Pope Francis reaches out to Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Pvasiliadis)
Pope Francis reached out to the first among equals of the Eastern Orthodox, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew:
2013-11-30
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a Message to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, in order to mark the Patronal feast of the Church the Patriarch leads – the Feast of St Andrew the Apostle. http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-to-patriarch-bartholomew-world-needs
Here is some of what Pope Francis wrote:
To His Holiness Bartholomaios I
Archbishop of ConstantinopleEcumenical Patriarch
“Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith,
from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph 6:23)
After welcoming with joy the delegation which Your Holiness sent to Rome for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, it is with the same joy that I convey, through this message entrusted to Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, my spiritual closeness on the feast of Saint Andrew, Peter’s brother and the patron saint of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. With the heartfelt affection reserved for beloved brothers, I offer my prayerful best wishes to Your Holiness, to the members of the Holy Synod, to the clergy, monks and all the faithful, and – together with my Catholic brothers and sisters – join your own prayer on this festive occasion.
Your Holiness, beloved brother in Christ, this is the first time that I address you on the occasion of the feast of the Apostle Andrew, the first-called. I take this opportunity to assure you of my intention to pursue fraternal relations between the Church of Rome and the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It is for me a source of great reassurance to reflect on the depth and the authenticity of our existing bonds, the fruit of a grace-filled journey along which the Lord has guided our Churches since the historic encounter in Jerusalem between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, the fiftieth anniversary of which we will celebrate shortly…We are presently marking the 1700th anniversary of Constantine’s Edict, which put an end to religious persecution in the Roman Empire in both East and West, and opened new channels for the dissemination of the Gospel. Today, as then, Christians of East and West must give common witness so that, strengthened by the Spirit of the risen Christ, they may disseminate the message of salvation to the entire world. There is likewise an urgent need for effective and committed cooperation among Christians in order to safeguard everywhere the right to express publicly one’s faith and to be treated fairly when promoting the contribution which Christianity continues to offer to contemporary society and culture.
It is with sentiments of profound esteem and warm friendship in Christ that I invoke abundant blessings on Your Holiness and on all the faithful of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, asking the intercession of the Virgin Mother of God and of the holy apostles and martyrs Peter and Andrew. With the same sentiments I renew my best wishes and exchange with you a fraternal embrace of peace. http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-to-patriarch-bartholomew-world-needs
Of course, Mary is dead and the Bible teaches that Jesus is the only intercessor/mediator, not Mary:
5 For there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human (1Timothy 2:5, NET)
5 For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and humanity, himself a human being, Christ Jesus (1Timothy 2:5, NJB)
The NJB is a Catholic-accepted translation of scripture into the English language.
Although the Bible warns of a coming ecumenical religion (Revelation 13:4,8) based out of the city of seven-hills (Revelation 17), the Pope and Patriarch want to make this happen. Patriarch Bartholomew has gone so far as to strongly denounce those who warn against unity with Rome (see Bartholomew I Patriarch of Constantinople Opposes Those Who Warn Against Catholic Unity).
It may well be that possible ‘Marian’ apparitions and other lying wonders will be unification factors.
Interestingly, even Catholic private prophecies warn against unity with the Eastern/Greek Orthodox:
Priest Paul Kramer (21st century): The errors of Orthodoxy and of Protestantism will be embraced by that false church, it will be an ecumenical church because the Anti-Pope will be recognized by the world—not by the faithful, but by the world—by the secular world and the secular governments. (Kramer P. The Imminent Chastisement for Not Fulfilling Our Lady’s Request. An edited transcript of a speech given at the Ambassadors of Jesus and Mary Seminar in Glendale, California, September 24, 2004.THE FATIMA CRUSADER Issue 80, Summer 2005, pp. 32-45 http://www.fatimacrusader.com/cr80/cr80pg32.asp viewed 4/15/08)
Anna-Katarina Emmerick (October 1, 1820): The Church is in great danger…The Protestant doctrine and that of the schismatic Greeks are to spread everywhere. I now see that in this place (Rome) the (Catholic) Church is being so cleverly undermined, that there hardly remain a hundred or so priests who have not been deceived. They all work for the destruction, even the clergy. A great destruction is now at hand…(April 22, 1823): I saw that many pastors allowed themselves to be taken up with ideas that were dangerous to the Church. They were building a great, strange, and extravagant Church. Everyone was admitted in it in order to be united and to have equal rights: Evangelicals, Catholics, sects of every description. Such was to be the new Church (Dupont, Yves. Catholic Prophecy: The Coming Chastisement. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1973, pp. 66, 71).
Anna Emmerich was beatified on October 3, 2004 by Pope John-Paul II.
