Constantly Betraying the True Legacy of Saint Andrew the Apostle by Mandatory Visits to the Blue Mosque and by Mandatory "Joint Declarations" with Heretics and Schismatics

The minions behind the walls of the Occupied Vatican on the West Bank of the Tiber River do not have to do a lot of heavy lifting when planning the anti-apostolic journeys of a conciliar “pope” to Turkey.

Some of the checklist’s compulsory agenda items include:

1. “Pope” discusses the gains made by ecumenical dialogue during in flight press conference to Turkey.
2. “Pope” signs a joint declaration with the Greek Patriarch.
3. “Pope” visits Armenian Coptic church.
4. “Pope” calls for peace with government leaders.
5. “Pope” visits the Blue Mosque.

The visit to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, has become a “must do” item since Joseph Alois Ratzinger/Benedict XVI visited this devil’s den on November 30, 2006, after he had “offended” Mohammedans as follows when delivering an otherwise staid address at his alma mater and former place of employment, the University of Regensburg in Germany, on September 12, 2006, the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary:

In the seventh conversation (διάλεξις - controversy) edited by Professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of the holy war. The emperor must have known that surah 2, 256 reads: "There is no compulsion in religion". According to some of the experts, this is probably one of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was still powerless and under threat. But naturally the emperor also knew the instructions, developed later and recorded in the Qur'an, concerning holy war. Without descending to details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the "Book" and the "infidels", he addresses his interlocutor with a startling brusqueness, a brusqueness that we find unacceptable, on the central question about the relationship between religion and violence in general, saying: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”[3] The emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. "God", he says, "is not pleased by blood - and not acting reasonably (σὺν λόγω) is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death...".[4]

The decisive statement in this argument against violent conversion is this: not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God's nature.[5] The editor, Theodore Khoury, observes: For the emperor, as a Byzantine shaped by Greek philosophy, this statement is self-evident. But for Muslim teaching, God is absolutely transcendent. His will is not bound up with any of our categories, even that of rationality.[6] Here Khoury quotes a work of the noted French Islamist R. Arnaldez, who points out that Ibn Hazm went so far as to state that God is not bound even by his own word, and that nothing would oblige him to reveal  the truth to us. Were it God's will, we would even have to practise idolatry.[7] (Anti-Apostolic Journey to München, Altötting and Regensburg: Meeting with the representatives of science in the Aula Magna of the University of Regensburg, September 12, 2006.)

Ratzinger/Benedict was saying, in essence, that Mohammedanism is irrational, something that drove many of their number to decry the “pope” for the crime of “hate speech,” a charge that so rattled the weak-kneed new theologian that he tried to explain himself and then agreed to the visit at the Blue Mosque that resulted in the following image of apostasy born of cowardice as “Pope Benedict” obeyed the instruction of his Mohammedan host to turned towards Mecca and assume the Mohammedan prayer position.

At the Blue Mosque, November 30, 2006.

Unlike the Bavarian Coward, though, the Argentine Apostate, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, did not have to be coaxed into turning towards Mecca and praying in a house that belongs to the devil himself in the same place on the same day of the year, the Feast of Saint Andrew, in 2014:

Vatican spokesflack Federico Lombardi spun the moment of apostasy as follows:

Vatican City, Nov 29, 2014 / 06:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During Pope Francis’ visit to Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, he paused for a moment of prayer alongside Ankara’s Grand Mufti – a moment of “interreligious dialogue” which mirrored that of his predecessor.
    
“When they were under the Dome, the Pope insisted: ‘not only must we praise and glorify him, but we must adore him,’” Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. told journalists Nov. 29. “Therefore it is reasonable to qualify this moment of silence a moment of silent adoration.”

“(It was) a beautiful moment of interreligious dialogue, and it the exact same thing happened in 2006 with Pope Benedict, it was exactly the same.”

Fr. Lombardi offered his statement to the head of the Holy See Press Office association of journalists by telephone. The message was then relayed to the journalists present in the press center in Istanbul.

Pope Francis’ visit to the historic Sultan Ahmet Mosque, known as the “Blue Mosque” due to the blue tiles covering the inside, marks the third time a Pope has ever gone inside, the first being St. John Paul II in 1979.

In his statement, Fr. Lombardi said that upon his arrival, the Roman Pontiff was greeted in the Mosque’s garden by a group of 50-60 people coming from different Christian communities – including Latin, Coptic, Syro and Armenian – as well as their bishops.

President of the Turkish Episcopal Conference Bishop Smirme Franceschini offered a welcoming address before the Pope went inside.

The Bishop of Rome was accompanied into the mosque by Ankara’s Grand Mufti Mehmet Görmez and two imam. After entering, the Grand Mufti explained to the Pope some versus from the Quran in which Niqab spoke of Zachariah, the birth of John the Baptist, of Elizabeth and Mary.

Once the Grand Mufti finished speaking, he and the Pope “took a moment of silence, a silent adoration (and) the Pope said twice to the Muftì: we must adore God,” Fr. Lombardi said.

It was a true moment of interreligious dialogue, he observed, noting that afterward the Grand Mufti cited more versus of the Quran which refer to God as a God of love and justice.

Fr. Lombardi recalled how the Mufti said to Pope Francis that “’on that we are agreed.’ And the Pope said: ‘Yes, on that we are agreed.’ It was also a beautiful moment of dialogue.”

After leaving the Mosque the Roman Pontiff went to visit the nearby Hagia Sofia, which is a former Greek Orthodox patriarchal basilica that was later turned into an imperial mosque, and is now a museum.

While inside Pope Francis signed the museum’s Golden Book, writing in Greek “St. Sofia, Holy Wisdom of God,” and cited a passage in Latin from psalm 84 that says “How lovely is thy dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!” (Bergoglio's prayer at Blue Mosque 'exactly the same' as Ratzinger's. Also see the post at Novus Ordo Watch Wire.)

As noted some years ago now on this site, the conciliar revolutions have created “Ever More "Traditions" That Come From Hell.” What happened at the Blue Mosque yesterday was simply of those “traditions” that “Pope Francis” was more than happy to continue in perfect “continuity” with his predecessor, a tradition that was continued on Saturday, November 29, 2025, the Vigil of Saint Andrew and the Commemoration of Saint Saturninus, when he himself entered the Blue Mosque but without praying, a refusal that some in the resist while recognize movement have heralded as admirable:

Pope Leo XIV visited Istanbul's iconic Blue Mosque today (Nov. 29) but didn't stop to pray, as he opened an intense day of meetings and liturgies with Turkey's Christian leaders, where he again emphasized the need for Christians to be united.

Leo took off his shoes and, in his white socks, toured the 17th-century mosque, looking up at its soaring tiled domes and the Arabic inscriptions on its columns as an imam pointed them out to him.

The Vatican had said Leo would observe a "brief moment of silent prayer" in the mosque, but he didn't. An imam of the mosque, Asgin Tunca, said he had invited Leo to pray, since the mosque was "Allah's house," but the pope declined.

Later, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said: "The pope experienced his visit to the mosque in silence, in a spirit of contemplation and listening, with deep respect for the place and the faith of those who gather there in prayer."

The Vatican then sent out a corrected version of its bulletin about the trip, removing reference to the planned "brief moment of silent prayer," without further explanation.

Leo, history's first U.S.-born pope, was following in the footsteps of his recent predecessors, who all made high-profile visits to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, as it is officially known, in a gesture of respect to Turkey's Muslim majority.

Papal visits to Blue Mosque often raise questions

But the visits have always raised questions about whether the pope would pray in the Muslim house of worship, or at the very least pause to gather thoughts in a meditative silence.

hen Pope Benedict XVI visited Turkey in 2006, tensions were high because Benedict had offended many in the Muslim world a few months earlier with a speech in Regensburg, Germany, that was widely interpreted as linking Islam and violence.

The Vatican added a visit to the Blue Mosque at the last minute in a bid to reach out to Muslims, and Benedict was warmly welcomed. He observed a moment of silent prayer, head bowed, as the imam prayed next to him, facing east.

Benedict later thanked him "for this moment of prayer" for what was only the second time a pope had visited a mosque, after St. John Paul II visited one briefly in Syria in 2001.

