Wednesday, September 28, 2011, 12:07 PM
In the last few days there have been a number of significant developments involving Orthodox – Catholic relations. First, Metropolitan Hilarion arrived in Rome last night for an anticipated visit with Pope Benedict, Cardinal Bertone, Cardinal Koch, and others. You can read the DECR report on the visit in English at http://www.mospat.ru/en/2011/09/28/news48567/ . As you can see from the report, Metropolitan Hilarion will later travel from Rome to Milan where he will meet with Cardinal Scola and will participate in a concert of Russian church music to mark the end of the year of Russian Culture and Language in Italy. The concert will also be attended by Svetlana Medvedeva, the wife of President Medvedev. Svetlana Medvedeva has been a promoter of Russian – Italian relations for many years. Before moving to Moscow with her husband, she directed the St. Petersburg – Milan sister cities program. One of the persons accompanying Metropolitan Hilarion is Archpriest Dmitry Sizonenko. In the report, Father Dmitry is given the title, DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations. Prior to this, Father Dmitry was always given the title “acting secretary.” I was very happy to see that Father Dmitry has now been officially given the position. I believe that he has been a very positive influence in improving Orthodox – Catholic relations.
The second development was the celebration last Sunday in Moscow of the 100th anniversary of the construction of the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Of course, the church did not become a cathedral until February 2002 when the Vatican established the Mother of God diocese headquartered in Moscow. The papal legate at the celebration was Cardinal Jozef Tomko. The celebration was also attended by Father Dmitry Sizonenko, who spoke of the common persecution of Catholics and Orthodox under communism and who expressed the hope of further progress in the Orthodox – Catholic dialogue. The DECR English-language report of the celebration can be read at http://www.mospat.ru/en/2011/09/26/news48406/ . Cardinal Tomko also had a meeting with Patriarch Kirill. The DECR report of the “warm and friendly” meeting can be read at http://www.mospat.ru/en/2011/09/26/news48475/ . In my opinion, the Moscow Patriarchate’s participation in this event is quite amazing and demonstrates how Orthodox – Catholic relations have improved over the past nine years. When the Vatican established on February 11, 2002, four dioceses in Russia, including the archdiocese situated in Moscow, the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian media exploded. This Vatican action resulted in what was perhaps the lowest point in Russian Orthodox – Catholic relations in recent years. Now, the Moscow Patriarchate is participating in a celebration involving this cathedral which is very much a symbol of the presence of a Catholic bishop in Moscow. I believe that this participation is a wonderful sign of openness on the part of the Moscow Patriarchate and a willingness not to remember old wounds.
The third development is the meeting held by Pope Benedict on Saturday in Freiburg, Germany with 15 representatives of the Orthodox and Oriental Churches. The positive report of the DECR can be read at http://www.mospat.ru/en/2011/09/27/news48558/. The full text of the Pope’s remarks can be read at http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20110924_orthodox-freiburg_en.html .
For those of you who do not receive directly Father Ron Roberson’s monthly newsletter on events involving the Eastern Churches, I am attaching his latest newsletter covering events in June 2011.
Peter Anderson, Seattle USA