Rome, known as the Etarnal City, hosted the biggest ceremony in history, with Istanbul Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartolomeos once again trying to bring the Western and Eastern churches closer together
Hakan Çelik
ANKARA – Turkish Daily News
Two private planes departed Turkey last week to attend the funeral of the spiritual leader of the Catholic world, Pope John Paul II. One of them carried Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan and government representatives. The other bore Istanbul Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartolomeos, Gökçeada Metropolitan Yorgo Diraguni, Patriarchate spokesman Dositeos, Turkish-Armenians Patriarch Mesrob II, Armenian Patriarch private secretary Father Tatoul, Greek Patriarchate photographer Nicolas Manginas and me, the sole representative of the Turkish media.
We were only seven or eight people on the plane. Our plane landed at Ciampi Military Airport after a nearly two-hour flight.
Patriarch Bartolomeos and his delegation were welcomed by a huge papal group. Immediately after landing, we were taken to the basilica at the center of the Vatican where the pope’s body lay.
When we entered the basilica, we saw thousands of people praying inside. The pope’s body was situated in a way to allow everyone to see him. Bartolomeos left a wreath in the shape of the cross with a note at the pope’s feet.
After staying near the pope for about 15 minutes, the patriarch and the delegation left the basilica. As we left, I saw many young Catholic priests applauding the patriarch.
After talking with various cardinals, we went to our suites at the Avrelia Antica. The patriarch dined with religious personalities from around the world.
The next day, the patriarch and the delegation left early to attend the funeral of the pope. Throughout the trip the patriarch was applauded by Catholics coming from all around the world.
Bartolomeos was very glad to be in Rome, where he had studied as a university student, but he also said he was very upset to visit the city on such a sad occasion. He said, just like the entire Christian world, they were upset about the pope’s passing.
He said Pope John Paul II had contributed greatly to interreligious dialogue and world peace and hoped the new pope would follow in his footsteps.
One of the issues the patriarch emphasized was the relations between the Vatican and Turkey. He said he was praying that the new pope would support Turkey’s membership in the European Union.
The patriarch returned to Turkey on April 8, after attending the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
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