On February 13, at the airport in Cuba, a historical meeting between Pope Francis and His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow took place. The Hierarchs held a two- hour meeting and then made a joint public appearance. Afterwards, the exchange of gifts proceeded. Pope gave to the Patriarch a reliquary containing the relics of St. Cyril, the Enlightener, and of St. Methodius of Slavs as well as a chalice; and Patriarch Kirill, for his part, offered a replica of the Madonna of Kazan icon. Finally a joint declaration was signed on religious unity.
In the declaration, they expressed their satisfaction about the meeting and emphasized the importance of dialogue between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Church. They stressed out the need for overcoming divisions and facing common challenges in the world today, such as the growing persecution of Christians. In their declaration they called for peace, but also bowed in reverence before those who chose martyrdom instead of denying Christ. In addition, the two Hierarchs urged Europe to stay united and maintain its faithfulness to its Christian roots. In their declaration, they also brought up the conflict in Ukraine and made a special call for overcoming it and restoring peace.
Another important issue mentioned in the declaration was the family and the problems related to it: “The family is based on marriage, an act of freely given and faithful love between a man and a woman.” Also they touched upon issues of euthanasia, abortion, moral crisis, etc.
“We spoke like brothers. We have the same baptism. We are bishops. We talked about our Churches, and agreed that the unity is built as we move along. We spoke clearly, without mincing our words. I confess I felt the consolation of the Spirit in our talk,” the Pope explained.
Further on, the Pope thanked Patriarch Kirill for “his brotherly humility and strong desire for unity,” and mentioned “a number of feasible initiatives that can be implemented.”
In his address, the Patriarch of Moscow Kirill insisted on the brotherly spirit of the meeting and noted that both Churches can work together with full responsibility for the future of Christianity. In his speech, which was rich in content, he clarified that the meeting “gave us the opportunity to understand and hear the position of each other.” “Both Churches, “ended Cyril, “can work together to ensure no more war, to respect human life and reinforce the foundations of morality, family, and the person.”
Hence, this historic meeting came to an end and it was in fact “the will of God,” claimed Pope Francis, who several times called Kirill “brother”, words which His Holiness replied with the same affection: “Despite the difficulties,” he said, before their meeting took place, “we still can talk. And that is really nice.”
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With two tweets from his account on the popular social network Twitter, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew congratulated the historic meeting between Pope Francis of Rome and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.
“I pray for my brothers in Christ, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill… [and feel] pleased that 1964 dialogue started by Athenagoras and Paul VI continues to bear fruit,” states the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in his first message.
In his second message, the Ecumenical Patriarch responds to the message sent by Pope Francis, in which the Primate of the Roman Catholic Church wrote: “Today is a day of joy. The meeting with Patriarch Kirill is a gift from God. Pray for us.”
In their dialogue on Twitter – where the answer goes to the account name – the Ecumenical Patriarch addressed the Pope and wrote: “I pray for you, brother in Christ and for your meeting with our brother Kirill.”
