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Pope Leo XIV has visited Türkiye and will visit Lebanon.
Source on vaticannews.va [vaticannews.va]

Saw him on EWTN with some Orthodox (Probably Oriental, maybe Eastern? I think he met the Greek Orthodox patriarch or a bishop.)

What are your thoughts on this Apostolic Journey?

(My Opinion)
In short, I would say that this can be a good stepping stone or foundation for future ecumenical dialogue. We should see how it will play out. This can also sharpen the bond between the Maronites and the Latin Church. Not that it needs that right now, since both are close already, but it's still good.

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Christ is in our midst!!

servant of god,

Welcome to the forum. We hope your time with us is spiritually frutiful.

Bob
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The visit is a good start. We do need to remember that the majority Orthodox church is in Russia, not Turkey. That one will be more difficult.

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Originally Posted by byzanTN
The visit is a good start. We do need to remember that the majority Orthodox church is in Russia, not Turkey. That one will be more difficult.
Just looking at raw numbers, there are about 100 million Russian Orthodox and about 15 million Greek Orthodox (as in Eastern Orthodox under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Now, the possibility of an ecumenical visit between Pope Leo XIV & Patriarch Kirill is not impossible, but it is difficult. First, is how to actually sway the Russian Orthodox Church to have ecumenical talks with the Catholics.

The Holy See seems to prefer to talk to the Greek Orthodox Church, which is not in full communion with the Russian Orthodox Church. This could become a kind of "conflict of interest" as if the Holy See reaches out to one of the two churches, the other could distrust the Holy See. Not to mention, the ROC's "Ukraine Problem". The ROC, being Russian, is more supportive of Russia's actions in Ukraine, considering it more as a "just war". The Catholic Church, and the Greek Orthodox Church, are against the war.

Then you'd have other problems that I can't list right now, but they exist.

It is pretty hard to talk to the Russian Orthodox right now, but I pray it will happen.

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The anniversary of the Ecumenical council at Nicaea is a great and timely reminder of what all Christians have in common- the shared foundation of the faith. However, to think that it will inspire a communion between any of the numerous denominations is futile. That particular goal will only lead to constant disappointment. Christian denominations are just too invested with pointing out the defects of the other. The reality is that denominations are constantly fracturing not combining.

It is enough, and would actually be miraculous, if the Creed will inspire a mutual recognition and respect between denominations, instead of constant bickering and posturing over who is the proper one.

Perhaps the differences in denominations are for the good, and things are supposed to be the way they are. Diversity in nature assures survival. Maybe that is also the case with Christianity.
Just an "outside the box" thought.....and my humble opinion.

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