On February 5, Pope Leo XIV invoked former Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras as a “pioneer of the ecumenical movement,” and quoted his prayer: “I am disarmed of the need to be right, to justify myself by judging others,” by waging “the hardest war, the war against myself.”
The pope’s address to young priests and monks of the Oriental Orthodox Churches reflected an emphasis on Christian unity rooted in shared faith. The pope spoke to representatives of the Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Malankara, and Syriac Orthodox traditions in the Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace.
The pope recalled that the Church recently celebrated the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Pope stated that Christian unity becomes “a leaven for peace on earth and reconciliation of all” and a shared responsibility shaped by prayer, dialogue, and a common commitment to Christ.
