At the party of St. Paul’s conversion renews pope push for joint Easter date

CNA Newsroom, January 25, 2025 / 17:31

Pope Francis asked Jesus’ deep questions “Do you believe this?” To Christians all over the world during an ecumenical Vespers service on Saturday night, as Momentum builds for Catholics and Orthodox to consider celebrating Easter on the same date in this historic anniversary year.

When he spoke at the Basilica of St. Paul outside the walls at the end of the 58th week’s prayer for Christian unity, the pontiff reflected over the death of Christ with Martha after Lazarus’ death and emphasized that hope “rises from the ashes of death.”

“This sore meeting between Jesus and Martha teaches us that even in times of deep desert we are not alone, and we can continue to hope,” said the pope under his domestic, centered on the theme of the week “Do you think this?” From John 11:26.

The celebration of January 25 marked the solemn conclusion of this year’s week with prayer for Christian unity, which the pope linked to the ongoing anniversary year.

“This message of hope is the essence of the anniversary we have begun,” Francis said, quoting the Apostle Paul’s words to the Romans that “hope does not disappoint us because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Rome 5: 5).

Earlier on Saturday, the Pope urged journalists on the anniversary of the communication world to tell “Stories of Hope” that repeats the strong appeal to hope in The papal message For the 59th World Day of Social Communication.

At the Vespers service, the pope noted that this whole anniversary of the year’s focus is on hope, and “Confidential” coincides with the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.

He emphasized that the Council’s trouble “exceeds all the divisions that have revived the body of Christ for centuries.”

Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery to promote Christian unity, approached the Holy Father before the Apostolic Blessing. He remembered the Pope’s historic visit in 2014 in the ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew I I in Constantinople (modern Istanbul), where Francis had confirmed that “the Catholic Church has no intention of making any requirements except acquired with ordinary faith” to achieve full entity.

This hope for unity has gained momentum in recent months. Last November, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew from Konstantinople confirmed ongoing conversations between church representatives about the establishment of a joint Easter date that potentially begins in 2025.

“In this week’s prayer for Christian Unity, we can live the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea as an invitation to hold onto Unity,” the Pope said on Saturday, renewing his appeal that Christians could take “a decisive step forward towards unity around A common date of Easter. “

Francis, who highlighted the “confidential” timing, noted that Easter falls on the same date in both the Gregorian and Julian calendars this year. “Let’s rediscover the ordinary roots of faith,” the pontiff called. “Let’s preserve device!”

(History continues below)

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Representatives from different Christian churches and ecclesiastical communities present in Rome quit his service.