoxen. We steunen ook de theologische dialoog van de Gemeenschappelijke Internationale Commissie, die precies 35 jaar geleden door de Oecumenische Patriarch Dimitrios en Paus Johannas Paulus II hier in Phanar Pauselijke Raad ter bevordering vd Eenheid vd Christenen
Gemeenschappelijke verklaring van Zijne Heiligheid Paus Johannes Paulus II en Dimitrius I, patriarch van Constantinopel
(30 november 1979), en die zich op dit moment bezighoudt met de moeilijkste vragen die onze kerkscheiding gekenmerkt heeft, en die bijzondere aandachtige en gedetailleerde studie nodig hebben. Om deze redenen bieden we de steun van ons krachtig gebed als herders van de Kerk, onze gelovigen vragend ons in gebed te begeleiden “dat allen één zullen zijn, opdat de wereld gelove” (Joh 17, 21).

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 stability and in the will to promote the resolution of conflicts through dialogue and reconciliation. While recognizing the efforts already being made to offer assistance to the region, at the same time, we call on all those who bear responsibility for the destiny of peoples to deepen their commitment to suffering communities, and to enable them, including the Christian ones, to remain in their native land. We cannot resign ourselves to a Middle East without Christians, who have professed the name of Jesus there for two thousand years. Many of our brothers and sisters are being persecuted and have been forced violently from their homes. It even seems that the value of human life has been lost, that the human person no longer matters and may be sacrificed to other interests. And, tragically, all this is met by the indifference of many. As Saint Paul reminds us, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together” (1 Kor 12, 26). This is the law of the Christian life, and in this sense we can say that there is also an ecumenism of suffering. Just as the blood of the martyrs was a seed of strength and fertility for the Church, so too the sharing of daily sufferings can become an effective instrument of unity. The terrible situation of Christians and all those who are suffering in the Middle East calls not only for our constant prayer, but also for an appropriate response on the part of the international community.

The grave challenges facing the world in the present situation require the solidarity of all people of good will, and so we also recognize the importance of promoting a constructive dialogue with Islam based on mutual respect and friendship. Inspired by common values and strengthened by genuine fraternal sentiments, Muslims and Christians are called to work together for the sake of justice, peace and respect for the dignity and rights of every person, especially in those regions where they once lived for centuries in peaceful coexistence and now tragically suffer together the horrors of war. Moreover, as Christian leaders, we call on all religious leaders to pursue and to strengthen interreligious dialogue and to make every effort to build a culture of peace and solidarity between persons and between peoples. We also remember all the people who experience the sufferings of war. In particular, we pray for peace in Ukraine, a country of ancient Christian tradition, while we call upon all parties involved to pursue the path of dialogue and of respect for international law in order to bring an end to the conflict and allow all Ukrainians to live in harmony.

Our thoughts turn to all the faithful of our Churches throughout the world, whom we greet, entrusting them to Christ our Saviour, that they may be untiring witnesses to the love of God. We raise our fervent prayer that the Lord may grant the gift of peace in love and unity to the entire human family.

“May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you” (2 Thess 3,16).

From the Phanar, 30 November 2014