Pope John Paul II's relations with the Eastern Orthodox Church
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2021) |
Pope John Paul II's relations with the
Romania
In May 1999,
On 9 May, the Pope and the Patriarch each attended a worship service conducted by the other (an Orthodox Liturgy and a Catholic Mass, respectively). A crowd of hundreds of thousands of people turned up to attend the worship services, which were held in the open air. The Pope told the crowd, "I am here among you pushed only by the desire of authentic unity. Not long ago it was unthinkable that the bishop of Rome could visit his brothers and sisters in the faith who live in Romania. Today, after a long winter of suffering and persecution, we can finally exchange the kiss of peace and together praise the Lord." A large part of Romania's Orthodox population has shown itself warm to the idea of Christian reunification.
Greece
During his 2001 travels, John Paul II became the first Pope to visit Greece in 1291 years.[1][2]
In
The Pope responded by saying “For the occasions past and present, when sons and daughters of the Catholic Church have sinned by action or omission against their Orthodox brothers and sisters, may the Lord grant us forgiveness,” to which Christodoulos immediately applauded. John Paul II also said that the sacking of Constantinople was a source of “profound regret” for Catholics.
Bulgaria
During the travels between 23 and 26 May 2002 Pope John Paul II visited Bulgaria and met with the Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim. He visited Sofia, Plovdiv and the Rila monastery and told Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov he never believed that the country participated in organization of the 1981 assassination attempt.
Ukraine
John Paul II visited another heavily Orthodox area,
About 200 thousand people attended the liturgies celebrated by the Pope in
Serbia
With regard to relations with the
Belarus
Catholics in Belarus (at least 10-15% of the population) had hoped for the Pope to visit their country, a trip he himself wished to make. Resistance from the Russian Orthodox Church and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, however, meant the visit never happened.
Poland
Pope's relation with
Russia
The Pope had been also saying during his entire pontificate that one of his greatest dreams was to visit
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2001-05-04b". © 2001- 2009 The Macedonian Press Agency (Hellenic Resources Network). 4 May 2001. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
{{cite news}}
: External link in
(help)|publisher=
- ^ Stephanopoulos, Nikki (28 January 2008). "Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens". © 2008,2009 Associated Press. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
- ^ a b c d "Visit of Pope John Paul II to Ukraine". © 2003-2009 The Institute of Religion and Society, 17 Sventsitskoho Street, Lviv. Retrieved 9 February 2009.