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April 8, 2006
SF METROPOLIS REPRESENTED AT HISTORIC VATICAN CONVOCATION
Fr. Michael Pappas, Economos
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
San Francisco, California
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133)
As Metropolis Ecumenical Officer I traveled to Rome with an interfaith delegation of San Francisco religious and lay leaders to represent His
Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco at the Vatican Consistory Ceremony on March 24 and Ceremony of the Rings on March 25, 2006.
During these ceremonies, former Archbishop of San Francisco William Levada was elevated to the ranks of Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI. As part
of the mission, I delivered a Resolution from the most recent Metropolis of San Francisco Clergy-Laity Assembly congratulating and honoring
Cardinal Levada on the occasion of his elevation. Last June, Levada was made Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the
position that Pope Benedict XVI held prior to his election as Pontiff.
While there, a strong conviction, realized through my ecumenical and interfaith involvement both as a seminarian and a priest, was
confirmed: that the Orthodox Church must be present and participating in the dialogue among the faiths. Three essential reasons for our
presence are these: To offer an Orthodox Christian witness, to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of one another's faiths; and,
to cultivate an environment where God’s will for unity might be realized.
From the moment of arrival in Rome, I sensed a genuine appreciation for the presence of a representative of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of
San Francisco at these ceremonies. Our 1,000 years of shared history and Orthodoxy’s unbroken and pure expression of the faith, made ours a
welcome presence at this historic synaxis. Aside from attending the impressive liturgical rites held at the Vatican, I was thankful for the
many receptions offered to break bread with my fellow pilgrims. It was at these tables that I was invited to answer questions and share the
richness of the Orthodox Christian faith.
Likewise, by observing practices of commonality in our two traditions, I was better able to appreciate those pearls in our own Church, which
otherwise I might have taken for granted. Interestingly, our visit began with a penitential service at the 4th century Church of St. Mary
Major in the heart of Rome and ended with the first mass said by the newly elevated Cardinal Levada at his titular 9th century Church of
Santa Maria Dominica on the outskirts of the City. The latter was founded as a “house church” by the Archdeacon Laurence (a recognized
Orthodox saint) in the mid 3rd century and was adorned with a magnificent Byzantine Icon of Christ, the Virgin and Child, and 12 Holy
Apostles. Both sanctuaries were older than the schisms which divide our churches.
On a lighter note, I must confess to have gained a greater appreciation for the converts of our Church who have no understanding of the Greek
language, as most of the services we attended were in Latin, the only translation being in Italian.
Over the years, some of the strongest friendships I’ve maintained have been with clergy of other faiths. Indeed, so much that we commonly
experience in ministry transcends confessional boundaries. This trip was no exception, I returned having cultivated important relationships.
Retiring Episcopal Bishop William Swing affirmed these sentiments in a reflection offered at the conclusion of a meal at Castle Orsini on our
last night together. He cited as the reason for taking a famed pilgrimage to Constantinople, Rome and London with his fellow hierarchs of
San Francisco, our late Metropolitan Anthony’s inspired thought, “Let us go together to the spiritual fathers of our mother churches and
tell them how much we love one another.” As a result of that journey Metropolitan Anthony, Archbishop Levada and Bishop Swing returned changed
men; friends, whose churches had grown closer. It was this pilgrimage that Cardinal Levada recalled with deep emotion, more than once, in our
personal exchanges.
A final entry in my daily journal, penned before boarding the plane to return home, reads, “ Those secure in their faith can venture into such
arenas without fear of losing their souls or compromising that which is most sacred....(and) In a world where fundamentalist religious
extremists seem to be the chief polarizing and dividing force on our planet, isn’t it comforting to know that people of many faiths are
striving, each in their own way, to celebrate and bring about God’s will for love, peace and harmony among people.”
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