Εν ειρηνη προελθωμεν! Εν ονοματι Κυριου!
Let us go in peace! In the name of the Lord!
Your Holiness,
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, our Lord!

Εν ειρηνη προελθωμεν! Εν ονοματι Κυριου!These words that we have just heard at the conclusion of the Celebration of the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostomos have always had a distinct resonance in my mind and in my heart. Let us go – we will not cease, we will go ahead. In peace – in the peace of the Lord and in the peace among his disciples, extended also towards others. These are things we say and do in the blessed name of the Lord, so that His name may be blessed now and forever. These words extend the liturgy beyond the liturgy itself. They seek to transform the lives of believers in a liturgy without borders, a permanent prayer for peace in our world.

The same words could also be said about our search for füll communion. We are called to go ahead in the name of the Lord, by the Lord himself, to continue our efforts to do all that is possible to overcome the existing differences among our Churches so that the world may believe.

It is with these sentiments that I bring the greeting of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Your Holiness, to the Holy Synod, and to all the clergy and faithful gathered today to celebrate the feast of Saint Andrew, the brother of Peter. The same feast is also being celebrated today in Rome. Let us rejoice in this parallel feast as a sign of shared apostolic heritage, which is handed down to us and which obliges us to pray and to work for the rapprochement of our Churches. For ecumenical commitment is for us not an option but in obedience to our Lord and an essential part of being the Church of Christ.

In reflecting upon relations between the Church of Rome and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, I thank the Lord for all that He has enabled us to experience over the last year. Our bond has deepened and has become more clearly focused as we increasingly reinforce our mutual commitment to full communion.

It has been with great joy that we welcomed Your Holiness in Rome three times this year: in March, June and October, respectively for the lectio magistralis at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, for the opening of the Pauline Year in the Basilica St. Paul Outside the Walls, and for your esteemed address to the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church, mindful of course that this address represents a unique historical circumstance, being the first speech of an Ecumenical Patriarch to the Synod of the Church of Rome.

In turn, there have also been many opportunities for the Catholic Church and local Catholic Churches to foster contacts with the See of Constantinople. Recently, a delegation appointed by the Holy Father Benedict XVI took part in the bimillenary celebration of the birth of Saint Paul, an event organised by Your Holiness involving a Symposium and pilgrimage to various Pauline sites. Personally I am profoundly grateful to have had the opportimity to celebrate together with your Holiness’ Delegate the opening of the Pauline Year in Tarsus, the birthplace of the Apostle of the Gentiles.

It is in such ways that our Churches are able to rejoice in the experience of living together in peace. This is truly a step forward in the search for full communion.

In the context of this fraternal encounter of prayer, to feel deeply the need to ask the Lord for insight and support to take more rapid Steps towards full unity.

I reflect with optimism on the fact that after the successful outcome of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between our two Churches held in Ravenna (2007), and in line with its recommendations, there have been meetings of the study sub-commissions and more recently of the Joint Coordinating Committee to prepare the continuation of the dialogue.

The session in Ravenna agreed on an important and well-received document on the theme Ecclesial Communion, Conciliarity and Authority, and decided to tackle now the more specific theme of The Role of the Bishop of Rome in ine Communion of the Church ofihe First Millennium. The Joint Coordinating Committee met in Crete as the guests of the Orthodox Church in order to prepare the next plenary session to be held in Cyprus next year. The hospitality of the Church of Crete was generous and overwhelming, and was a further sign of the growing sense of ecclesial fraternity which our Churches mutually endeavour to nurture.

It is an honour and a joy to pass on to Your Holiness the message of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI., who feels close to Your Holiness in high esteem and brotherly love. I do so with a sense of respectful esteem, fraternal goodwill and deep prayer for the Church of Constantinople, for Your Holiness and for your distinguished ministry, for all the bishops, all the clergy and the faithful belonging to this Ecumenical Patriarchate. May God bless us and enable us to go ahead in peace and to be witnesses and instruments of peace!