Bishops of different Churches received by the Orthodox Church Patriarch Teoctist I
In response to the invitation of Rumanian Orthodox Church Patriarch Teoctist I and his Synod, the annual international Meeting of Bishops from different Churches, friends of the Focolare Movement, was held this time in Bucarest, Rumania, a country considered to be, in many ways, a bridge between the East and West.
The Patriarch himself opened the meeting which was attended by bishops from 19 different countries. The Orthodox Church was represented by bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, of the Patriarchates of Rumania, Serbia, and of the OrthodoxChurch of the Czech and Slovak Republics. Also present were Bishops of the Syrian-Orthodox Church from Syria, India and the Netherlands. The Anglican Church of England was also represented, as well as the Lutheran Churches of Germany and Great Britain, Sweden, Norway, Rumania and the United States. A Bishop of the Methodist Church of Brazil participated, and 14 Catholic bishops from different countries.
“The presence of the Risen Lord in the midst of his people: center of ecclesial life and heart of our shared witness,” was the title of the meeting, the theme which was developed in the reflections offered. The mystery of Jesus who becomes present – as he promised – where “two or more are united in his name” was the topic the bishops wished to deepen as a means to communicate the Faith in these present times and a way to reach full visible communion of the Church of Christ. Theological and spiritual reflections were interwoven with moments of dialogue and exchange of experiences which demonstrated the action of the Risen Christ in daily life and in the most varied environments.
Chiara Lubich gave an important contribution to deepening the mystery of Jesus’ presence through a videotaped conversation, since this presence of Jesus in the community is the characteristic of the charism of unity.
Contact with the monastic life, liturgy and iconography of the orthodox Church in Rumania, was an enrichment and an added impulse towards reaching a more profound communion with the Rumanian Orthodox Church and with other Churches existing in the country.
In turn, bishops coming from different countries were able to offer their witness of fraternal communion to this nation which, in answer to the cry “unity, unity” gave a significant contribution to the cause of Christian unity on the occasion of John Paul II’s visit to Rumania in 1999.
Rumanian Orthodox Patriarch Teoctist, who invited and hosted the annual international meeting of 40 bishops, friends of the Focolare Movement, at the Patriarch’s Palace in Bucarest, also attended some of the sessions. The bishops’ reflections centered on the title and theme: “The presence of the Risen Lord in the midst of his people: center of ecclesial life and heart of our shared witness,” as a contribution to full communion among the Churches. Two video-taped conversations of Chiara Lubich developed the theme of the meeting, particularly characterized by the warm brotherly relationships among the participants. The Patriarch gave the welcome address at the beginning of the meeting and attended the last day, where also representatives of different Churches and of the civic society were present. During the conclusion, Focolare members of different ages and vocations offered their experiences of living out their commitment among the youth, in the family, in the parish and in the sphere of economy and of politics. Among the 300 people present, there were also some members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Rumania. In his closing remarks, the Patriarch said: “We see the world moving ever farther away from Christ; love is lacking (…). Unfortunately, I also have to note that we are still far from that moment when we can give a shared witness that we are totally at the service of the Word of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us love one another so that we can give the witness of being one mind: it is a word which always warms our hearts. During these days I had the chance to listen to special things (…). Hearing the young people share their experiences, I thought how advantageous it would be if we bishops and our Churches would try to see together, as the young people do, the problems that embitter us (…). I say this with all sincerity, because I see here before me the Catholic bishops of the Bizantine rite. We of the Rumanian Orthodox Church recognize that in our relationships with them, we are far from justice and truth, and above all, from the love of Christ. Let us also try – following the example of these young people and of these our brothers – to find ways of solving the problems that we still have. We can do it if we want.” Conscious of the unsolved issues between the Catholic Church of the Bizantine Rite in Rumania and the Rumanian Orthodox Church, problems linked to the confiscation of ecclesiasial property during the communist regime, Patriarch Teoctist’s words deeply struck those present and brought back to mind the people’s cry of “Unity! Unity,” which in 1999 accompanied the embrace between the Patriarch and John Paul II, then on his visit to Rumania. The Divine Liturgy on Sunday, celebrated by Patriarch Teoctist was a very solemn moment. After his homily, he invited Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, Archbishop of Prague and main promoter of the meeting, to say a few words. The convention also included an encounter with the entire Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Rumania, made up of the Catholic bishops both of the Latin as well as the Bizantine rite. 
The Catholic Mass concelebrated in St. Joseph’s Cathedral, where the hymns of the Catholic choir alternated with those of the Orthodox students of the Faculty of Theology of Cluj, was an eloquent sign of communion. The Catholic bishops and those of other Churches entered together in procession in the crowded cathedral. The Catholic Archbishop of Bucarest Joan Robu said in his homily, “This week you have lived among us as a spring of life, of new ideas. This offers me true hope of unity.” Also included in the programme of the meeting was the possibility to get to know the monastic life of Curtea de Arges, Bistrita and Horezu and the very rich liturgy and iconography of the Rumanian Orthodox Church. Visits were also made to the different Christian communities (Lutheran, Reformed and Anglican) present in Bucarest and there was participation in their respective liturgical celebrations.
The Orthodox Church was represented by bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, of Rumania, Serbia, and the Orthodox Church of the Czech and Slovak Republics. Also present were members of the Syrian-Orthodox Church from Syria, India and the Netherlands. The Anglican Church of England was also represented, as well as the Lutheran Churches of Germany, Rumania, Sweden, Norway, Great Britain, and the United States. The Mar Thoma Syrian Church of India was represented by a bishop. A Bishop of the Methodist Church of Brazil also participated, and there were 14 Catholic bishops from different countries present.
“Like you, most Salvadorians believe that to work together to build a more united Central America is not a utopia, but an aspiration inscribed in the very culture, history, and even in the topography of our region,” affirmed the President of El Salvador), Antonio Elias Saca, in his welcome address to the 2,000 people gathered in the Amphitheater of the El Salvador International Fair. The president recalled the region’s pre-Columbian cultural unity, the efforts to achieve political unity with the Central American Republic during the post-independence period (1821-1842), as well as the new efforts at unification during the latter half of the 20th century through the institution of the MERCOMUN.
The participants – many of whom were young people – came from Central American countries. As in many other regions of the world, here too a process of unification is currently taking place due to the growing awareness that only in collective efforts can a solution to current social conflicts be achieved and peace strengthened.
The culminating point of the event was the declaration of a commitment to peace and brotherhood presented by the delegates of the different Movements and new communities and the religious leaders of different Christian Churches: Gregorio Rosa Chavez, Catholic auxiliary bishop of El Salvador; Barahona, bishop of the Anglican Presbyterian Church; Hector Fernandez of the Lutheran Church; Miguel Tomas Castro of the Baptist Church; and Santiago Flores of the Reformed Calvinist Church.
“We can rely on the strength of Love to take up the present historic challenge of multiculturalism.” A love that is rooted in God and “makes the men and women of this earth able to embrace the whole world, able to offer their own values as a gift to the others, able to enhance the values of the other cultures, in order to work out a global wisdom, which is so necessary today. Then humankind will live up to a fraternal interdependence, as one family capable of building structures that can express the movement from unity to diversity and vice versa.”
The three-day-meeting consisted of cultural and political events affirming global interdependence as a civic strategy for peace and justice. The participants included Harry Belafonte, United Nations Cultural Ambassador; Bernard Kouchner, co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders); Adam Michnik, Polish Solidarity Movement co-founder; and a large number of political dignitaries.