There were no doubts in 2014 when Pope Francis visited the Blue Mosque: He stood for two minutes of silent prayer facing east, his head bowed, eyes closed and hands clasped in front of him. Thth Leo, though, even the Vatican seemed caught off guard by his decision not to pray. The Holy See had to correct the official record of the visit after it originally kept the planned reference to him pausing for a moment of prayer.

Speaking to reporters after the visit, the imam Tunca said he had told the pope: "It's not my house, not your house, (it's the) house of Allah," he said. He said he told Leo: " 'If you want, you can worship here,' I said. But he said, 'That’s OK.' "

"He wanted to see the mosque, wanted to feel (the) atmosphere of the mosque, I think. And was very pleased," he said.

There was another change to the official program, after the Vatican said the head of Turkey's Diyanet religious affairs directorate would accompany Leo at the mosque. He didn't come and a spokesman from the Diyanet said he wasn't supposed to, since he had welcomed Leo in Ankara.

Hagia Sophia left off itinerary

Past popes have also visited the nearby Hagia Sophia landmark, once one of the most important historic cathedrals in Christianity and a United Nations-designated world heritage site.

But Leo left that visit off his itinerary on his first trip as pope. In July 2020, Turkey converted Hagia Sophia from a museum back into a mosque, a move that drew widespread international criticism, including from the Vatican.

The Grand Mufti of Istanbul, Rahmi Yaran, told the pope afterwards, "May God accept it."

ith Leo, though, even the Vatican seemed caught off guard by his decision not to pray. The Holy See had to correct the official record of the visit after it originally kept the planned reference to him pausing for a moment of prayer.

Speaking to reporters after the visit, the imam Tunca said he had told the pope: "It's not my house, not your house, (it's the) house of Allah," he said. He said he told Leo: " 'If you want, you can worship here,' I said. But he said, 'That’s OK.' "

"He wanted to see the mosque, wanted to feel (the) atmosphere of the mosque, I think. And was very pleased," he said.

There was another change to the official program, after the Vatican said the head of Turkey's Diyanet religious affairs directorate would accompany Leo at the mosque. He didn't come and a spokesman from the Diyanet said he wasn't supposed to, since he had welcomed Leo in Ankara.

Hagia Sophia left off itinerary

Past popes have also visited the nearby Hagia Sophia landmark, once one of the most important historic cathedrals in Christianity and a United Nations-designated world heritage site.

But Leo left that visit off his itinerary on his first trip as pope. In July 2020, Turkey converted Hagia Sophia from a museum back into a mosque, a move that drew widespread international criticism, including from the Vatican. (Antipope visits Istanbul mosque but, unlike predecessors, opts not to pray there.)

All right, chalk one up for Robert Francis Prevost/Leo XIV to refuse the Mohammedan imam’s invitation to pray in the Blue Mosque.

Fine.

However, a true and legitimate Successor of Saint Peter would not have entered the Blue Mosque except to exhibit the courage of Saint Vincent Ferrer, O.P., who sought the conversion of Mohammedans in the Kingdom of Grenada:

The Mahometans, like the Jews, were spread throughout different parts of Spain. In proportion as the noble-hearted Spaniards recovered possession of their provinces which had been subjugated by Saracen invasion, they re-established Christianity in all its rights, and favored by every means in their power the conversion of the followers of Mahomet, who dwelt in the country. There were many, however, who resisted this influence. Like the Jews, they were possessed of wealth and industry; it was necessary, therefore, to deal gently with them. St. Vincent labored with all his might to reclaim them from their unclean errors; he spared neither suffering nor fatigue to lead them to the saving waters of baptism. And to this end, wherever he preached he compelled the Mahometans, by the king's order, to be present at his discourses, reserving for them, as in the case of the Jews, the most convenient places.

But why constrain such people to hear him, since the law of Mahomet especially forbids his disciples to listen to Christian sermons? "This," said the Saint, "is one of the wicked artifices of this Antichrist, by which he directly closes the door of salvation to his followers. The Divine Word is the first condition of the success of the Gospel. He who hears it is easily drawn as by a kind of necessity to embrace the holy faith, provided it be announced with becoming dignity."

The Saracen King of Grenada, Mahomet Aben-Baha, moved by the renown of his miracles, was desirous to see St. Vincent, and to afford him liberty to preach in his kingdom. He therefore sent ambassadors to him, as to a prince, who informed him that he would have unrestricted license to announce the Gospel throughout the kingdom of Grenada. The Saint was then in the neighborhood of Genoa, in Italy. He forthwith set out on foot to Marseilles, where a vessel was placed at his service. A favorable wind soon brought him to the port of Andalusia. On the morning following his arrival at Grenada, St. Vincent commenced a course of sermons in presence of the king, his whole court, and innumerable people. The Mahometans, unaccustomed to hear discourses addressed to a great multitude, were filled with astonishment and admiration. Such was the effect of his preaching that, after three sermons, eighteen thousand Moors were converted to the Christian faith. St. Vincent promised himself an abundant harvest in this new field of labour; but the enemy of mankind sought to stifle its growth by sowing therein the seeds of discord.

Aben-Baha himself, with his whole court, had resolved to receive baptism; but the chiefs of the Mussulman superstition, determining at any cost to impede so great a good, menaced him with revolt, civil war, and the subversion of his throne. "If you embrace the Gospel," said they, "your subjects who believe in the Koran will never consent to be ruled by a prince who has abjured the law of Mahomet to become a Christian." Aben-Baha feared to lose a perishable crown of the earth. Dismayed by the threats of those fanatics, he called St. Vincent to him, and bade him depart from his kingdom, assuring him of his own personal esteem of him. "Return," said he, "into the countries of the Christians, and do so speedily, lest you oblige me to have recourse to violent measures against you. I should do it with regret, but I cannot allow you to remain." The Saint would gladly have exposed himself to persecution and death; the thought of martyrdom filled him with joy; but he was unwilling to excite the anger of the Mussulmans against the new converts, or to expose them to the danger of apostasy.

He, therefore, quitted the kingdom of Grenada, beseeching God to destroy in that country the reign of the crescent, and to establish in its stead that of the glorious Cross. A century later and the desires of the Saint were accomplished. Grenada was in its turn conquered, and the barbarous Mussulman was driven back to the shores of Africa. We may not unreasonably suppose that the band of converts formed by our Saint increased as years rolled by, and that when the missionaries of the Gospel arrived in that country they would find the hearts of its people better disposed to embrace the great truths of Christianity. (Reverend Father Andrew Pradel, O.P., St. Vincent Ferrer, of the Order of Preachers: His life, spiritual teaching, and practical devotion, translated from the French by Reverend Father T.A. Dixon, O. Praed., and published by R. Washbourne, 18 Paternoster Row, London, 1875.)

Some might protest that Pope Saint Gregory VII sent a letter to the Mohammedan king of Mauritania, Emir Anazir, in 1076 to thank him for the release of Christian captives as a sign of the Catholic Church's respect for the false religion of Mohammedanism. This is not so.

Pope Saint Gregory VII understood that Mohammedanism was not a source of salvation for the sources of its adherents and, as a commentator notes, that the saintly pontiff wanted to lead a crusade against this false religion seven years before Pope Urban II preached the First Crusade, not exactly the same spirit expressed at the Blue Mosque yesterday:

Gregory VII, on his deathbed in 1085, dreamt of forming a Christian League against Islam and said, 'I would rather risk my life to deliver the Holy Places, than govern the Universe'. (The Crusades in Context.)

Although Catholics have indeed lived as tiny minorities in various lands governed by Mohammedans for centuries, something that Pope Saint Pius X himself noted in his famous meeting with Theodore Herzl, the founder of International Zionism, on January 25, 1904, the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle, the true Faith must be preached  to non-Catholics by one who considers himself a Successor of Saint Peter, and the fact that the conciliar “popes” have not this is yet another correlative proof of the simple fact that the conciliar revolution was an enshrinement of false ecumenism from the beginning to such an extent that even the thought of seeking the conversion of non-Catholics is considered to “impolite,” “impermissible,” and unnecessary.

