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Vatican, Mar. 6, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI and Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople met and prayed together at the Vatican on March 6.

After a brief conversation, the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch went to the Urban VII chapel of the apostolic palace for a time of prayer, saying the Lord's Prayer together in Latin.

The Orthodox patriarch was in Rome to join in ceremonies marking the 90th anniversary of the Pontifical Oriental Institute. Patriarch Bartholomew was a student there in the 1960s, earning a doctorate before his ordination to the Orthodox priesthood in 1969.

Pope Benedict and Patriarch Bartholomew, who have pledged their joint efforts toward the restoration of full Christian unity, were meeting for the 3rd time since the Pope was elected to Peter's throne in 2005. Their first meeting was in November 2006 when the Pope traveled to Istanbul to join with the Orthodox leader in celebrating the feast of St. Andrew, the patron of the Constantinople see. (Patriarch Bartholomew had issued an invitation for such a papal visit immediately after Benedict's election as Roman Pontiff.) They met again in October 2007 when the Orthodox Patriarch traveled to Italy to participate in the International Meeting for Peace in Naples.

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04 December 2022

Joachim and Anna Rejoice

Today the bonds of childlessness are loosed, * for God has heard Joachim and Anna * and He promises manifestly that they, against all hope, would give birth to the Maiden of God * from whom the Uncircumscribed One Himself would be born, becoming man, * and he commanded the Angels to cry out to her: * “Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with you!” (Troparion - Tone 4)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Today the whole world celebrates * the conception of Anne which was brought about by God, * for she gave birth to the one who, beyond understanding, * gave birth to the Word. (Kontakion - Tone 4)

Saint Nicholas of Myra

The truth of your deeds has revealed you to your flock, * as a rule of faith, an image of meekness, and a teacher of abstinence. * Therefore, you attained the heights through humility, * and riches through poverty. * O Father and Hierarch Nicholas, * pray to Christ God that our souls may be saved. (Troparion, Tone 4)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

In Myra, You were shown to be a servant of the sacred things, O Holy Nicholas, * for, fulfilling the Gospel of Christ, you, O Venerable, laid down your life for your people, * and saved the innocent from death. * Therefore, you were sanctified as a great initiate of the grace of God. (Kontakion, Tone 3)