Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople has offered a hopeful historical assessment of the traditional 1054 date for the Great Schism between Rome and Constantinople, suggesting that tensions developed gradually over time and are not insurmountable. Source: CNA.
“Of course, problems have accumulated over a thousand years. But we are full of hope that they will be resolved in a few years,” the patriarch said during an audience in Istanbul on March 12 with a pilgrimage group from the German Association of the Holy Land.
The honorary head of worldwide Orthodoxy made these comments in the presence of Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Emeritus Gregory III Laham.
The pilgrimage preceded the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, held in 325 AD.
Rather than a sudden break in 1054 – the traditional date of the separation between the Orthodox and Catholic churches – Patriarch Bartholomew suggested these tensions gradually strengthened over time.
The potential for a historic breakthrough in ecumenical relations has been building for some time.
In January, during vespers concluding the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Francis highlighted the “providential” timing of Easter falling on the same date in both the Gregorian and Julian calendars this year.
“Let us rediscover the common roots of the faith,” the Pontiff urged. “Let us preserve unity!”
Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, has long supported efforts toward a common Easter date.
In 2021, Cardinal Koch welcomed a suggestion that the year 2025 would be an ideal time to introduce a calendar reform allowing both Eastern and Western Christians to celebrate Easter together.
“It will not be easy to agree on a common Easter date, but it is worth working for it,” Cardinal Koch stated at the time, adding that the initiative was “very dear to Pope Francis and also to the Coptic Pope Tawadros.”
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Patriarch Bartholomew says 1054 church division ‘not insurmountable’ as Nicaea anniversary nears (By AC Wimmer, CNA)
