Patriarch Bartholomew and the Franciscan superior signed the agreement for the free transfer of the Church of Santa Maria (Izmir) to the Orthodox. For the vicar of Istanbul, Monsignor Palinuro, it is a “gesture of love” towards a “sister” community and a further step on the “ecumenical path”. Hope to one day “share the sacraments” as well.
Istanbul () – “Sharing a church” in a “context” like Turkey is a “precious gift” because “it is not easy” to build new places of worship and hand over an existing one “to a sister community like the Orthodoxy is a gift of love”. The Apostolic Vicar of Istanbul, Mons. Massimiliano Palinuro, highlighted the value of the agreement reached on Holy Thursday in the Phanar of Constantinople between the superior of the Franciscan order, Friar Massimo Fusarelli, and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. It foresees granting the Orthodox the use of the (Catholic) church of Saint Mary of Smyrna , which dates back to the 17th century, to respond to the needs expressed by the city’s metropolitan. An agreement reached thanks to the common will of Pope Francis, the Franciscan friars and the Orthodox community: “The church -continued the prelate- was ceded for free use, a gesture of great brotherhood that shows how far the ecumenical path has progressed” .
The Catholic community is very attached to the church of Santa Maria, because it was the old cathedral of Izmir. Today he sees the Christian presence flourish again in numerical terms, especially among the Orthodox, to the point that the small church of Agia Fotinì is insufficient for the needs of worship. Currently, in Turkey’s third largest city after the capital, Ankara, and Istanbul, the country’s economic and commercial heart, there are some 2,000 Catholics, 17 priests and 12 churches, among a total population of more than 4.2 million. inhabitants, and some 6,000 mosques throughout the territory.
“The step that we await with the greatest hope”, explained Monsignor Palinuro, “is that we soon reach the sharing of the sacraments, full Eucharistic communion”, which should not only be “a point of arrival”, but also an “element of encouragement” for the ecumenical journey. In relations between Catholics and Orthodox, for a long time “it was insisted that full communion of the sacraments should be reserved for the end of the road”, once “all doctrinal and legal problems have been resolved”, observed the vicar. On the other hand, “here in Turkey we are convinced that the necessary and indispensable step to smooth out the disciplinary and doctrinal obstacles is precisely the full communion of the sacraments. Because it is in the Eucharist that communion is built, it is in prayer and in the common celebration of the sacraments where all the pitfalls that could have created clumsy theological interpretations or different legal traditions are smoothed out,” he warned. “We really long for the full communion of the sacraments, which has already taken place here in the past under the enlightened leadership of Patriarch Athenagoras,” recalled the vicar of Istanbul, who for some time – even before his appointment – cultivated a personal relationship of esteem with Bartholomew. “We hope that as soon as possible the leaders of the Christian communities can make courageous and prophetic gestures in this regard, because there is really no reason for the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox to maintain limits on full communion in the sacraments,” he added. .
Another factor that strengthened the cooperation between the Churches was the recent devastating earthquake that struck Turkey (and Syria) on February 6th. “It was terrible to see the churches of all Christian denominations, the synagogues and the mosques destroyed,” recalled Bishop Palinuro. As often happens, in the worst moments the best of human nature shines out: the solidarity that was seen between the different communities, and that continues to manifest itself, was and is extraordinary.” The earthquake, he continued, caused damage that “will take decades to be repaired, so it will be necessary to continue collaborating and helping each other”, leaving aside “all differences and discrimination.
Lastly, the Apostolic Vicar of Istanbul spoke about his relationship with Patriarch Bartholomew, which has grown over time. “A personal treatment that is precious”, he explained, “because true ecumenism is not done so much through conferences and theological declarations” as with “fraternal dialogue, in visits, sharing moments of prayer and fraternity”. With the Orthodox primate, his collaborators and the metropolitans there are weekly or fortnightly meetings, during which “ideas, concerns and projects are shared, and this is certainly aimed at relations that are increasingly marked by true fraternity”, he concluded. .
