Patriarch Bartholomew: We await restoration of full communion with RCC

Patriarch Bartholomew at the congress in Budapest. Photo: Nikos Papachristou

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople spoke at the closing session of the 27th International Congress of the Society for the Law of the Eastern Churches in Budapest. According to the UOJ Czech edition, this year’s meeting focused on the position of the Bishop of Rome from the perspectives of the Catholic and Orthodox traditions.

In his address, the Patriarch spoke of the need to restore the Pentarchy comprising the Churches of Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch and Alexandria.

“We await – by grace and help from above – the restoration of full communion with the Church of Rome in the one Body of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, so that the Pentarchy may once again become whole and the ‘five-stringed lyre’ of the universal Church may once again resound in the fullness of its ancient harmony,” the head of the Church of Constantinople said.

Patriarch Bartholomew welcomed the restoration of the title “Patriarch of the West” for the pope in 2024, noting that the title is rooted in the structure of the undivided Church of the first millennium and could contribute to the continuation of Orthodox-Catholic dialogue. He concluded his address by reaffirming his hope for the “restoration of full communion with the Church of Rome,” so that the Pentarchy may once again be complete.

He also referred to Patriarch Athenagoras, who described the pope of Rome as “the first in honor among us” and as one “presiding in love.”

As the UOJ reported, Patriarch Bartholomew traveled to Budapest for the opening of an Orthodox center.

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