If this had the attitude of the Apostles, though, they would have never left the Upper Room following the descent of the Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, God the Holy Ghost, upon Our Lady and them in tongues of flame on Pentecost Sunday. Saint Peter would never have sought the conversion of the Jews immediately thereafter, and his own brother, Saint Andrew, would never have gone to Greece to seek the conversion of the pagan idolaters there nor to reaffirm heretics in their falsehoods one “joint declaration” between the conciliar “popes” and the Greek Orthodox patriarchs have done, including the one issued on November 29, 2025:

On the eve of the feast of Saint Andrew the First-called Apostle, brother of the Apostle Peter and patron of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, we, Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, give heartfelt thanks to God, our merciful Father, for the gift of this fraternal meeting. Following the example of our venerable predecessors, and heeding the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, we continue to walk with firm determination on the path of dialogue, in love and truth (cf. Eph 4:15), towards the hoped-for restoration of full communion between our sister Churches. Aware that Christian unity is not merely the result of human efforts, but a gift that comes from on high, we invite all the members of our Churches – clergy, monastics, consecrated persons, and the lay faithful – earnestly to seek the fulfilment of the prayer that Jesus Christ addressed to the Father: “that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you... so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21).

The commemoration of the 1700^th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, celebrated on the eve of our meeting, was an extraordinary moment of grace. The Council of Nicaea held in 325 AD was a providential event of unity. The purpose for commemorating this event, however, is not simply to call to mind the historical importance of the Council, but to spur us on to be continuously open to the same Holy Spirit who spoke through Nicaea, as we wrestle with the many challenges of our time. We are deeply grateful to all the leaders and delegates of other Churches and ecclesial communities who were willing to participate in this event. In addition to acknowledging the obstacles that prevent the restoration of full communion among all Christians – obstacles which we seek to address through the path of theological dialogue – we must also recognize that what binds us together is the faith expressed in the creed of Nicaea. This is the saving faith in the person of the Son of God, true God from true God, homoousios with the Father, who for us and our salvation was incarnate and dwelt among us, was crucified, died and was buried, arose on the third day, ascended into heaven, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. Through the coming of the Son of God, we are initiated into the mystery of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and are invited to become, in and through the person of Christ, children of the Father and co-heirs with Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Endowed with this common confession, we can face our shared challenges in bearing witness to the faith expressed at Nicaea with mutual respect, and work together towards concrete solutions with genuine hope.

We are convinced that the commemoration of this significant anniversary can inspire new and courageous steps on the path towards unity. Among its decisions, the First Council of Nicaea also provided the criteria for determining the date of Easter, common for all Christians. We are grateful to divine providence that this year the whole Christian world celebrated Easter on the same day. It is our shared desire to continue the process of exploring a possible solution for celebrating together the Feast of Feasts every year. We hope and pray that all Christians will, “in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Col 1:9), commit themselves to the process of arriving at a common celebration of the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This year we also commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the historic Joint Declaration of our venerable predecessors, Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, which extinguished the exchange of excommunications of 1054. We give thanks to God that this prophetic gesture prompted our Churches to pursue “in a spirit of trust, esteem and mutual charity the dialogue which, with God’s help, will lead to living together again, for the greater good of souls and the coming of the kingdom of God, in that full communion of faith, fraternal accord and sacramental life which existed among them during the first thousand years of the life of the Church” (Joint Declaration of Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, 7 December 1965). At the same time, we exhort those who are still hesitant to any form of dialogue, to listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches (cf. Rev 2:29), who in the current circumstances of history urges us to present to the world a renewed witness of peace, reconciliation and unity.

Convinced of the importance of dialogue, we express our continued support for the work of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, which in its current phase is examining issues that have historically been considered divisive. Together with the irreplaceable role that theological dialogue plays in the process of rapprochement between our Churches, we also commend the other necessary elements of this process, including fraternal contacts, prayer, and joint work in all those areas where cooperation is already possible. We strongly urge all the faithful of our Churches, and especially the clergy and theologians, to embrace joyously the fruits that have been achieved thus far, and to labor for their continued increase.

The goal of Christian unity includes the objective of contributing in a fundamental and life-giving manner to peace among all peoples. Together we fervently raise our voices in invoking God’s gift of peace upon our world. Tragically, in many regions of our world, conflict and violence continue to destroy the lives of so many. We appeal to those who have civil and political responsibilities to do everything possible to ensure that the tragedy of war ceases immediately, and we ask all people of good will to support our entreaty.

In particular, we reject any use of religion and the name of God to justify violence. We believe that authentic interreligious dialogue, far from being a cause of syncretism and confusion, is essential for the coexistence of peoples of different traditions and cultures. Mindful of the 60^th anniversary of the declaration Nostra Aetate, we exhort all men and women of good will to work together to build a more just and supportive world, and to care for creation, which is entrusted to us by God. Only in this way can the human family overcome indifference, desire for domination, greed for profit and xenophobia.

While we are deeply alarmed by the current international situation, we do not lose hope. God will not abandon humanity. The Father sent his Only-Begotten Son to save us, and the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, bestowed upon us the Holy Spirit, to make us sharers in his divine life, preserving and protecting the sacredness of the human person. By the Holy Spirit we know and experience that God is with us. For this reason, in our prayer we entrust to God every human being, especially those in need, those who experience hunger, loneliness or illness. We invoke upon each member of the human family every grace and blessing so that “their hearts may be encouraged, as they are knit together in love, to have all the riches of assured understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery,” who is our Lord Jesus Christ (Col 2:2). (Anti-Apostolic Journey: Joint Declaration of Antipope Leo XIV and His Holiness Bartholomew I, 29 November 2025.)

As the entries in the appendix below will prove, this “joint declaration” is indistinguishable from the others that have issued in the past and it will thus take its place in the forgotten verbiage of men who are devoid of the Catholic Faith and who spit contemptuously on the work of Saint Andrew the Apostle whose name they blasphemously invoke in support of their illicit work.

It is very appropriate that this commentary is being posted on the Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle, the brother of Saint Peter, and the principal Patron of Russia and of Ukraine as he preached in both places!

Dom Prosper Gueranger’s reflection on Saint Andrew is quite relevant to the tragedy that has unfolded between Russia and Ukraine:

The Proper of the Saints in the Roman Missal opens with St. Andrew, because, although his Feast sometimes occurs before the holy season of Advent has begun, it frequently happens that we have entered Advent when the memory of this great Apostle has to be celebrated by the Church. This Feast is therefore destined to terminate with solemnity the cycle which is at its close, or to add luster to the new one which has just begun. It seems, indeed, fitting that the Christian year should begin and end with the Cross, which has merited for us each of the years that it has pleased the divine goodness to grant us, and which is to appear, on the last day, in the clouds of Heaven, as the seal put on time.

We should remember that St. Andrew is the Apostle of the Cross. To St. Peter, Jesus has given firmness of faith; to St. John, warmth of love; the mission of St. Andrew is to represent the Cross of his divine Master. Now it is by these three—faith, love, and the Cross, that the Church renders Herself worthy of Her Spouse. Everything She has or is, bears this three-fold character. Hence it is that after the two Apostles just named, there is none who hold such a prominent place in the universal Liturgy as St. Andrew.

But let us read the life of this glorious fisherman of the lake of Genesareth, who was afterwards to be the successor of Christ Himself, and the companion of his brother St. Peter, on the tree of the Cross. The Church has compiled it from the ancient Acts of the martyrdom of the holy Apostle, drawn up by the priests of the Church of Patras, which was founded by the Saint. The authenticity of this venerable piece has been contested by Protestants, inasmuch as it makes mention of several things which would militate against them—including the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. Their sentiment has been adopted by several critics of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. On the other hand, these Acts have been accepted by a far greater number of Catholic writers of eminence; amongst whom may be mentioned the great Baronius, Labbe, Noel Alexander, Gallandus, Lumper, Morcelli, etc. The Churches, too, of both east and west, which have inserted these Acts in their respective Offices of St. Andrew, are of some authority, as is also St. Bernard, who has made them the groundwork of his three admirable sermons on St. Andrew:

St. Andrew the Apostle, born at Bethsaida, a town of Galilee, was a brother of St. Peter, and disciple of St. John the Baptist. Having heard his master say, speaking of Christ: Behold the Lamb of God! he followed Jesus, and brought to Him his brother also. When, afterwards, he was fishing with his brother in the sea of Galilee, they were both called, before any of the other Apostles, by Our Lord, Who, passing by, said to them: Come after Me; I will make you to be fishers of men. Without delay, they left their nets and followed Him. After the Passion and Resurrection, St. Andrew went to spread the Faith of Christ in Scythia in Europe, which was the province assigned to him; then he travelled through Epirus and Thrace, and by his teaching and miracles converted innumerable souls to Christ. Afterwards, having reached Patras in Achaia, he persuaded many in that city to embrace the truth of the Gospel. Finding that the proconsul Aegeas resisted the preaching of the Gospel, he most freely upbraided him for that he, who desired to be considered as a judge of men, should be so far deceived by devils as not to acknowledge Christ to be God, the Judge of all.

