Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and the Possibility of Unity between East and West

Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew may not be on the same page with relevance to unity, just yet, but they sure seem to be heading in that direction. We know that 1054 is the year in which the Eastern and the Western Churches separated in what is known as The Great Schism, but in 2014 things seem to be looking better than ever for the possibility of unity perhaps in the near future both Churches once again. Both Churches may have very different theological views on many issues, but some of the statements made by both leaders recently seem to lead one to make deductions for possible unity in the future. Pope Francis was visiting Turkey last week, and after the Divine Liturgy on November 30th, 2014 both leaders spoke. Some statements made by each are as follows:

Pope Francis said: "I want to assure each one of you gathered here that, to reach the desired goal of full unity, the Catholic Church does not intend to impose any conditions except that of the shared profession of faith ((www.huffingtonpost.com)...."

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I said: "The modern persecutors of Christians do not ask which church their victims belong to," he said. "The unity that concerns us is regrettably already occurring in certain regions of the world through the blood of martyrs (www.huffingtonpost.com)."

The article titled: Pope Francis Bows, Asks For Blessing From Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew In Extraordinary Display Of Christian Unity, may be read on HUFF POST RELIGION via the link provided below.

Pope Francis Bows, Asks For Blessing From Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew In Extraordinary Display Of Christian Unity

Reference:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/30/pope-francis-ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-_n_6243414.html.