Between the chair of Mark and the chair of Peter
A promise of love for humanity
Dr. Michel E. Abs
Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches
The visit of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, to His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, bears many meanings and promises.
It comes on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the visit of the Late, Pope Shenouda III, to the Vatican, and between the two visits there was sustained communication, strengthened relations, and love rooted within the one faith, within the redemptive time, and in one Holy, Apostolic Church on which the gates of Hell will not prevail as The Master told us.
This visit means, first of all, that there is no turning back in the relations between churches, between institutions and people with each other, but rather a deepening of partnership and a relentless march towards unity that must be achieved no matter how long it takes.
This visit also means that the memory between the churches does not fade away and the interaction does not return to retrograde, as the leaders of these churches have a memory and maintain kindness and love, and they are fully aware of the positive consequences of what they are doing on the level of relations between Christians, as well as between Christians and non-Christians.
This visit means that the times of discord, which historically reached the point of hostility, are over forever, and that the Church, in all its denominations, is looking forward to a prosperous future for humanity for which it will be the cornerstone.
In this historic visit, all stages of the salvation time are present to serve as the compass that guides the aspirations of these spiritual leaders towards the goal of being one.
Pope Tawadros II, like Pope Francis, is aware of the seriousness and importance of this visit, these meetings, the speeches that will be delivered and the ideas that will be presented. As we know them, through our work in the Middle East Council of Churches, we feel certainty about the ability of the two men to make this visit an additional turning point and more momentum towards ecumenical relations.
Disagreement of opinion is not a cause to spoil relationship, so these two historical leaders interact while they are fully aware that the differences between their two institutions remain, and they may remain for a long time yet, but that will not prevent convergence to the point of cohesion in the crucible of one faith, and under the one faithful Lord.
In addition, the fact that Pope Tawadros II delivered a speech in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican carries symbolism that much will be written about, as he is the first non-Catholic Patriarch to deliver a speech there, confirming and commemorating the day of love and friendship between the two churches.
It is the path of no return. There is no going back to a past that bore wounds that bruised the Christian conscience and made it bleed to the end.
Everything in the visit program symbolizes the unity of the spirit and the rejection of divergence, the joint non-liturgical ecumenical prayer for peace in the world, the visit to the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity in the Vatican, and others, carry messages and signals that will resonate for distant times to come.
At this stage it is worth underlining the analysis of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II of the relations between churches.
According to His Holiness, it is in the shape of a cross, consisting of four ribs, symbolizing the four steps taken by the churches towards unity.
The first step H.H. calls the union of love, where loving relationships are established in Christ, and it comes after quarrels and distances that lasted about fifteen centuries. It is not easy to erase this negative era, which must have left traces that need a lot of time in order to build trust and strengthen credibility.
As for the second step, it is the study, where the churches must study each other, that is, to get to know each other, by studying the history and doctrine of each other’s, that is, to get out of this divergence that they entered into centuries ago and led to this alienation between them.
Here comes the dialogue, which is the third step, where the rapprochement takes place between the estranged brothers who are fighting. Dialogue was and will remain the unsurpassed way to resolve conflicts, bring people together, eliminate antagonism and silence hate speech.
As for the fourth step, it includes prayer to reach the union of faith. Praying together, ecumenical prayer, is a pioneering experience in modern Christianity, where everyone feels that they are one, so differences dissolve when believers pray to one Creator, whose sovereignty includes all that is seen and unseen.
Through these four steps, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II considers that we reach the heart of Christ with our hands intertwined and looking forward to a brighter and safer future.
This visit will have great results, and it will impress not only the Christian world, but the entire world because of the lessons it carries from which humanity will learn that the times of enmities, conflicts and reckless fanaticism are over, and that humanity discovers a new horizon based on love and brotherhood.
At the end of this interim article about this visit which just started, we say to Your Holiness, good, loving and dedicated leaders, that we, in the Middle East Council of Churches, live up to your aspirations, act on your guidance, and follow in your footsteps in consolidating unity among believers, as well as between people, through programs of dialogue and rapprochement, in various forms, inspired by the Incarnate Savior, and based on the love He spread in the world.
Humanity is heavily wounded and needs someone to heal it, and nothing is better than embracing generalized love and human brotherhood in order to heal these wounds, this love that the Master expressed while his wounds were bleeding on the cross.
His love is a challenge to all of humanity, so will it be up to the challenge?