wfn.org | ACNS3675 Archbishop of Canterbury visits Istanbul

["Anglican Communion News Service" <acnslist@anglicancommunion.org>]

ACNS 3675     |     LAMBETH PALACE     |     17 NOVEMBER 2003 

Archbishop of Canterbury visits Istanbul

[ACNS source: Lambeth Palace] The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan
Williams, has paid a formal visit to His All Holiness Bartholomew I,
Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch. Visiting the
Phanar, the Cathedral Church of St George, Dr Williams spoke of "the
growing together in love and fellowship" between the two churches.

"It has been a matter of great importance to me that I should visit
there in my first year as Archbishop of Canterbury, as a sign of my
commitment and that of the Anglican Communion to the full visible unity
of Christ's Church. It gives me great joy to follow my recent
predecessors in making this pilgrimage to the Ecumenical Patriarchate."
(The full text of his greeting can be found below.)

During his visit, the Archbishop will also greet His Beatitude Mesrob
II, the Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul, and the Governor of the City.
The Archbishop will also preach at Evening Prayer at Christ Church, the
Diocese of Europe chaplaincy in Istanbul. It is also hoped that Dr
Williams will be able to visit one of the synagogues that were at the
centre of Saturday's suicide bombings.

This is Dr Williams' first visit to Istanbul. He returns to the UK on
Wednesday 19 November.

Full text of the Archbishop of Canterbury's greeting to HAH the
Ecumenical Patriarch 

17 November 2003 at the Phanar

Your All-Holiness, Beloved Brother in Christ,

It means more to me than I can adequately express to be with you in this
holy place. This city has been at the heart of the Orthodox Church for
so many centuries and the Patriarchate over which you preside has been a
vital centre of worship, teaching and faithfulness throughout that time.
It has been a matter of great importance to me that I should visit there
in my first year as Archbishop of Canterbury, as a sign of my commitment
and that of the Anglican Communion to the full visible unity of Christ's
Church. It gives me great joy to follow my recent predecessors in making
this pilgrimage to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

As the inheritor of the throne of Augustine, coming from a Church whose
roots go back to the Christian missions of the days of Constantine, I
have a particular concern that the Eastern and Western traditions of the
Church should be reconciled. I have a deep personal respect for the
liturgical and theological traditions of Orthodoxy, and I owe an immense
debt of gratitude for the friendship over many years of my dear friend
His Eminence Metropolitan John of Pergamon. I was deeply grateful for
his presence, with that of His Eminence Archbishop Gregorios of
Thyateira and Great Britain, representing Your All Holiness at my
enthronement earlier this year. For some years I was a member of the
International Commission for Anglican-Orthodox Theological Dialogue, and
my prayer, study and ministry has been immensely enriched by the wisdom
and insights which were shared by my Orthodox brethren in that Dialogue.

I come here in the first year of my ministry as Archbishop of
Canterbury, but you will be aware that even in this short time the
Anglican Communion has been brought to face difficult questions about
our belonging to one another, and our perception of permissible
diversity within the Body of Christ. Following our meeting at Lambeth in
October, with my fellow Primates, I have asked some of the wisest
theologians and pastors in the Communion to form a Commission to suggest
how we may find our way forward. I ask that you support their work with
your prayers.

Despite our present difficulty, I am confident that the Anglican
Communion and the Orthodox Churches will continue to grow together in
love and fellowship. There is much that unites us, and it has been a
source of great happiness that in our Dialogue we have been able to
agree statements about our common doctrine of the Church. This growth in
understanding has been built on a foundation of personal respect and
affection, and I trust that this will be strengthened as our bishops,
clergy and lay people learn to know each other, to understand each
other's traditions, and to share the deep love of our Lord. It is
therefore with faith and hope, as well as love, that I greet Your All
Holiness and ask for your prayers for the ministry that we share.

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