Since Vatican II (a major Catholic ecumenical council that ran from 1962–1965), many Catholics have been justifiably concerned that doctrinal compromise for the sake of ecumenical unity with those outside of fellowship of Rome was inevitable. Notice also the following:
Saint Nelios the Myrrh-Gusher (died 1592): During that time the Eighth and last Ecumenical Synod will take place, which will satisfy the contentions of the heretics…(Tzima Otto, H. The Great Monarch and WWIII in Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Scriptural Prophecies. Verenikia Press, Rock Hill (SC), 2000, p. 111).
By satisfying “heretics,” clearly this council compromises and changes the religion, which will be called “Catholic.” If heretics are truly heretics, should their complaints be satisfied?
The Orthodox have long taught that the Church of Rome (known sometimes as Latins) will change doctrines to those of the Orthodox. A document known as the Anonymou Prophecy of 1053 refers to this as the “Deferring of the Latins to the error-free faith of the Orthodox,” it then claims “The Orthodox Faith will expand from East to West” (Tzima Otto, p. 116).
Here is an explanation from Orthodox scholar H. Tzima-Otto (bolding in original):
Many Catholic prophecies speak of the victory of the ‘true Catholic faith’, while Orthodox prophecies, although they agree on everything else, predict a victory of the ‘true Orthodox faith’…When we speak of the future Council, it is bound to be ecumenical…there will come a true re-unification of the Christian Churches…This Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church is not going to be Roman Catholic as understood today…
The error-free Orthodox faith…The Orthodox did not experience a Vatican II, they did not begin to rewrite Scriptures…Hence, error-free in the sense that it has not been contaminated by satan…(Tzima Otto, pp. 120-122)
Thus, the Orthodox expect Rome to change its doctrines, because they feel that the Roman Catholic Church adopted errors from satan.
Despite biblical and other warnings, Pope Francis is an ecumenical pontiff. He seems determined to help fulfill prophecies that warn against what he is doing. We are moving towards the time of the end and both Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis seem to wish to accelerate this movement.
Some items of related interest may include:
Why Should American Catholics Should Fear Unity with the Orthodox? Are the current ecumenical meetings a good thing or will they result in disaster? Is doctrinal compromise good?
Orthodox Must Reject Unity with the Roman Catholics Unity between these groups will put them in position to be part of the final end time Babylon that the Bible warns against as well as require improper compromise.
Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions Do you know much about Mary? Are the apparitions real? What happened at Fatima? What might they mean for the rise of the ecumenical religion of Antichrist? Are Protestants moving towards Mary? How do the Eastern/Greek Orthodox view Mary? How might Mary view her adorers? Here is a link to a YouTube video Marian Apparitions May Fulfill Prophecy.
Pope Francis: Could this Marian Focused Pontiff be Fulfilling Prophecy? Pope Francis has taken many steps to turn people more towards his version of ‘Mary.’ Could this be consistent with biblical and Catholic prophecies? This article documents what has been happening. There is also a video version titled Pope Francis: Could this Marian Focused Pontiff be Fulfilling Prophecy?
Feast of the Immaculate Conception? Did early Christians teach Mary had an immaculate conception and led a sinless life?
Origin of the Marian Dogmas: Where Do Catholic Scholars Say The Four Dogmas of Mary Came From?
Assumption of Mary Did Mary die? Was she taken to heaven on August 15th? What is known? What does the Bible show?
Will You Be Deceived by Antichrist? 1964 article by David Jon Hill, originally published in the old Good News magazine.
Could Pope Francis be the Last Pope and Antichrist? According to some interpretations of the prophecies of the popes by the Catholic saint and Bishop Malachy, Pope Francis I is in the position of “Peter the Roman,” the pontiff who reigns during tribulations until around the time of the destruction of Rome. Do biblical prophecies warn of someone that sounds like Peter the Roman? Could Francis I be the heretical antipope of Catholic private prophecies and the final Antichrist of Bible prophecy? This is a YouTube video.
The Malachy Prophecies and “Peter the Roman” An Irish bishop allegedly predicted something about 112 popes in the 12th century. Pope Benedict XVI was number 111. Francis would seem to be number 112–if he is that one–and if so, he is to reign until Rome is destroyed. May he be an antipope/final Antichrist?
Pope Benedict XVI and the next pope Will the pope that succeeds Pope Benedict XVI fulfill biblical and non-biblical prophecies? What about Pope Benedict himself? Pope Benedict XVI resigned his pontificate effective February 28, 2013. Might his resignation lead to the fulfillment of prophecy? Might his resignation lead to the prophesied Antichrist according to biblical and Catholic prophecies? Do Catholic prophecies foretell of an antipope as the next pope? Is the Peter the Roman of the Malachy prophecies the next pope? Is there a 6,000 year plan? Is the 6,000 year almost up?
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