In Ecumenical Quake, The Pope Scores The Patriarch

Simply put, for relations between the Christian churches it is the biggest development in decades: after weeks of rumors – and ones denied, at that – a joint statement issued this morning announced the first-ever meeting between the Pope of Rome and the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, slated to take place in Cuba on Friday, 12 February, as Francis heads toward his six-day trek in Mexico.The unrealized dream of successive pontiffs, Francis' success at landing a face-to-face encounter with Patriarch Kirill represents a seismic ecumenical breakthrough, one on a par with Paul VI's first successful outreach to the Orthodox world: Papa Montani's precedent-shattering encounter with the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras in Jerusalem in 1964 – a step which paved the path to the following year's joint declaration, which saw both leaders revoke the mutual excommunications imposed in the Great Schism of 1054. Yet even as Constantinople represents the "first among equals" of Eastern Christianity, its "muscle" arguably resides in Moscow with the Russian church comprising the largest and most influential of the Orthodox churches, and likewise the most formidable of the bunch.With some 140 million members, the ROC is the Christian world's second-largest hierarchical communion after the Roman church itself.With today's announcement and given Krill's presence in Cuba next week for an official visit, two mysteries surrounding what had been Francis' first overseas journey to a single country were solved – first, why next week's trip (which, at least until now, has had the Pope's intent to entrust the Jubilee of Mercy to Our Lady of Guadalupe as its principal purpose) was to Mexico alone, but likewise why Papa Bergoglio had scheduled the trip over the first week of Lent, which has been reserved for a century as the time when the Pope normally vanishes for his weeklong retreat for the penitential season with his Curia. (This year, the exercises will be in Lent's second week as Francis continues his practice of taking his central staff on a road-trip to a retreat center outside Rome.)To be sure, Kirill is anything but a stranger to the Vatican. Prior to his 2009 election as 16th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, the 69 year-old served as the ROC's external relations chief – and thus the church's point-man with Rome – in which capacity he met on a regular basis with both John Paul II and Benedict XVI (seen above with Kirill shortly after his 2005 election).Accordingly Rome's choice to succeed Alexei II – a development which sparked rejoicing in Catholic circles when it happened – since assuming the patriarchate, Kirill has publicly adopted the unstinting line of his predecessor, insisting that no meeting with the Pope would take place "unless we see some real progress in the issues that have long been problematic in our relations." If anything, with Kirill's election having aroused fears of a "capitulation to the West" among his church's more outspoken elements, simply getting the ROC to a point of consensus on an implication-rich sit-down with the Pope is a remarkable accomplishment in itself.In terms of the issues at stake, to use the now-Patriarch's phrase Moscow's top "problematic" concern has long been its claims of "proselytism" by Catholics on what the ROC views as its canonical territory, with the prime front of the dispute centering on the prominence of the Greek-Catholic Church in the Ukraine (UGCC), which the Russian church includes as its own soil. Notably, despite a close friendship with the UGCC's de facto patriarch, Major-Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, dating to their days together in Argentina, over his papacy Francis has conspicuously kept a studied reserve toward the Ukrainian church within his own fold, ostensibly for the sake of building dialogue with the Russians.The fruit of two years of very discreet negotiations according to the VatiSpox Fr Federico Lombardi, the announcement of the meeting included word that Francis and Kirill would sign a formal joint declaration, which will set the basis for an understanding between the churches going forward. While the contents of the document won't be released until after the signing – and some details could well be finessed until the last minute – any resolution to the canonical disputes and other complex questions will likely be left for future discussions, to let the sheer history of the moment stand for itself without distractions. That said, one topic of common commitment that can be expected to figure in the talks and text alike is the churches' shared defense of the family, which Francis has repeatedly spoken of as being under assault from "ideological colonization" as, for his part, Kirill has blasted the West's embrace of same-sex marriage and the redefinition of gender as creating an "unholy world" and "godless civilization."With the Pope originally slated to arrive in Mexico City at 7.30pm local time next Friday, the time at which the meeting with Kirill will take place at Havana's Jose Martí Airport, as well as the encounter's scheduled duration, have yet to emerge. In the meantime, below is the English text of the joint announcement issued today by both parties:

The Holy See and the Patriarchate of Moscow are pleased to announce that, by the grace of God, His Holiness Pope Francis and His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will meet on February 12 next. Their meeting will take place in Cuba, where the Pope will make a stop on his way to Mexico, and where the Patriarch will be on an official visit. It will include a personal conversation at Havana’s José Martí International Airport, and will conclude with the signing of a joint declaration. This meeting of the Primates of the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, after a long preparation, will be the first in history and will mark an important stage in relations between the two Churches. The Holy See and the Moscow Patriarchate hope that it will also be a sign of hope for all people of good will. They invite all Christians to pray fervently for God to bless this meeting, that it may bear good fruits.

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