Bishop of Rome Pope Benedict XVI is to visit the Patriarchate of Constantinople and meet with Patriarch Bartholomew on 29 and 30 November 2006.

This meeting will take place in Istanbul, the capital of Turkey, a historic crossroads of peoples, cultures, and religions.

The meeting of Pope Benedict and Patriarch Bartholomew continues an arrangement begun in 1964 when Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras met in Jerusalem, and later in Rome, and Istanbul. Since that time, meetings of Popes of Rome and Patriarchs of Constantinople have become more regular and are still significant.

These meetings have both expressed and deepened the renewed relationship between the Catholic Church of Rome and the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, which has been developing since the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the Pan-Orthodox Conferences (1961-1968).

Since then, both Churches have affirmed their desire to overcome historic differences through prayer, theological dialogue, and acts of reconciliation.

All other Orthodox Churches have joined in this desire for the ripping apart of Christ's Church to cease, although the methods to be followed and the means to achieve this have not been agreed upon. Recent activities of both the Pope of Rome and the Patriarch of Constantinople have placed considerable strains on relations with other Orthodox Churches. In addition the perceived pretensions of the Patriarch of Constantinople to assume an autocratic position in the Orthodox Church at large, similar to the monarchical position of the Pope of Rome in the Catholic Church, has caused great disquiet in most of the Orthodox Churches.

The planned meeting of Pope Benedict and Patriarch Bartholomew follows the recent meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church that took place in Belgrade from 18 to 25 September, 2006. This consultation was established by the Churches to examine the theological factors underlying the historical and current divisions and to recommend steps to heal them.

During the Pope’s visit to the Patriarchate in Istanbul, the Patriarch of Constantinople intends expressing his concern regarding the situation of the Patriarchate today. From the fourth century, the Church of Constantinople exercised a significant ministry in the life of the Church, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean. This ministry has continued in varying degrees, despite drastic changes in the political, demographic and religious context.

Today the Patriarchate of Constantinople serves the pastoral needs of about three thousand Orthodox Christians within its jurisdiction in Turkey, and the Patriarchate appoints bishops to serve highly significant populations in a number of other continents and countries.

Theoretically, the Patriarchate of Constantinople should be a point of unity among the independent Orthodox Churches, and assist in the coordination of their common witness and service. Unfortunately in reality, the Patriarchate of Constantinople has often been a source of friction, contention, and even scandal, among the fully independent Orthodox Churches. Its proclivity for commencing court proceedings in civil courts against other canonical Orthodox jurisdictions has even lead it to be excommunicated from relations with other jurisdictions, and for a significant lessening of its prestige within the Orthodox world.

At his meeting with the Pope of Rome, the Patriarch of Constantinople intends highlighting restrictions placed upon the patriarchate by the Turkish government. Especially notable is the requirement by the Turkish government that any candidate to be elected patriarch must be a Turkish citizen.

The Turkish government closed the patriarchate’s theological school on the island of Halki in 1971 and, in spite of numerous appeals from various government and religious authorities, has not allowed it to reopen. This severely limits the Patriarchate’s ability to train Turkish citizens for priestly ministry within its own canonical territory. The patriarchate has also recently suffered the confiscation of a number of its churches and other properties by the government.

Patriarch Bartholomew laments that the Turkish state does not recognize the role the patriarch wishes to play among Orthodox Christians outside Turkey.

The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Patriarchate in Istanbul in late November will allow Patriarch Batholomew to assert the crucial role played by the Patriarchate of Constantinople for many centuries past, not only among the Orthodox Churches within the Ottoman Empire, but also the influence it has exercised more recently within the broader Christian world.

Both Pope Benedict XVI and Patriarch Bartholomew have affirmed their desire to heal the division between the Churches, and to contribute to healing the wounds of society. They have affirmed the need for Christians to be people of reconciliation and peace. They have called for mutual understanding among all faiths, and for the elimination of misunderstanding, prejudice and injustice, wherever they may be found.

Although some of the recent pronouncements of Pope Benedict make this call for interfaith understanding seem a little hollow, it is hoped the meeting of the Pope and the Patriarch in Istanbul in November 2006 will contribute towards true unity in Christ, and to the reconciliation of all peoples.