Pope Francis: Eastern Patriarchs as Guardians of Communion

Authentic Synodal Governance of the Christian East

Vatican City, 21 November 2013 (VIS) – At 10 a.m. today, in the Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father received in audience the Patriarchs of the Oriental Catholic Churches, along with the Major Archbishops. It is the first time since the beginning of his pontificate that the Bishop of Rome has held such a long meeting with the Heads of the Oriental Churches and he therefore took the opportunity to “renew the great esteem for the spiritual heritage of the Christian East, and to recall Benedict XVI’s description of a Church leader in his post-Synodal exhortation “Ecclesia in Medio Oriente”. “You are, he said ‘watchful guardians of communion and servants of ecclesial unity’”.

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