Then Aegeas being angry, said: Cease to boast of this Christ, Whom such words as these kept not from being crucified by the Jews. But finding that St. Andrew continued boldly preaching that Christ had offered Himself to be crucified for the salvation of mankind, he interrupted him by an impious speech, and at length exhorted him to look to his own interest and sacrifice to the gods. St. Andrew answered him: I offer up every day to almighty God, Who is one and true, not the flesh of oxen, nor the blood of goats, but the spotless Lamb upon the altar; of Whose flesh the whole multitude of the faithful eat, and the Lamb that is sacrificed remains whole and living. Whereupon Aegeas being exceedingly angry, ordered him to be thrust into prison, whence the people would have easily freed St. Andrew, had he not himself appeased the multitude, begging of them, with most earnest entreaty, that they would not keep him from the long-desired crown of martyrdom, to which he was hastening.

Not long after this, he was brought before the tribunal; where he began to extol the mystery of the Cross, and rebuke the judge for his impiety. Aegeas, no longer able to contain himself on hearing these words, ordered him to be raised on a cross, and so to die like Christ. St. Andrew, having been brought to the place of execution, seeing the cross at some distance, began to cry out: O good cross, made beautiful by the Body of my Lord! so long desired, so anxiously sought after, and now at last ready for my soul to enjoy! take me from amidst men, and restore me to my Master; that by thee He may receive me, Who by thee redeemed me. He was therefore fastened to the cross, on which he hung alive two days, preaching without cessation the Faith of Christ: after which he passed to Him, Whose death he had so coveted. The priests and deacons of Achaia, who wrote his passion, attest that all the things which they have recorded were heard and seen by them. His relics were first translated to Constantinople under the Emperor Constantius, and afterwards to Amalfi. During the Pontificate of Pius II, the head was taken to Rome, and placed in the Basilica of St. Peter. (From Matins, The Divine Office, Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle, November 30.)

The Greek Church was as fervent as any of the Churches of the west in celebrating the prerogatives and merits of St. Andrew. He was the more dear to it, because Constantinople considered him as her patron Apostle. It would, perhaps, be difficult for the Greeks to give any solid proofs of St. Andrew’s having founded, as they pretend, the Church of Byzantium; but this is certain, that Constantinople enjoyed, for many centuries, the possession of the precious treasure of the Saint's relics. They were translated to that city in the year 357, through the interest of the Emperor Constantius, who placed them in the Basilica of the Apostles built by his father Constantine. Later on, that is, about the middle of the sixth century, Justinian caused them to be translated a second time, but only from one part of the same Basilica to another.

The Church of Constantinople was at length deprived of the precious treasure of his relics. This happened in the year 1210, when the city was taken by the crusaders. Cardinal Peter of Capua, the legate of the Holy See, translated the body of St. Andrew into the Cathedral of Amalfi, a town in the kingdom of Naples, where it remains to this day, the glorious instrument of numberless miracles, and the object of the devout veneration of the people. It is well known how, at the same period, the most precious relics of the Greek Church came, by a visible judgment of God, into the possession of the Latins. Byzantium refused to accept those terrible warnings, and continued obstinate in her schism. She was still in possession of the head of the Holy Apostle, owing, no doubt, to this circumstance, that in the several translations which had been made, it had been kept in a separate reliquary by itself. When the Byzantine empire was destroyed by the Turks, Divine Providence so arranged events, as that the Church of Rome should be enriched with the magnificent relic. In 1462, the head of St. Andrew was, therefore, brought there by the celebrated Cardinal Bessarion; and on Palm Sunday, the 12th of April, the heroic Pope Pius II went in great pomp to meet it as far as the Milvian Bridge, and then placed it in the Basilica of St. Peter, on the Vatican, near the Confession of the Prince of the Apostles. At the sight of this venerable head, Pius II was transported with a religious enthusiasm, and before taking up the glorious relic in order to carry it into Rome, he pronounced the following magnificent address, which we give as a conclusion to this account of the Liturgy of the Feast of St. Andrew.

At length thou hast arrived, O most holy and venerable head of the saintly Apostle! The fury of the Turks has driven thee from thy resting-place, and thou art come as an exile to thy brother, the Prince of the Apostles. Thy brother will not fail thee; and by the will of God, the day will come when men shall say in thy praise: O happy banishment, which caused thee to receive such a welcome! Meanwhile, here shalt thou dwell with thy brother, and share in his honors.

This is Rome, the venerable city, which was dedicated by thy brother's precious blood. The people thou seest are they whom the blessed Apostle, thy most loving brother, and St. Paul, the vessel of election, regenerated unto Christ our Lord. Thus the Romans are thy kinsmen. They venerate, and honor, and love thee as their father's brother; nay, as their second father; and are confident of thy patronage in the presence of the great God.

O most blessed Apostle Andrew! thou preacher of the truth, and defender of the dogma of the most Holy Trinity! with what joy dost thou fill us on this day, whereon it is given us to behold thy sacred and venerable head, which deserved that, on the day of Pentecost, the holy Paraclete should rest upon it in the form of fire!

O ye Christians that visit Jerusalem out of reverence for your Savior, that there you may see the places where His feet have stood; lo! here is the throne of the Holy Ghost. Here sat the Spirit of the Lord. Here was seen the Third Person of the Trinity. Here were the eyes that so often saw Jesus in the flesh. This was the mouth that so often spoke to Jesus; and on these cheeks did that same Lord doubtless impress His sacred kisses.

O wondrous sanctuary, wherein dwelt charity, and kindness, and gentleness, and spiritual consolation. Who could look upon such venerable and precious relics of the Apostle of Christ and not be moved? and not be filled with tender devotion? and not shed tears for very joy? Yea, O most admirable Apostle Andrew! we rejoice, and are glad, and exult, at this thy coming, for we doubt not that thou thyself art present here, and bearest us company as we enter with thy head into the holy city.

The Turks are indeed our enemies, as being the enemies of the Christian religion: but in that they have been the occasion of thy coming amongst us, we are grateful to them. For what greater blessing could have befallen us than that we should be permitted to see thy most sacred head, and that our Rome should be filled with its fragrance! Oh! that we could welcome thee with the honors which are due to thee, and receive thee in a way becoming thy exceeding holiness! But accept our good will, and our sincere desires to honor thee, and suffer us now to touch thy relics with our unworthy hands, and, though sinners, to accompany thee within the walls of the city.

Enter, then, the holy city, and show thy love to her people. May thy coming be a boon to Christendom. May thy entrance be peaceful, and thy abode amongst us bring happiness and prosperity. Be thou our advocate in Heaven, and, together with the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, defend this city, and protect with thy love all Christian people; that, by thy intercession, the mercy of God may be upon us; and if His indignation be enkindled against us by reason of our manifold sins, let it fall upon the impious Turks and the pagan nations that blaspheme Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thus has the glory of St. Andrew been blended in Rome with that of St. Peter. But the Apostle of the Cross, whose Feast was heretofore kept in many churches with an octave, has also been chosen as patron of one of the kingdoms of the west. Scotland, when she was a Catholic country, had put herself under his protection. May he still exercise his protection over her, and, by his prayers, hasten her return to the true Faith! (Dom Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B. The Liturgical Year, Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle, November 30.)

The relics of Saint Andrew the Apostle have been rescued from the Mohammedans and from the complacency of the Greek heretics and schismatics to receive their final rest near the remains of his own brother, Saint Peter, our first pope.

