Cardinal Kurt Koch, the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, paid tribute to Ecumenical Patriarchate Bartholomew of Constantinople as the Orthodox leader received an honorary doctorate from the Angelicum on October 23.
“During the course of your patriarchal ministry, relations between the sister Churches of Rome and Constantinople have developed in a steady and consistent manner,” Cardinal Koch said in his address. “You have signed more joint declarations with the Pontiffs than any other Patriarch in history.”
Cardinal Koch also praised the Ecumenical Patriarch for “the invaluable contribution made to the ecclesiological reflection on the synodality of the Church,” “eco-theology,” and the “theology of dialogue.”
Cardinal Koch’s tribute came a day after the Ecumenical Patriarch marked the 35th anniversary of his election.