Pope Francis reiterates his desire for full unity with the rest of Christian confessions

Pope Francis reiterated his desire for “full unit” with other Christian confessions by receiving young priests and monks of the Eastern Orthodox churches.

“The proclamation of the common faith demands, in the first place, that we love each other,” said the Holy Father. As happened on Wednesday, February 4, during the General Hearing, the Pontiff did not read the speech he had prepared since he suffers a “Strong cold”.

In any case, they were given in hand during the match that took place in the Santa Marta house and not in the Apostolic Palace, as was scheduled at first.

The Holy Father recognized the group of young priests and monks of the Eastern Orthodox churches, Armenia, Copta, Ethiopian, Eritrea, Malankar and Syriac that “the Christians who remain divided are as fragments that the unity must find in the confession of the only one faith”.

“We need each other to confess faith,” he added.

This audience is part of a curriculum for young priests and eastern orthodox monks organized by the Dicastery for the promotion of the unity of Christians. This is the fifth time that this type’s encounter occurs.

Previously, other similar study trips have been made for Catholic priests prepared by the Armenian patriarchy of Etchmiadzin.

Pope Francis highlighted the “special relevance” of this visit framed in the year in which the XVII Centenary of the Council of Nicea is celebrated, the first ecumenical in which the symbol of the faith common to all Christians was professed.

The Pontiff thanked the “gift exchange”, promoted by the International Mixed Commission for the theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches and pointed out that “it allows the dialogue of charity to go hand in hand with the dialogue of truth” .

Ecumenical dimension of the “symbol of faith”

He then reflected on the ecumenical dimension of the term “symbol.”

Thus, he appreciated that, in theological sense, this concept is understood as “the set of the main truths of the Christian faith, which complement and harmonize with each other.”

“In this sense, Creed Niceno, who succinctly exposes the mystery of our salvation, is undeniable and incomparable,” he said.

On the other hand, from the ecclesiological point of view, he indicated that the symbol also “unites believers.”

“In antiquity, the Greek word symbolon He indicated half of a tile split in two to be presented as a sign of recognition. The symbol is, therefore, a sign of recognition and communion between believers, ”he said.

For this reason, he pointed out that faith is a “symbol” that only finds “his full unity with others.”

“Therefore, we need each other to confess faith, which is why Nicea’s symbol, in its original version, uses the plural ‘we believe,” he said.

Pope Francis referred to a third meaning of the symbol in the spiritual plane and asked not to forget that the creed is above all “a prayer of praise that unites us to God: the union with God necessarily passes through unity among us, Christians , that we proclaim the same faith. ”

“If the devil divides, the creed unites!”, He said. And he added: “How beautiful yes, every time we proclaim the creed, we felt united to the Christians of all traditions!”

Finally everyone prayed together the Creed Niceno, each in their own language.