Saint Andrew’s steadfastness in the Holy Faith reminds us that all the idiotic, redundant, and utterly platitudinous “joint declarations” can never make that which is wrong right or make that which is true appear to untrue or, perhaps more accurately, out of date or irrelevant in light of the “new insights” of contemporary ecumenism that are nothing more than the old tricks, deceits, and vanities of the adversary himself.

Father Francis X. Weninger’s own reflection on today’s feast abundantly amplifies these points:

The holy Apostle, St. Andrew, born at Bethsaida, in Galilee, was a brother of St. Peter, and at first a disciple of St. John the Baptist. He was the first of the Apostles who had the happiness of knowing Christ, the true Messiah; for, one day, when Andrew and another disciple were standing with their master on the banks of the Jordan, St. John, pointing to Jesus, who was approaching, said: "Behold the Lamb of God!" No sooner had Andrew heard these words, than he and the other disciple followed Christ, and remained with Him that day.

On the following day, meeting his brother, Simon, afterward called Peter, he said to him: "We have found the Messiah," and brought him to Christ. Not long after this, when Andrew and Peter were casting their nets into the Sea of Galilee, Christ called them, and said: "Come after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men!" Immediately leaving their nets, they followed Him. From that moment, Andrew left the Lord no more, except at the time when He was seized in the Garden of Gethsemane, by the Jews, when he fled like the other disciples.

He was present when Christ, after His resurrection, appeared to His disciples; when He ascended into heaven in their presence, and when He sent the Holy Ghost from heaven upon them. When the Apostles separated, and went into the different countries of the world, to preach the Gospel of Christ to all nations, Andrew travelled into Scythia, Thrace, Galatia and other Pagan countries, where he converted many thousands by his sermons, and by the miracles he performed. At last he came to Patrae, the capital of Achaia, in Greece, and there, too, preached, with apostolic freedom, the Word of the Lord, and approved it by many miracles, which induced a great number of the inhabitants to embrace Christianity. Egeas, the governor, resisted him with all his might, and endeavored to defend idolatry. The holy Apostle, however, reproved him fearlessly, and said: "You desire that this people should recognize you as their judge; why, then, do you refuse to recognize Christ, the true God, as the Judge of all mankind; and why do you refuse to turn your heart from idolatry?"

"Be silent!" replied Egeas, "and speak not to me of your Christ. Was he not nailed by the Jews to a cross? How then can he be a true God? How can I worship him as God?" Andrew endeavored to explain the great mystery of the Redemption of the human race, and to show how Christ had, voluntarily, and for love of man, died the ignominious death of the cross; but, Egeas would not listen, and, interrupting him, commanded him immediately to sacrifice to the gods, or to prepare himself for a most cruel martyrdom. Andrew replied: "I offer daily, on the Altar, to the Almighty, who is the only true God, not the flesh of oxen, nor the blood of goats, but an unspotted Lamb, which, when the entire multitude of the faithful have partaken of its flesh, remains entire and living." The governor, full of wrath, ordered Andrew to be cast into a dungeon; but the people, who loved the Saint as a father, rose against the governor, and ran in crowds to the dungeon, determined to set the prisoner free. But the Apostle besought them to be quiet, and not seek to prevent him from receiving the crown of martyrdom, which he had so long desired.

The following day, St. Andrew was brought before the governor, who offered him the greatest honors, if he would consent to sacrifice to the gods; but threatened him with the most cruel torments, if he persisted in refusing. The Saint said fearlessly: "The honors you offer me have no value in my eyes, because they are temporal and pass away; the tortures you threaten me with, I despise, for the same reason; but you, O Egeas! have to fear torments which last for ever, if you do not abandon your idols, and recognize Jesus Christ for the true and only God, and worship Him as such."

After these words, the Saint continued to preach to the governor, and to all present, of the crucified Lord, and of the happiness of all those who suffer for Him. Egeas, enraged at the Apostle's fearlessness, ordered him to be most cruelly scourged, and then to be crucified, in order to make him resemble his God. This was meant by the governor in derision; but no manner of death could have been more welcome to St. Andrew. The cruel and unjust sentence was received with murmurs by the people, of whom some were heard saying aloud: "This man is just, and a friend of God: why must he be crucified?

"Andrew, addressing the people again, begged them not to deprive him of what he looked upon as an inestimable happiness. When he was led to the place of execution, and saw the cross on which he was to die, he cried out joyfully: "O precious cross, which I have so long desired, so truly loved, so ceaselessly sought; at last I find thee prepared to receive me. Take me away from the world, and unite me again with my Lord, that He who has redeemed me on thee, may again receive me by thee." Thus cried the Saint from afar; but when he reached the cross, he embraced and kissed it, and gave himself willingly to the executioners, who bound him to it. No sooner had the cross been raised, than it served as a pulpit to the holy Apostle, and he exhorted the Christians to remain firm in their holy faith, and the heathens to convert themselves to the only true God. He explained the nothingness of the idols, and the truth of the Christian religion. For two days he lived and preached, hanging on the cross. The people began again to murmur against the governor, and desired to have the Saint taken down from the cross; but the holy martyr desired to be permitted to die upon it, as he esteemed death a priceless grace.

On the third day, when the people seemed determined to rescue him by force, he called to his Savior : " Do not permit, O Lord, that Thy servant, who, according to his own wish, hangs on the cross, be taken down from it; but do Thou take me from it to Thee, O my beloved Master, Jesus Christ, whom I have confessed and always loved, and whom, still confessing, I long to see. Take, O Lord Jesus, my spirit to Thee. I ardently desire to be united with Thee." During this prayer, a bright light streamed from heaven, and rested upon the Saint, whilst he breathed his last. The martyrdom of St. Andrew happened in the year of Our Lord 62, or, according to others, in 70. His holy body was transported to Constantinople in the time of Constantine the Great; but was afterwards brought to Rome, where it has its resting-place in the Church of St. Peter.

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

I. Impress two memorable sayings of the holy Apostle deep into your heart. The first is: " I sacrifice daily to Almighty God, &c." This is a glorious proof to you that the Apostles performed the holy Sacrifice of Mass; for to this alone can the words of St. Andrew have reference. Conclude, therefore, from this, that it is false for the heretics to say that the first Christians knew nothing of Mass. Did not St. Andrew live during the first years of Christianity? Be not confused by the lies of the heretics; but believe that Christ instituted the holy Sacrifice of the Mass at His Last Supper.

The second memorable saying of the Apostle is: "The honors you offer me have no value in my eyes, because they are temporal and pass away; your tortures I despise for the same reason." Consider it well. All temporal honors, all joys, pass away quickly. How foolish is it, therefore, to love them immoderately, and to forfeit for them the eternal honors, riches and joys! No pain or trial on this earth lasts for ever; but those which await the sinner in the other world, are endless. Should we not, therefore, do and suffer here so as to escape torments hereafter?

II. St. Andrew manifested great joy on beholding the cross that had been prepared for him; he greeted it warmly, and embraced it lovingly. He wished not to be released from it, but prayed to be allowed to die on it. You are not bound to a cross of wood like St. Andrew, but the All-Wise sometimes lays a cross of suffering upon you, because He wishes to prepare you for heaven. How do you regard your cross? How do you carry it? I fear to ask you how you greeted, embraced and kissed it. Perhaps you have carried it, as Simon of Cyrene carried the Cross of the Lord, because you were forced, and could not help yourself. You have suffered only because you were obliged. You suffer murmuring and complainingly, and perhaps even endeavor to free yourself from your cross by improper means. Oh! how differently did St. Andrew act. He esteemed himself happy, because he could die on the cross like his Savior, and because he had heard, from the lips of Christ, that the way of the Cross is the surest road to eternal life. You know all this; but you do not think seriously enough of it.

In future, keep these truths before your eyes: first, the way of the Cross is the way to heaven; secondly, Christ died on the Cross for love of me. Whoever rightly considers these two points, will in his sufferings, not give way to resentment, murmurs or complaints, but will bear them if not cheerfully, at least patiently. Hence St. Paul admonishes us, saying: "For, think diligently upon him that endured such opposition from sinners against himself, that you be not wearied, fainting in your minds (Heb. xii.)." (Father Francis X. Weninger, Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle, November 30.)

