“Where two or more are united in my name …” Many traditions – one people Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I opened the 23rd Ecumenical Congress entitled: “Where two or more are united in my name … many traditions – one people”. Over 50 Bishops were present at the Congress held in Istanbul; they represented various Eastern and Western Churches: Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Apostolic Armenians, Anglicans, Evangelical Lutherans and Catholics of various rites. Highlights of the Congress After the opening of the Congress by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, there were dialogue encounters with Card. Walter Kasper (President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity), with Apostolic Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, Mesrob II, and with the Patriarchal Vicar of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Turkey, Filüksinos Yusuf Çetin. At the heart of the spirituality of unity: the presence of the Risen Lord promised to “two or more united in His name” Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare, had entrusted her closest collaborators with delivering her addresses on the theme of the Congress and on the ecumenical experience of the Movement. These talks testified to the consonance between the spirituality of unity typical of the Focolare and the ecumenical spirituality strongly endorsed by the Pope lately when, on November 13, he invited Christians once again to accomplish that “fullness of communion” which “does not mean abstract uniformity but rather, richness of the legitimate diversity of gifts, shared and acknowledged by all…” (Homily of Pope John Paul II on the 40th anniversary of the Conciliar decree ‘Unitatis Redintegratio’). Congress begins with an ecumenical celebration at St. Anthony’s Church The Bishops’ Congress started with an ecumenical celebration at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, attended by the leaders and members of the different Christian communities present in Istanbul. Visit to Nicea, seat of two of the early ecumenical Councils During their stay, the Bishops visited Nicea and the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity at Halki, the illustrious center of studies of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The bishops were also received by Patriarch Mesrob II at the seat of the Apostolic Armenian Patriarchate, as well as by Metropolitan Filüksinos Yusuf Çetin at the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchal Vicariate. The welcoming of the relics of the Fathers of the Church, John Chrysostom and Gregory Nazianzen The bishops also attended the ceremony to welcome return of the relics of the Fathers of the undivided Church, St. John Chrysostom and St. Gregory Nazianzen, archbishops of Constantinople during the 4th-5th centuries. The relics had been consigned by Pope John Paul II to Patriarch Bartholomew in Rome – indeed a happy coincidence, on Saturday 27th November. The Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle at the Fanar On 29th-30th November, at the Fanar, seat of the ecumenical Patriarchate, the Bishops attended the solemn commemoration of St. Andrew the Apostle, founder and patron of the Patriarchate of Costantinople. The ceremony was presided over by Patriarch Bartholomew I. The delegation of the Holy See, led by Card. Walter Kasper, also attended the celebration. Previous Meetings The ecumenical congresses of Bishops, Friends of the Focolare Movement, from various Churches are held yearly, each time at a different place: Constantinople (1984), London (1986 and 1996), Ottmaring/Augsburg (Germany) (1988 and 1998), Trent (Italy) (1995), Amman (Jordan) / Jerusalem (Holy Land) (1999), Zurich (Switzerland) (2001), Geneve (Switzerland) (2002), and Rome (several times). The conferences had always enjoyed the blessing of the heads of the different Churches.