A Divine Liturgy alongside the pope of Rome, or Vespers in the presence of the pope?

Any list of the defining moments of Christian history -- if not the history of religion on Planet Earth, period -- would have to include the Great Schism of 1054.

That's the split, of course, between the Orthodox East and the Catholic West and there is hardly anything that you can say about the who, what, when, where, why and how of that schism that will not lead to a millennium or two of debate. It's complicated. 

However, it's pretty easy to understand that the Church of Rome and the churches of Eastern Orthodoxy are not in full Communion -- with a big "C" -- with one another. The primary symbol, and reality, that demonstrates this is that their clergy cannot celebrate the Eucharist together.

Now, with that prologue, let's flash back to the recent meetings in Istanbul between Pope Francis and the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Since I am Orthodox, lots of people have asked me what I thought about their latest statements on their desire for full unity, meaning Communion. My question, in response, was: Yes, the pope asked Bartholomew to bless him, but did either man kiss the other man's hand? There was also quite a bit of confusion about the rite they took part in at the Phanar.

This leads me to a, to be blunt, ridiculous report from the "Vatican Insider" feature at La Stampa. Wouldn't you assume that editors for something called the "Vatican Insider" would know a little bit of church history?

As one reader said of the key mistake in the English translation of this story: 

I would guess this is just another media faux pas... Well, it has to be either way. Either they are mis-stating what really took place liturgically or they are not getting that communion between the two Patriarchs would amount to a statement of intercommunion between the two Churches... The first of its kind in at least 700 years if my Church history is correct. What surprises me is that this is from a Catholic news source, one that you would think "gets religion."

So what happened? This is long, but you need to see the context:

“The one thing that the Catholic Church desires, and that I seek as Bishop of Rome, is communion with the Orthodox Churches,” Pope Francis said in the most important moment of his visit to Turkey. This communion “does not signify the submission of one to the other, or assimilation. Rather, it means welcoming all the gifts that God has given to each.” 

Underneath the vaults of the Church of St. George, the see of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the beauty of the mysteries of the Christian faith permeate through the liturgy celebrated for the feast of the patron saint Andrew, with the traditional rituals of prayers and litanies chanted by the American choir, lights and candles, incense and the sign of the cross. 

Words and silence. But what really filled people’s hearts with awe during today’s liturgy at the Phanar, were the words of fraternal charity the Pope and the Patriarch addressed to one another before the congregation. Prophesying full communion between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the two bishop shepherds, the Successors of St Peter and his brother Andrew become pioneers in showing the People of God the path to follow, step by step. 

“The cold love between us has been rekindled,” Bartholomew said, “while our desire to do everything in our capacity so that our communion in the same faith and the same chalice may once again emerge has been galvanized.”

The Ecumenical Patriarch had only words of warmth and friendship for his “brother in Christ Bishop of Senior Rome”. Above all, he acknowledged that Francis “offer[s] to [His] Orthodox brothers and sisters the aspiration that during Your tenure the rapprochement of our two great ancient Churches will continue to be established on the solid foundations of our common tradition.”

Pope Francis and Bartholomew then exchanged the kiss of peace before consecrating the holy gifts of the Eucharist.

Say what? They are praying for communion to be restored in the future and then the pope of Rome and the Ecumenical Patriarch were seen "consecrating the holy gifts of the Eucharist"? And was this a Divine Liturgy or another kind of rite?

I emailed the seemingly omnipresent reporter John L. Allen, Jr., and he noted that while the unity talk was fascinating (check his Crux report here) the pope was "merely an observer" at the rite and, yes, he was "outside the Ikonostasis at all times."

The report from the Catholic News Agency caught another logical detail:

After celebrating Mass in Istanbul’s Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, the pontiff went on to pray Vespers with Patriarch Bartholomew in honor of the Nov. 30 feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, who is the patron and founder of the Orthodox Church. Special texts were written explicitly for the Pope’s visit.Once the Pope finished giving his address, he asked the patriarch for a favor: “to bless me and the Church of Rome.” He then bowed to receive the blessing and was embraced by the Patriarch, who traced the sign of the cross on the pontiff’s head and kissed it.

So note that the pope said Mass at the Catholic cathedral and then join the patriarch for Vespers -- not the Divine Liturgy -- at the Church of St. George, at the Phanar.

Wouldn't you think that editors at La Stampa -- let alone the journalists assigned to something called the "Vatican Insider" -- would know the difference between the Eucharist (as in the Mass or the Divine Liturgy) and the prayer rite that is Vespers? 

So this just in: The Great Schism of 1054 has not been healed.