Saint Andrew the Apostle bore his cross with love of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and of the cross of his beloved brother of the flesh and in Our Lord Himself, Saint Peter, the first pope.

We are not here to please other human beings and we have not been baptized to hide the light of our baptism under a bushel basket to curry favor with men, who are invariably fickle, inconstant and in many cases, downright treacherous.

We are not here to praise false religions, heretics, schismatics, or infidels, worse yet to enter into their shrines and temples of false worship and/or two esteem the symbols of pagan idols with our own hands.

We have been baptized and confirmed to bear witnesses to the truths of the Catholic Faith as we seek, by our prayers, sacrifices, almsgiving, words, and actions, to make reparation for our sins as we beg Our Lady to send us the graces so that the brightness of her Divine Son’s refulgent radiance may be reflected, if ever so dimly in comparison with the sanctity of Saint Andrew, the Light of Christ of others and thus plant some seeds in behalf of the Catholic Faith in the souls of those whom God’s Holy Providence chooses to put in our paths each day.

To keep us humble and ever reliant upon the graces He sends us through the loving hands of His Most Blessed Mother, she who is the Mediatrix of All Graces, Our Lord may not permit us to see the fruits of our efforts to help others know the Holy Faith and/or to see themselves and the world more clearly through Its crystal-clear lenses. However, it is enough for us to keep our hands on the plow without looking back and to know that the reward of a blessed eternity awaits the souls of those who persevere until the end.

Our Lord does not require great acts from us.

No, He requires us merely to be faithful in small things (our daily prayers, to keep His Commandments whole and undiluted, our souls unspotted by the world, our daily duties performed with promptness and diligence for love Him and for His sake, our daily performance of the Spiritual Works of Mercy and of Charity without a thought of inconvenience, etc.) so that greater things may be appointed unto us as we strive to climb the ladder of sanctity.

Oh, yes, there is one more thing: to pray His Most Blessed Mother’s Holy Rosary every day so that we can indeed the more obtain what its mysteries contain by more perfectly imitating what those mysteries contain.

Any questions?

A blessed Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle to you all!

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.

Saint Andrew the Apostle, pray for us.

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.

Saint John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Gabriel the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.

Saints Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, pray for us.

Appendix

Several Example of Past "Joint Declarations" or "Common Statements" Made by Conciliar "Popes" and Greek Orthodox "Patriarchs"

Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I give thanks in the Holy Spirit to God, the author and finisher of all good works, for enabling them to meet once again in the holy city of Rome in order to pray together with the Bishops of the Synod of the Roman Catholic Church and with the faithful people of this city, to greet one another with a kiss of peace, and to converse together in a spirit of charity and brotherly frankness.

While recognizing that there is still a long way to go on the road toward the unity of all Christians and that between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church there still remain points to clarify and obstacles to surmount before attaining that unity in the profession of faith necessary for re-establishing full communion, they rejoice in the fact that their meeting was able to contribute to their Churches rediscovering themselves still more as sister Churches.

In the prayers they offered, in their public statements and in their private conversation, the Pope and the Patriarch wished to emphasize their conviction that an essential element in the restoration of full communion between the Roman Catholic Church on the one side and the Orthodox Church on the other, is to be found within the framework of the renewal of the Church and of Christians in fidelity to the traditions of the Fathers and to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit Who remains always with the Church.

They recognize that the true dialogue of charity, which should be at the basis of all relations between themselves and between their Churches, must be rooted in total fidelity to the one Lord Jesus Christ and in mutual respect for each one’s traditions. Every element which can strengthen the bonds of charity, of communion, and of common action is a cause for spiritual rejoicing and should be promoted; anything which can harm this charity, communion and common action is to be eliminated with the grace of God and the creative strength of the Holy Spirit.

Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I are convinced that the dialogue of charity between their Churches must bear fruits of a cooperation which would not be self-seeking, in the field of common action at the pastoral, social and intellectual levels, with mutual respect for each one’s fidelity to his own Church. They desire that regular and profound contacts may be maintained between Catholic and Orthodox pastors for the good of their faithful. The Roman Catholic Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate are ready to study concrete ways of solving pastoral problems, especially those connected with marriages between Catholics and Orthodox. They hope for better cooperation in works of charity, in aid to refugees and those who are suffering and in the promotion of justice and peace in the world.

In order to prepare fruitful contacts between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, the Pope and the Patriarch give their blessing and pastoral support to all efforts for cooperation between Catholic and Orthodox scholars in the fields of historical studies, of studies in the traditions of the Churches, of patristics, of liturgy and of a presentation of the Gospel which corresponds at one and the same time with the authentic message of the Lord and with the needs and hopes of today’s world. The spirit which should inspire these efforts is one of loyalty to truth and of mutual understanding, with an effective desire to avoid the bitterness of the past and every kind of spiritual or intellectual domination.

Paul VI and Athenagoras I remind government authorities and all the world’s peoples of the thirst for peace and justice which lies in the hearts of all men. In the name of the Lord, they implore them to seek out every means to promote this peace and this justice in all countries of the world. (Common Declaration of Paul the Sick and the Ecumenical Heretic of Constantinople, Athenagoras I.)

We, Pope John Paul II, and the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I, give thanks to God who has granted us the possibility of meeting to celebrate together the feast of the apostle Andrew, the one first called and the brother of the apostle Peter. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Eph 1:3).

Seeking only the glory of God through the accomplishment of his will, we affirm again our resolute determination to to everything possible to hasten the day when full communion will be reestablished between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church and when we will at last be able to concelebrate the divine Eucharist.

We are grateful to our predecessors, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I, for everything they did to reconcile our Churches and cause them to progress in unity.

The progress made in the preparatory stage permits us to announce that the theological dialogue is about to begin and to make public the list of the members of the mixed Catholic-Orthodox commission that will be responsible for it.

This theological dialogue aims not only at progressing towards the re-establishment of full communion between the Catholic and Orthodox sister-Churches, but also at contributing to the multiple dialogues that are developing in the Christian world in search of its unity.

The dialogue of charity (cf. Jn 13:34; Eph 4:1-7), rooted in complete faithfulness to the one Lord Jesus Christ and to his will over his Church (cf. Jn 17:21), has opened up the way to better understanding of our mutual theological positions and, thereby, to new approaches to the theological work and to a new attitude with regard to the common past of our Churches. This purification of the collective memory of our Churches is an important fruit of the dialogue of charity and an indispensable condition of future progress. This dialogue of charity must continue and be intensified in the complex situation which we have inherited from the past, and which constitutes the reality in which our effort must take place today.

We want the progress in unity to open up new possibilities of dialogue and collaboration with believers of other religions, and with all men of goodwill, in order that love and brotherhood may prevail over hatred and opposition among men. We hope to contribute in this way to the coming of true peace in the world. We implore this gift of him who was, who is, and who will be, Christ our one Saviour and our real peace. (Joint declaration of Pope John Paul II and the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I at the conclusion of the visit of the Pope to the Phanar [30 November 1979].)

We are gathered here today in the spirit of peace for the good of all human beings and for the care of creation. At this moment in history, at the beginning of the third millennium, we are saddened to see the daily suffering of a great number of people from violence, starvation, poverty and disease. We are also concerned about the negative consequences for humanity and for all creation resulting from the degradation of some basic natural resources such as water, air and land, brought about by an economic and technological progress which does not recognize and take into account its limits.

Almighty God envisioned a world of beauty and harmony, and He created it, making every part an expression of His freedom, wisdom and love (cf. Gen 1:1-25).

At the centre of the whole of creation, He placed us, human beings, with our inalienable human dignity. Although we share many features with the rest of the living beings, Almighty God went further with us and gave us an immortal soul, the source of self-awareness and freedom, endowments that make us in His image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26-31;2:7). Marked with that resemblance, we have been placed by God in the world in order to cooperate with Him in realizing more and more fully the divine purpose for creation.

At the beginning of history, man and woman sinned by disobeying God and rejecting His design for creation. Among the results of this first sin was the destruction of the original harmony of creation. If we examine carefully the social and environmental crisis which the world community is facing, we must conclude that we are still betraying the mandate God has given us: to be stewards called to collaborate with God in watching over creation in holiness and wisdom.

