This year Christians of the East and the West celebrate Easter on the same day. We shall not see, this alignment again for almost a decade, and it is therefore important for us to reflect on its significance, especially for Christians in the Holy Land.

This year also sees the 1,700th anniversary of the Great Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, when the basis of our shared faith was articulated in the Creed that this Council promulgated.

For Eastern and Western Christians in the Holy Land, in this year of joyful celebrations we understand that we share four common aspects to our lives.

We share the common date for Easter. This is of paramount importance to the witness of the Church, so that all may celebrate together, and others may see, in our celebration of the Feast of Feasts, our common salvation and our common human destiny. We are committed to the journey of establishing a common date for Easter every year, so that we may always keep this great feast together.

We share a common faith in the Nicene Creed. Although there have been some modifications to the Creed down the centuries, we cannot forget that at its heart the Nicene Creed unites all those who believe in the Trinity and in the Incarnation of the Eternal Logos of God. We remain committed to our shared theological dialogue so that we may overcome those disagreements that still divide us in our full profession of faith together.

We share the journey to the common Chalice, a journey to full Eucharistic fellowship when at last we may partake together of the holy and life-giving Sacred Mysteries of Christ's Body and Blood. Our unity is Christ's own prayer on the night before he suffered for us, and we remain committed to the ecumenical pilgrimage that will bring us together in the celebration of the Divine Mysteries.

Most of all, as the Heads of our respective Churches, we share a common voice for peace. We are deeply concerned about developments in our region, in Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza, and we have called for an end to all violence and hostility, the immediate and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid, and the release of all captives.

In the Holy Land we are not idle in working towards this future. We are bound by obedience to our Lord's desire for the Church to be one, and we are confident in God's providence. We have seen true and significant rapprochement in our life in recent years. We have found significant mutual trust and agreement as we have labored together in the most important restoration of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in its history. This could not have been accomplished without a genuine willingness to lay aside past disagreements and misunderstandings for the sake of the greater good.

In the same spirit of collaboration and responsibility, we are working together to prepare for the restoration of the Sacred Grotto of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and we are confident that we shall have the same success.

We have been clear that the only sure way forward for the unity of the Church as well as for peace and security in our region is dialogue. We have shown ourselves in our own work together in the Holy Land that genuine dialogue achieves its goals. Here in Jerusalem the Heads of the Churches as well as our respective communities work together and share our concerns. We are able to find way of significant co-operation both in our diakonia of the Holy Places as well as in our pastoral oversight of our communities. We have come to understand in our very existence in the Christian presence in the Middle East the truth of the words of Saint Paul, If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. (1 Cor. 12:26)

As Christians of East and West keep the Feast of our Lord's resurrection on the same day this year, we give thanks to Almighty God for the progress that has been made in the mutual respect and understanding that exist between our Churches in the Holy Land, and we re-commit ourselves to the work that still lies ahead. A sound foundation has been laid but there is yet more to be done. We continue in this work confident in God's providence and renewed in the unconquered hope that is given to us in the Empty Tomb.

May the light that shines from the Holy and Life-giving Tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten our hearts and minds, and strengthen us in our God-given mission.