Francis and Bartholomew embrace in the Holy Sepulchre 50 years after Paul VI and Athenagoras did the same, focusing on the duty to "offer a common witness". They also hope to find "a means of exercising the specific ministry of the Bishop of Rome which, in fidelity to his mission, can be open to a new situation and can be, in the present context, a service of love and of communion acknowledged by all."

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - The path to full Christian communion is still long but "our disagreements must not frighten us and paralyse our progress towards unity". For this reason, "We need to believe that, just as the stone before the tomb was cast aside, so too every obstacle to our full communion will also be removed."

Proposed by Bartholomew and the reason for Pope Francis' pilgrimage, the meeting between the two religions leaders marks the anniversary of the historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras that ended more than a thousand years of conflict between Catholics and Orthodox.

The pope and the patriarch embraced before the empty tomb inside the basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. They had already met in Jerusalem shortly after the pope's arrival, when the signed a joint statement in which they agreed to "offer a common witness". Tomorrow they are slated to meet again.

Whilst the statement stressed the importance of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue, Francis Pope reiterated the "hope already expressed by my predecessors for a continued dialogue with all our brothers and sisters in Christ, aimed at finding a means of exercising the specific ministry of the Bishop of Rome which, in fidelity to his mission, can be open to a new situation and can be, in the present context, a service of love and of communion acknowledged by all."

After the statements, a joint prayer was held near the Holy Sepulchre, a first for a pope and en ecumenical patriarch. The two arrived separately and entered the square from different gates. When they met at its centre, they embraced as bells tolled.

Theophilos III Greek-Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem began the ecumenical celebration on behalf of the three 'status quo' communities (Greek Orthodox, Franciscan and Armenian Apostolic), which still shows the division among Christians that the ecumenical celebration is meant to overcome. In fact, Coptic, Syriac, and Ethiopian archbishops, as well as Anglican, Lutheran and other bishops were present at the service.

"Fifty years ago," Bartholomew said, "two great church leaders, the late Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, cast out fear; they cast away from themselves the fear which had prevailed for a millennium, a fear which had kept the two ancient Churches, of the West and East, at a distance from one another, sometimes even setting them up against each other. Instead, as they stood before this sacred space, they exchanged fear with love. And so here we are, as their successors, following in their footsteps and honouring their heroic initiative. We have exchanged an embrace of love, even as we continue along the path toward full communion with one another in love and truth (Eph. 4.15) in order "that the world may believe" (John 17.21) that no other way leads to life except the way of love, reconciliation, genuine peace and fidelity to the Truth."

"This," he went on to say, "is the way that all Christians are called to follow in their relations among themselves - whatever church or confession they belong to - thereby providing an example for the rest of the world. The way may be long and arduous; indeed, to some it may occasionally seem like an impasse. However, it is the only way that leads to the fulfilment of the Lord's will "that [His disciples] may be one."

For his part, the pope also called on the faithful "not to be afraid", noting that "It is an extraordinary grace to be gathered here in prayer."

"Let us receive the special grace of this moment. We pause in reverent silence before this empty tomb in order to rediscover the grandeur of our Christian vocation: we are men and women of resurrection, and not of death. From this place, we learn how to live our lives, the trials of our Churches and of the whole world, in the light of Easter morning. Every injury, every one of our pains and sorrows, has been borne on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd who offered himself in sacrifice and thereby opened the way to eternal life. His open wounds are the cleft through which the torrent of his mercy is poured out upon the world. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of the basis of our hope! Let us not deprive the world of the joyful message of the resurrection! And let us not be deaf to the powerful summons to unity which rings out from this very place, in the words of the One who, risen from the dead, calls all of us 'my brothers'."

"Clearly we cannot deny the divisions which continue to exist among us, the disciples of Jesus: this sacred place makes us even more painfully aware of how tragic they are. And yet, fifty years after the embrace of those two venerable Fathers, we realize with gratitude and renewed amazement how it was possible, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, to take truly significant steps towards unity."

"This will be a grace of resurrection, of which we can have a foretaste even today. Every time we ask forgiveness of one another for our sins against other Christians and every time we find the courage to grant and receive such forgiveness, we experience the resurrection! Every time we put behind us our longstanding prejudices and find the courage to build new fraternal relationships, we confess that Christ is truly risen! Every time we reflect on the future of the Church in the light of her vocation to unity, the dawn of Easter breaks forth!"

Once more, the pope turned his thoughts to those who are still persecuted for their faith. "Standing as pilgrims in these holy places, we also remember in our prayers the entire Middle East, so frequently and lamentably marked by acts of violence and conflict. Nor do we forget in our prayers the many other men and women who in various parts of our world are suffering from war, poverty and hunger, as well as the many Christians who are persecuted for their faith in the risen Lord. When Christians of different confessions suffer together, side by side, and assist one another with fraternal charity, there is born an ecumenism of suffering, an ecumenism of blood, which proves particularly powerful not only for those situations in which it occurs, but also, by virtue of the communion of the saints, for the whole Church as well."

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