God has not abandoned the world. It is His will that His design and our hope for it will be realized through our co-operation in restoring its original harmony. In our own time we are witnessing a growth of an ecological awareness which needs to be encouraged, so that it will lead to practical programmes and initiatives. An awareness of the relationship between God and humankind brings a fuller sense of the importance of the relationship between human beings and the natural environment, which is God’s creation and which God entrusted to us to guard with wisdom and love (cf. Gen 1:28).

Respect for creation stems from respect for human life and dignity. It is on the basis of our recognition that the world is created by God that we can discern an objective moral order within which to articulate a code of environmental ethics. In this perspective, Christians and all other believers have a specific role to play in proclaiming moral values and in educating people in ecological awareness, which is none other than responsibility towards self, towards others, towards creation.

What is required is an act of repentance on our part and a renewed attempt to view ourselves, one another, and the world around us within the perspective of the divine design for creation. The problem is not simply economic and technological; it is moral and spiritual. A solution at the economic and technological level can be found only if we undergo, in the most radical way, an inner change of heart, which can lead to a change in lifestyle and of unsustainable patterns of consumption and production. A genuine conversion in Christ will enable us to change the way we think and act.

First, we must regain humility and recognize the limits of our powers, and most importantly, the limits of our knowledge and judgement. We have been making decisions, taking actions and assigning values that are leading us away from the world as it should be, away from the design of God for creation, away from all that is essential for a healthy planet and a healthy commonwealth of people. A new approach and a new culture are needed, based on the centrality of the human person within creation and inspired by environmentally ethical behavior stemming from our triple relationship to God, to self and to creation. Such an ethics fosters interdependence and stresses the principles of universal solidarity, social justice and responsibility, in order to promote a true culture of life.

Secondly, we must frankly admit that humankind is entitled to something better than what we see around us. We and, much more, our children and future generations are entitled to a better world, a world free from degradation, violence and bloodshed, a world of generosity and love.

Thirdly, aware of the value of prayer, we must implore God the Creator to enlighten people everywhere regarding the duty to respect and carefully guard creation.

We therefore invite all men and women of good will to ponder the importance of the following ethical goals:

1. To think of the world's children when we reflect on and evaluate our options for action.

2. To be open to study the true values based on the natural law that sustain every human culture.

3. To use science and technology in a full and constructive way, while recognizing that the findings of science have always to be evaluated in the light of the centrality of the human person, of the common good and of the inner purpose of creation. Science may help us to correct the mistakes of the past, in order to enhance the spiritual and material well-being of the present and future generations. It is love for our children that will show us the path that we must follow into the future.

4. To be humble regarding the idea of ownership and to be open to the demands of solidarity. Our mortality and our weakness of judgement together warn us not to take irreversible actions with what we choose to regard as our property during our brief stay on this earth. We have not been entrusted with unlimited power over creation, we are only stewards of the common heritage.

5. To acknowledge the diversity of situations and responsibilities in the work for a better world environment. We do not expect every person and every institution to assume the same burden. Everyone has a part to play, but for the demands of justice and charity to be respected the most affluent societies must carry the greater burden, and from them is demanded a sacrifice greater than can be offered by the poor. Religions, governments and institutions are faced by many different situations; but on the basis of the principle of subsidiarity all of them can take on some tasks, some part of the shared effort.

6. To promote a peaceful approach to disagreement about how to live on this earth, about how to share it and use it, about what to change and what to leave unchanged. It is not our desire to evade controversy about the environment, for we trust in the capacity of human reason and the path of dialogue to reach agreement. We commit ourselves to respect the views of all who disagree with us, seeking solutions through open exchange, without resorting to oppression and domination.

It is not too late. God's world has incredible healing powers. Within a single generation, we could steer the earth toward our children's future. Let that generation start now, with God's help and blessing. (Joint declaration of Pope John Paul II and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I on the protection of creation [Rome – Venice, 10 June 2002].)

1. In the spirit of faith in Christ and the reciprocal love that unites us, we thank God for this gift of our new meeting that is taking place on the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and witnesses to our firm determination to continue on our way towards full communion with one another in Christ.

2. Many positive steps have marked our common journey, starting above all with the historical event that we are recalling today: the embrace of Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, on 5 and 6 January 1964. We, their Successors, are meeting today to commemorate fittingly before God that blessed encounter, now part of the history of the Church, faithfully recalling it and its original intentions.

3. The embrace in Jerusalem of our respective Predecessors of venerable memory visibly expressed a hope that dwells in all hearts, as the Communiqué declared: "With eyes turned to Christ, together with the Father, the Archetype and Author of unity and of peace, they pray God that this encounter may be the sign and prelude of things to come for the glory of God and the enlightenment of his faithful people. After so many centuries of silence, they have now met with the desire to do the Lord's will and to proclaim the ancient truth of his Gospel, entrusted to the Church" (Common Declaration of Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I, Tomos Agapis, Vatican-Phanar, 1971, n. 50, p. 120).

4. Unity and Peace! The hope kindled by that historic encounter has lit up our journey in these last decades. Aware that the Christian world has suffered the tragedy of separation for centuries, our Predecessors and we ourselves have persevered in the "dialogue of charity", our gaze turned to that blessed, shining day on which it will be possible to communicate with the same cup of the precious Blood and the holy Body of the Lord (cf. Patriarch Athenagoras I, Address to Pope Paul VI [5 January 1964], ibid., n. 48, p. 109). The many ecclesial events that have punctuated these past years have put on firm foundations the commitment to brotherly love: a love which, in learning from past lessons, may be ready to forgive, more inclined to believe in good than in evil and intent first and foremost on complying with the Divine Redeemer and in being attracted and transformed by him (Address of Pope Paul VI to Patriarch Athenagoras I [6 January 1964], ibid., n. 49, p. 117).

5. Let us thank the Lord for the exemplary gestures of reciprocal love, participation and sharing that he has granted us to make; among them, it is only right to recall the Pope's Visit to the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios in 1979, when the creation of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and all the Orthodox Churches was announced at the Phanar, a further step to sustain the "dialogue of truth" with the "dialogue of charity"; Patriarch Dimitrios' visit to Rome in 1987; our meeting in Rome on the feast of Sts Peter and Paul in 1995, when we prayed in St Peter's, despite the painful separation during the celebration of the Eucharistic Liturgy, since we cannot yet drink from the same chalice of the Lord. Then, more recently, there was the meeting at Assisi for the "Day of Prayer for Peace in the World", and the Common Declaration on Environmental Ethics for the Safeguard of Creation, signed on 10 June 2002 [in the context of the Fourth Symposium on Ecology: The Adriatic Sea: a Sea at Risk - Unity of Purpose].

6. Despite our firm determination to journey on towards full communion, it would have been unrealistic not to expect obstacles of various kinds: doctrinal, first of all, but also the result of conditioning by a troubled history. In addition, the new problems which have emerged from the radical changes that have occurred in political and social structures have not failed to make themselves felt in relations between the Christian Churches. With the return to freedom of Christians in Central and Eastern Europe, old fears have also been reawakened, making dialogue difficult. Nonetheless, St Paul's exhortation to the Corinthians: let all things be done in charity, must always be vibrant within us and between us.

7. The Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and all the Orthodox Churches, created with so much hope, has marked our progress in recent years. It is still a suitable instrument for studying the ecclesiological and historical problems that are at the root of our difficulties, and for identifying hypothetical solutions to them. It is our duty to persevere in the important commitment to reopen the work as soon as possible. In examining the reciprocal initiatives of the offices of Rome and of Constantinople with this in view, we ask the Lord to sustain our determination, and to convince everyone of how essential it is to pursue the "dialogue of truth".

8. Our meeting in Rome today also enables us to face certain problems and misunderstandings that have recently surfaced. The long experience of the "dialogue of charity" comes to our aid precisely in these circumstances, so that difficulties can be faced serenely without slowing or clouding our progress on the journey we have undertaken towards full communion in Christ.

9. Before a world that is suffering every kind of division and imbalance, today's encounter is intended as a practical and forceful reminder of the importance for Christians and for the Churches to coexist in peace and harmony, in order to witness in agreement to the message of the Gospel in the most credible and convincing way possible.

