Metropolitan Methodios Participates in RC Celebration of the Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul
His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios joined Boston's Roman Catholic Cardinal Sean O"Malley on the Feast Day of Sts. Peter & Paul to co-celebrate (as they do on November 29 when Cardinal Sean visits the Metropolis Chapel for the Vespers of St. Andrew) the Patron Saints Peter and Paul and Andrew. Metropolitan Methodios offered the following remarks:
"I am thankful to Almighty for blessing me today as I join you, Your Eminence, brother priests and deacons, beloved laymen at the joyous Eucharistic celebration.
"We gather this afternoon to celebrate the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. They, together with St. Andrew and all the Apostles, were commissioned by Christ the Savior to announce the good news of the reconciliation given in Christ…..To call men and women to enter through Christ into the communion with the Father in the Holy Spirit (John.1: 103) and thus gather them to become children of God, brothers and sisters in His household.
"To gather all things together in Christ in praise of God’s glory (John 1: 10-12) was the mission of the Apostles. It is our mission as well, that is those of us Orthodox and Roman Catholic chosen and sent as their successors into the world.
"Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we strive to keep the Christian Community faithful to the truth of the Holy Gospel as preached by the Apostles and handed down to us without interruption.
"Every time we gather to celebrate the Feasts of Sts. Peter, Paul, and Andrew, our attention is drawn once more to this mysterious reach in depth and extension of the Church and its mission. The Church is called to preach the Gospel of Salvation in every age and to all the nations, teaching them what the Lord taught, baptizing them in the name of the Holy Trinity, thus making them members of the Body of Christ.
"I believe this sacred mission can only be completely carried out if our two churches, by fact of their unity, allow the Gospel message to be seen with all its powerful claims on belief.
"Joint celebrations of the Patron Saints Peter and Paul and Andrew (initiated by our mother churches in Rome and Constantinople in a spirit of reconciliation) is a blessing for us here in Boston and New England. It is not a static repetition of the same thing, but rather, each time it is a new celebration, a dynamic thrust forward, a growth in depth with regard to the mystery of the Church.
"By being and worshipping together in fellowship, we cast light on the many signs of our fraternal relations because such actions introduce the divine dimension into the whole enterprise for unity.
"This afternoon, I add my prayers to those of Cardinal Sean that Almighty God may further our advance towards the unity we desire as Orthodox and Roman Catholics. We meet this afternoon to confirm the will of our two churches to proceed without faltering in this direction, despite all difficulties and obstacles. We celebrate what has been so far achieved towards reconciliation, for drawing together towards unity. We pray that Almighty God strengthen the love and brotherhood between us, to renew our hope, and to support one another in the conviction that in the end it is Christ and His will that will prevail."
