Patriarch Bartholomew leads Mass at start of Orthodox
Council
(Vatican Radio) Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew on Sunday concelebrated at a Divine Liturgy in the
Metropolitan Church of St Minas in Heraklion, Crete, for the opening of the
Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church.
Speaking to the patriarch,
bishops and leaders of the Orthodox Churches in countries around the world,
Bartholomew said every local Orthodox Church has its own treasure to
offer and is a vital part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
At the same time, he said,
the Church is “crying out” to the Holy Spirit “to come and abide in us and keep
us in Its Truth and Its sanctification” This appeal, he said on the day
the Eastern Church mark the feast of Pentecost, remains “the primary request of
all humanity in a divided world that is full of strife, and which thirsts for
unity, on behalf of which the Son of God gave up Himself so that all of us may
have life, and that we may have it more abundantly”.
Speaking in Rome on Sunday, Pope Francis prayed for all the Orthodox leaders
gathered in Crete for the week long meeting, urging Catholics to unite
themselves in prayer to all their Orthodox brothers and sisters.
Please find below the full
text of Patriarch Bartholomew’s homily at the Divine Liturgy in St Minas
Metropolitan Church, Heraklion, Crete.
(Sunday of Pentecost, June
19, 2016)
Your Beatitudes, Holy Brother
Primates of the local Orthodox Churches, Theodoros of Alexandria, John of
Antioch, Theophilos of Jerusalem, Kirill of Moscow, Irinej of Belgrade, Daniel
of Bucharest, Neophyte of Bulgaria, Ilia of Georgia, Chrysostomos of Cyprus,
Ieronymos of Athens, Sawa of Warsaw, Anastasios of Tirana, and Rastislav of
Prešov, together with Your honorable delegations,
Your Excellency Mr. President
of the Hellenic Republic,
Your Eminence Archbishop
Irenaios of Crete, together with the Most Reverend and beloved brothers who,
together with you, comprise the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Church of Crete,
Most Reverend and Right
Reverend holy brothers,
Blessed Orthodox Clergy and
Laity from all across the world,
A joyful day has now dawned,
in which we celebrate the historic manifestation of the institution of the
Church, which is constituted by the Holy Spirit, and we Orthodox brothers, who
represent all the local Orthodox Autocephalous Churches, have gathered together
in a liturgical assembly, so that we may carry out the duty and responsibility
of the one Orthodox Church to the people and to the world today, by convening
our Holy and Great Council.
Today is a day of unity, as
we are all united in the faith and the sacraments through our liturgical
gathering in one place and have come together “in the breaking of the Bread.”
The Holy Eucharist truly reaffirms the unity and catholicity of our Orthodox
Church.
The event of Pentecost, which
took place in Jerusalem, marked the Church’s starting point in its historical
journey and laid the foundations for the sanctification of human history in its
entirety. The Apostles and the three thousands Christians who were baptized by
them at that time comprised the first Church, which is a theanthropic reality
of Christ, present in all of its members. Today, we, too, are filled with the
same inspiration from the tongues of fire – from the Holy Spirit – and we are
one Church, one body, even though we come from different ethnic, linguistic, and
cultural traditions. Christ the God-man, the “firstborn among many brethren”
(cf. Rom. 8:29), is present in each of our members.
Today, the fulfillment of the
purpose of Divine Economy in its totality is taking place. Because, at
Pentecost and after Pentecost, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 5:5). There is one Christ and we are all His
joints and members: “All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who
apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Cor. 12:11).
Through our distinctness,
each Orthodox Church, as well as every faithful Orthodox Christian, are joined
to one body, each with his own gifts, over which we should not look to others
with suspicion or anger, but rejoice as if they were our own: “The treasure
that my brother acquires … I possess also,” proclaims Macarius of Egypt
(Spiritual Homilies 3, 2, ΒΕΠΕΣ [Library of Greek Fathers and Ecclesiastical
Authors], 41, p. 156).
Every local Orthodox Church
has its own treasure and offers it to Christ. The eye cannot say to the hand “I
have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet. Within the Church, there
is no individual local Church that does not hold significance in its own right,
so as to enable the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church not to be in need
of each and every one of its members, nor can one member exist independently
and absolutely sovereign, as is being attempted by those outside of the Church;
especially during these last days. The Orthodox Church Militant, most honorable
brothers, which is present on earth, perpetually continues the “upper room” of
Pentecost, our local Churches, which are represented by all of us here today.
We represent the mystical body of Christ, which extends unto the ages and
delivers the human race from manifold suffering and impasses, and we are united
with the Church Triumphant, fulfilling God’s dispensation and unifying the
earthly with the heavenly (see the Kontakion of the feast of the Ascension).
This is precisely the mission of our Orthodox Church.
At the same time, today is a
day of crying out to the gracious Paraclete to come and abide in us and keep us
in Its Truth and Its sanctification, as stated by our Lord during his agonizing
prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. This entreaty of our Lord, which is
fulfilled here on this great day of Pentecost, is and remains the primary
request of all humanity in a divided world that is full of strife, and which
thirsts for unity, on behalf of which the Son of God gave up Himself so that
all of us may have life, and that we may have it more abundantly.