10. In the special context of Europe, moving in the direction of higher forms of integration and expansion towards the East of the Continent, we thank the Lord for this positive development and express the hope that in this new situation, collaboration between Catholics and Orthodox may grow. There are so many challenges to face together in order to contribute to the good of society: to heal with love the scourge of terrorism, to instil a hope of peace, to help set aright the multitude of grievous conflicts; to restore to the European Continent the awareness of its Christian roots; to build true dialogue with Islam, since indifference and reciprocal ignorance can only give rise to diffidence and even hatred; to nourish an awareness of the sacred nature of human life; to work to ensure that science does not deny the divine spark that every human being receives with the gift of life; to collaborate so that our earth may not be disfigured and that Creation may preserve the beauty with which it has been endowed by God; but above all, to proclaim the Gospel Message with fresh vigour, showing contemporary men and women how the Gospel can help them rediscover themselves and to build a more human world.

11. Let us pray to the Lord to give peace to the Church and to the world, and to imbue our journey towards full communion with the wisdom of his Spirit, "ut unum in Christo simus" [so that we may be one in Christ].  (Common Declaration of Pope John Paul II and the Ecumenical Patriarch His Holiness Bartholomew I (July 1, 2004).)

This year we thank God in particular for the meeting of the Joint Commission which took place in Ravenna, a city whose monuments speak eloquently of the ancient Byzantine heritage handed down to us from the undivided Church of the first millennium. May the splendour of those mosaics inspire all the members of the Joint Commission to pursue their important task with renewed determination, in fidelity to the Gospel and to Tradition, ever alert to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in the Church today.

While the meeting in Ravenna was not without its difficulties, I pray earnestly that these may soon be clarified and resolved, so that there may be full participation in the Eleventh Plenary Session and in subsequent initiatives aimed at continuing the theological dialogue in mutual charity and understanding. Indeed, our work towards unity is according to the will of Christ our Lord. In these early years of the third millennium, our efforts are all the more urgent because of the many challenges facing all Christians, to which we need to respond with a united voice and with conviction. (Letter to His Holiness Bartholomaios I, Archbishop of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch, on the occasion of the feast of St. Andrew, November 23, 2007.)

1. Like our venerable predecessors Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras who met here in Jerusalem fifty years ago, we too, Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, were determined to meet in the Holy Land “where our common Redeemer, Christ our Lord, lived, taught, died, rose again, and ascended into Heaven, whence he sent the Holy Spirit on the infant Church” (Common communiqué of Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, published after their meeting of 6 January 1964). Our meeting, another encounter of the Bishops of the Churches of Rome and Constantinople founded respectively by the two Brothers the Apostles Peter and Andrew, is a source of profound spiritual joy for us. It presents a providential occasion to reflect on the depth and the authenticity of our existing bonds, themselves the fruit of a grace-filled journey on which the Lord has guided us since that blessed day of fifty years ago.

2. Our fraternal encounter today is a new and necessary step on the journey towards the unity to which only the Holy Spirit can lead us, that of communion in legitimate diversity. We call to mind with profound gratitude the steps that the Lord has already enabled us to undertake. The embrace exchanged between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras here in Jerusalem, after many centuries of silence, paved the way for a momentous gesture, the removal from the memory and from the midst of the Church of the acts of mutual excommunication in 1054. This was followed by an exchange of visits between the respective Sees of Rome and Constantinople, by regular correspondence and, later, by the decision announced by Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Dimitrios, of blessed memory both, to initiate a theological dialogue of truth between Catholics and Orthodox. Over these years, God, the source of all peace and love, has taught us to regard one another as members of the same Christian family, under one Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and to love one another, so that we may confess our faith in the same Gospel of Christ, as received by the Apostles and expressed and transmitted to us by the Ecumenical Councils and the Church Fathers. While fully aware of not having reached the goal of full communion, today we confirm our commitment to continue walking together towards the unity for which Christ our Lord prayed to the Father so “that all may be one” (Jn 17:21).

3. Well aware that unity is manifested in love of God and love of neighbour, we look forward in eager anticipation to the day in which we will finally partake together in the Eucharistic banquet. As Christians, we are called to prepare to receive this gift of Eucharistic communion, according to the teaching of Saint Irenaeus of Lyon (Against Heresies, IV,18,5, PG 7,1028), through the confession of the one faith, persevering prayer, inner conversion, renewal of life and fraternal dialogue. By achieving this hoped for goal, we will manifest to the world the love of God by which we are recognized as true disciples of Jesus Christ (cf. Jn 13:35).

4. To this end, the theological dialogue undertaken by the Joint International Commission offers a fundamental contribution to the search for full communion among Catholics and Orthodox. Throughout the subsequent times of Popes John Paul II and Benedict the XVI, and Patriarch Dimitrios, the progress of our theological encounters has been substantial. Today we express heartfelt appreciation for the achievements to date, as well as for the current endeavours. This is no mere theoretical exercise, but an exercise in truth and love that demands an ever deeper knowledge of each other’s traditions in order to understand them and to learn from them. Thus we affirm once again that the theological dialogue does not seek a theological lowest common denominator on which to reach a compromise, but is rather about deepening one’s grasp of the whole truth that Christ has given to his Church, a truth that we never cease to understand better as we follow the Holy Spirit’s promptings. Hence, we affirm together that our faithfulness to the Lord demands fraternal encounter and true dialogue. Such a common pursuit does not lead us away from the truth; rather, through an exchange of gifts, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it will lead us into all truth (cf. Jn 16:13).

5. Yet even as we make this journey towards full communion we already have the duty to offer common witness to the love of God for all people by working together in the service of humanity, especially in defending the dignity of the human person at every stage of life and the sanctity of family based on marriage, in promoting peace and the common good, and in responding to the suffering that continues to afflict our world. We acknowledge that hunger, poverty, illiteracy, the inequitable distribution of resources must constantly be addressed. It is our duty to seek to build together a just and humane society in which no-one feels excluded or emarginated.

6. It is our profound conviction that the future of the human family depends also on how we safeguard – both prudently and compassionately, with justice and fairness – the gift of creation that our Creator has entrusted to us. Therefore, we acknowledge in repentance the wrongful mistreatment of our planet, which is tantamount to sin before the eyes of God. We reaffirm our responsibility and obligation to foster a sense of humility and moderation so that all may feel the need to respect creation and to safeguard it with care. Together, we pledge our commitment to raising awareness about the stewardship of creation; we appeal to all people of goodwill to consider ways of living less wastefully and more frugally, manifesting less greed and more generosity for the protection of God’s world and the benefit of His people.

7. There is likewise an urgent need for effective and committed cooperation of Christians in order to safeguard everywhere the right to express publicly one’s faith and to be treated fairly when promoting that which Christianity continues to offer to contemporary society and culture. In this regard, we invite all Christians to promote an authentic dialogue with Judaism, Islam and other religious traditions. Indifference and mutual ignorance can only lead to mistrust and unfortunately even conflict.

8. From this holy city of Jerusalem, we express our shared profound concern for the situation of Christians in the Middle East and for their right to remain full citizens of their homelands. In trust we turn to the almighty and merciful God in a prayer for peace in the Holy Land and in the Middle East in general. We especially pray for the Churches in Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, which have suffered most grievously due to recent events. We encourage all parties regardless of their religious convictions to continue to work for reconciliation and for the just recognition of peoples’ rights. We are persuaded that it is not arms, but dialogue, pardon and reconciliation that are the only possible means to achieve peace.

9. In an historical context marked by violence, indifference and egoism, many men and women today feel that they have lost their bearings. It is precisely through our common witness to the good news of the Gospel that we may be able to help the people of our time to rediscover the way that leads to truth, justice and peace. United in our intentions, and recalling the example, fifty years ago here in Jerusalem, of Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, we call upon all Christians, together with believers of every religious tradition and all people of good will, to recognize the urgency of the hour that compels us to seek the reconciliation and unity of the human family, while fully respecting legitimate differences, for the good of all humanity and of future generations.

10. In undertaking this shared pilgrimage to the site where our one same Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and rose again, we humbly commend to the intercession of the Most Holy and Ever Virgin Mary our future steps on the path towards the fullness of unity, entrusting to God’s infinite love the entire human family. “ May the Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!” (Num 6:25-26). (Jorge and Bartholomew‘s Joint Declaration, 25 May 2014.)