Greek priest on Pope's visit to Phanar: faith must not be sold

Pope Leo and Patriarch Bartholomew. Photo: Nikos Papachristou

The rector of the Church of Saint Spyridon in the suburbs of Athens Archpriest Georgios Katsaounis in an interview with the UOJ in Greece commented on the relations between the Constantinopolitan Patriarchate and the Vatican, as well as the upcoming celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea.

“We must not sell the faith. The dogmas of the faith are not something formed by the people. They are divine revelation. Christ Himself came and revealed the truth to us. And we must preserve this truth,’ the priest said.

He recalled the historical context of relations between East and West: “Let us not forget that the Schism of 1054 took place, and its participants did not understand at the time what consequences it would have. Over time, there were mutual attacks, mainly for political reasons.”

The priest positively assessed the lifting of anathemas under Patriarch Athenagoras and the Pope in the 1960s, however warned: "The discussions that have been conducted all this time contain certain risks. The picture of a united Christian world in the face of 21st century challenges – Islamic expansion, the decomposing Western society – is beautiful. But we are far from common confession, because we must acknowledge mistakes, especially those who committed them, in the dogmatic sense."

According to the archpriest, the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in 2025 “could become a good sign of Christianity to the world, provided that the intentions of each participant are pure.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Pope called for "full visible unity of all Christians".

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