Our Orthodox Church has the
supreme gift and blessing of possessing the treasure of truth and preserving
intact the gift of the All-Holy Spirit, which “has filled the whole world”
(Wis. 1:7), and it is obliged to give the contemporary world a testimony of
love and unity, and to reveal the hidden hope that lies within it. Of course,
we do not boast over the truth of our Church. We sense its singular splendor,
but also our own personal weakness and unworthiness. However, this is not
enough when it remains on a theoretical level. It behooves a response on the
practical level, where, unfortunately, we are greatly lacking.
The Lord began His preaching
to the world by calling on the people to repent. The work of a Christian
throughout the duration of his life is repentance. We, the leaders of the
Church, especially, are obliged to provide a good example and embrace the
entirety of the truth which we have received; because our opponent tries to
scatter misguided ideas in our hearts which negate the truth of our faith.
Those fellow men and women of ours who are misled about the truth spread these
misguided ideas, which appear novel and worthy of attention, and often manage
to lure away a good amount of faithful through the repeated skillful
presentation of these ideas. For this reason, we Bishops ought to gather
together to discuss the matters that are confronting the Orthodox Church at
different times and throughout the world, so as to adopt the appropriate
measures to protect the faithful from the prevailing errors. Especially in our
time, there is a very large number of errors that are circulating, and the
arguments used by the deceivers are particularly sophisticated, which means
that a coordinated effort on the part of the shepherds of the Orthodox Church
is required in order to inform the faithful. The number of religious factions
that are attempting to lead the Orthodox faithful astray are in the hundreds.
The discussions and exchange of related experiences on the manner in which to
counter the methods of the aforementioned organizations during the Council will
have much to offer to the Orthodox Church.
The Lord of the Orthodox
Church, Who is “the same yesterday, today and forever,” worked with us so that
we could reach today’s historic moment of the Holy and Great Council, this
liturgical Gathering, and communion from one Common Cup. Regardless of our
different opinions, we Orthodox Christians ought to point out that the only
road on our course in this world is unity. Of course, this road demands a
living sacrifice, much work, and is achieved after great struggle. It is
certain that this Council of ours will contribute towards this direction by creating
a climate of mutual trust and understanding through our meeting in the Holy
Spirit and through an edifying and sincere dialogue.
The unity of the Orthodox
Church and its faithful represents our mission. It is followed by the testimony
of our Church, so that the world may see “its good works” – our good works –
shining brightly, be refreshed, and glorify “our Father who is in heaven.” Our
ecclesial unity does not take on the form of a federation, nor does it stem
from the congregating around some mortal figure. It proceeds from and is made
complete by our common faith, which is synonymous with salvation, with eternal
life. “And this is eternal life,” to know the Father and Him whom He sent,
Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, as he is depicted in our
Orthodox Iconography as well.
Your Beatitudes, Holy
brethren,
Your Excellency Mr. President
of the Hellenic Republic,
Blessed Orthodox Christians,
clergy, monastics, and people everywhere under the heavens,
We are convinced – and we
proclaim at this historic moment from the altar of the Metropolitan Cathedral
of the Island of Crete, which is an extension of the one belonging to the Holy
and Great Church of Christ, the church of the Haghia Sophia (Holy Wisdom),
Haghia Irene (Holy Peace), and Haghia Dynamis (Holy Might); that is, the Holy
Synthrone of John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian, and Photios the Great –
that only in unity and by living out our Orthodoxy as an experience of faith
and life is it possible to navigate through the modern world’s dramatic history
and give a testimony of salvation to those both near and far.
Setting aside the problems
that arise from our different ethnic backgrounds, we beseech the descent of the
Paraclete upon all of us as well, so that illuminated by Him – by the “Light
and Life, and living fountain of reason; by the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of
understanding … the Spirit of sovereignty and the Spirit that expiates sins;
the God Who deifies” (cf. sticheron for the vespers of Pentecost) – we may
issue a message of truth, genuineness, and hope all across today’s world, which
thirsts, and our Churches as an institution and we as persons may reaffirm that
we are precious vessels.
The Holy Spirit unites us in
the Church through the “bond of perfection” and love, and is expressed and
borne witness to by the persons of the Holy Trinity, which is of one nature,
but reveals itself in three persons. Similarly, the Orthodox Church is One, but
reveals itself in the world through its individual local vines, which are unbreakably
and indivisibly attached to one – to one Church, to one body.
Brothers, fathers and
children, today the totality of our Holy Orthodox Church is represented here in
Crete: “we have seen the true light; we have received the heavenly Spirit; we
have found the true faith, worshipping the undivided Trinity, for the Trinity
has saved us.” Therefore, we bless the Lord of Mercy and Compassions, and every
supplication with one voice and one heart, for He is “the source of our
existence, our breath, our understanding, our knowledge of God, the Holy Spirit
and the Father Who is without beginning, and His only begotten Son … the One
Who gave us to comprehend the beauty of heaven, the sun in its course, the orb
of the moon, the order of the stars and the harmony and different movements
that prevail among them … the turning hours, the changing seasons, the flowing
air, the cycle of years … our hope of gaining the heavenly kingdom, equality of
honor with the angels, the contemplation of glory.”
To this All-Holy Spirit,
which brings to perfection all good things, and today’s concelebration, and the
testimony of our Orthodox Church to the entire world in and through this Holy
and Great Council of ours, to It, together with the Father and the Son, do we
dutifully offer praise, now and forever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen
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