Pope and Phanar head discuss common date for Easter celebrations

Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. Photo: cathedrale-orthodoxe.com

Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople are discussing the date for Easter to be shared by Catholics and Orthodox Christians. The Vatican head made the announcement in a conversation with the Jesuits during his trip to the Congo and South Sudan, reports tass.ru.

According to the pontiff, the parties hope to resolve the issue during a meeting in 2025 to mark the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council.

"We are preparing a meeting in 2025. With Patriarch Bartholomew we want to come to an agreement on a single date for Easter," the Pope said.

"We want to mark the round date of the Council as brothers and we are preparing," he added.

Francis stressed that Bartholomew was the first patriarch of Constantinople to come to the enthronement of the pope in 2013 "centuries later".

The Pope also noted that in 2025, the dates for Easter celebrations, which Catholics and Orthodox calculate differently, coincide.

As reported, the head of the UGCC, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, said that in preparation for the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the Vatican and the Patriarchate of Constantinople are working "on the common updated paschalia so that Christians around the world can celebrate Easter on the same day".

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