Metropolitan Maximos of Selyvria speaks on ERTNews about the relations of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the Vatican
His Eminence Metropolitan Maximos of Selyvria, among others, spoke about the relations of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the Vatican and what is to come in the Catholic Church, after the election of a new Pope, on the ERTNews show “Blame Game” with Lida Bola and Yannis Fasoulas.
A few days before the election of a new Pope, the Metropolitan of Selyvria said characteristically: “There are many voices within the Roman Catholic Church, ultra-conservative ones. We hope that these will not dominate the Roman Catholic Church, but that a Pope will emerge who will continue the vision of Pope Francis. (…) We hope that a Pope will emerge who does not come from the conservative sphere and who will not influence the relations between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism.”
“His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew had excellent relations, not only inter-ecclesiastical, at the level of two primates, but he also had personal relations with Pope Francis. Pope Francis loved him like a brother and I am also a witness to many events, having accompanied His All-Holiness on various trips, where he met with the Pope.
“The Patriarch expressed the desire and hope that a Pope would emerge who would continue the work of Francis, the Pope of the poor, the suffering and the persecuted,” emphasised the Metropolitan Maximos of Selyvria.
“We hope that a Pope will emerge who will continue the policy, the ecclesiastical policy, of Pope Francis, which was an ecclesiastical policy of openness, not closure, not conservatism,” he continued.
Regarding the common points between the Phanar and the Vatican, Metropolitan Maximos of Selyria said: “It is by coincidence they also address the ecological problem.
(…) It is a great fact that a Pope included September 1st in the Roman Catholic Church’s calendar of feast days as a day for environmental protection. This is a very important fact.
And not only that, but also the other issue that dominates the Roman Catholic Church, which has to do with the relations of the Papal primacy with the Synodality, is where the dialogue between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism began with the initiative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The issue of Synodality dominates and is an issue of priority, as we see through the discussions taking place in the Roman Catholic Church, so that it can be fully implemented. They are trying to implement Synodality in the Roman Catholic Church.
Our dialogue, which has been taking place for the last forty years and more, is a dialogue that has greatly helped the Roman Catholic Church to understand that Papal primacy cannot be exercised in the way it is exercised, that is, outside of Synodality. The Pope cannot decide alone and act alone without the agreement of the local Churches and bishops.”
Metropolitan Maximos of Selyvria added that “in the last two texts of the dialogue we discussed the issue and fully agreed that Primacy and Synodality are two interdependent dimensions in the Church and cannot be separated.”
It is very hopeful that Pope Francis said that we must learn from the Orthodox the concept of collectivity, that together we must act on the issues of the Church.”
Regarding whether a joint celebration of Pascha by Catholics and Orthodox Christians can be achieved, Metropolitan Maximos of Selyvria stressed that “at this moment we cannot say anything. Only after the election of the new Pope will we be able to see where the whole matter is heading.”
