Papal nuncio: Vatican looks forward to the Ecumenical Council
The Vatican hopes for the Ecumenical Christian Council to take place and will look for a way to conduct it, said the apostolic nuncio in Russia.
On December 9, 2019, the apostolic nuncio in the Russian Federation, Archbishop Celestino Migliore announced at a press conference of RIA Novosti in Moscow that the Ecumenical Council would be held and the Vatican would look for a way to hold it.
“We hope that the Ecumenical Council will take place, but someone should convene it. It should be one person who has to convene it,” he said when asked by the journalists about whether a new Ecumenical Council is possible in modern conditions with the participation of representatives of all faiths of Christianity.
“In the future we will find a way to convene the Ecumenical Council, find a formula for how to get together,” added the nuncio.
Earlier, the possibility of holding a new Ecumenical Council was discussed by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Pope Francis. They also discussed the possible date of its holding – 2025, on the anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of 325. In March this year, at a conference in Moscow, a report was presented by the Athos brethren – elder Paisios Kareotis and monk Epiphanios Kapsaliotis, which stated that Constantinople and Rome had allegedly already agreed on joint management of the jurisdiction, which would be openly enforced after the Ecumenical Unification Council.
As reported by the UOJ, earlier Patriarch Bartholomew said that dialogue with the Vatican is one of the priorities of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.