Pope Francis met on June 30 with members of a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, who were in Rome to join the Pontiff in celebrating the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.
(Each year the Orthodox patriarchate sends a delegation to the Vatican for the patronal feast; and the Vatican in turn sends a delegation to Istanbul for the feast of St. Andrew.)
In his remarks to the visiting Orthodox prelates, the Pope mentioned the positive results of the latest meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. The delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate was led by Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, the co-president of that commission.
The Pope also spoke of “our overriding concern for peace, especially in war-torn Ukraine.”