Vatican delegation takes papal message to Orthodox Patriarch

(Vatican Radio) A delegation from the Vatican’s Council for Promoting Christian Unity is in Istanbul this weekend to celebrate Monday’s feast of St Andrew, patron saint of the Orthodox world. To mark the occasion, Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Council, will present a gift and a message from Pope Francis to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew 1st which will be read out in public at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy for the feast of St Andrew on November 30th.

Every year the Orthodox Patriarch sends a delegation to Rome on June 29th to mark the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, patrons of the Church in the West, while a Vatican delegation travels to Turkey each year for St Andrew’s feast day. Last year, Pope Francis attended an ecumenical prayer service and a Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Church of St George in Istanbul on November 30th, before signing a joint declaration with the Orthodox leader at the conclusion of his three day pastoral visit to Turkey.