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8 November 2004

Ecumenical Patriarch tells UK Catholics of delight at Pope's gesture

Trevor Grundy
Istanbul (ENI). Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain say they are happy the Ecumenical Patriarch - the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians - has spoken of his "great delight" at Pope John Paul II's gesture whereby the remains of two of Christianity's most important saints are to be returned to Istanbul from the Vatican at the end of this month.

"We praise the Pope for his courage and willingness to promote dialogue between Christians in the East and the West and it is my deepest hope that he will visit us soon," Patriarch Bartholomeos I of Constantinople said at his Istanbul headquarters on 3 November, to a group of more than 30 visiting Catholics and others from Britain.

The group was taking part in a pilgrimage during the 800th anniversary of the sacking of Constantinople (the former name of Istanbul) in 1204 by violent and unruly Christian soldiers, attached to the Fourth Crusade.

"The Pope has had the courage to express, at least twice, his disappointment about what happened in the 13th century," said Bartholomeos, who is scheduled to travel to Rome on 26 November to receive the relics of the two saints, John Chrysostom and Gregory Nazianzen.

The relics were taken from Constantinople during the 13th century sacking of the city, first to Venice, then to Rome. During the conquest of the world's then largest city, crusaders are said to have encouraged a prostitute to dance on the high altar of the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom, or the Hagia Sophia, built by the Emperor Justinian in 537.

"The restitution of the relics is something that makes me very happy - in fact we all are," Bartholomeos told the group of British pilgrims, which included Archbishop Gregorios who leads the Greek Orthodox Church in the UK.

Some of the world's most magnificent art treasures were taken as booty by the crusaders and carried away to Rome, prompting the theologian and historian Nicetas Choniates (1155-1215) to write, "with one consent all the most heinous sins and crimes were committed by all with equal zeal".

One of the members of the British group, Monsignor Mark Langham, who is Administrator of Westminster Cathedral in London, said on Sunday he would inform Roman Catholic leader in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, he has an open invitation to visit Istanbul in order to further cement relations between the Orthodox Church and the Vatican.

"The Cardinal is very welcome to come and visit us in Istanbul," said Patriarch Bartholomeos, who paid tribute to Pope John Paul's gesture of reconciliation in returning the relics. "We pray," said Bartholomeos, "that the Pope will illuminate and uplift the heads of the churches and give the Christian communities many more such occasions of spiritual inspiration."

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