In a message to Pope Leo XIV, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople hailed the progress made to the restoration of full communion between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox churches.

“We continue to mourn the departure of Your predecessor, the ever-memorable Pope Francis—with whom we shared so much—while looking upon the new ministry of Your Holiness with expectation and hope,” the Ecumenical Patriarch, who holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches, wrote in his message on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. “By the grace of God, much has been achieved as we humbly walk together along the path of dialogue towards the fullness of unity. Our mutual exchange of greetings for the patronal feasts of our respective sees is one such sign of this dialogue in action—a dialogue of love, of truth, and of peace.”

“Our hearts were warmed when we learned of Your Holiness’ motto, taken from the great Church Father St Augustine, beloved to You and to us: In Illo uno unum,“ the Ecumenical Patriarch continued. We receive this as a precious sign of Your Holiness’ thirst for Christian unity, one based on a deeply patristic vision of ecclesiology springing from the wellspring of the New Testament itself, and in particular, from the writings of the Apostle Paul whose memory we so joyously keep today.”

After quoting from the writings of St. Augustine, the Ecumenical Patriarch concluded:

Your Holiness, dearest brother Leo, we are in the midst of commemorating the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council held at Nicaea in 325, a fitting time in which to stand together for the “faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 3)

The faith proclaimed at Nicaea is the faith of Peter and Paul, the faith of the subsequent Ecumenical Councils, and of the whole Church of God. We are reminded on this bright occasion of the famous incident at the Fourth Ecumenical Council held at Chalcedon in 451, when the Council Fathers, hearing the saving Tome composed by Your ever-memorable predecessor St Leo the Great read aloud, exclaimed with one voice: “Peter has spoken through Leo.”

In this tragic time of “wars and rumors of wars,” (Matt. 24:6) of ecological crisis, religious confusion, and pervasive anxiety, we fervently pray that in our common quest to proclaim the saving faith of Nicaea, which is none other than the Christian faith, Your Holiness’ ministry might always be inspired and moved by the same Spirit that moved Your forebear and heavenly patron. Then, the fruits of the Spirit being manifest through Your person, may the acclamation of old joyously resound once more: “Peter has spoken through Leo.”