Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Benedict XVI responded positively on the issue raised in the European Parliament of finding common dates for celebrating Easter, a question raised by Greek MEP Manolis Mavrommatis.Mavrommatis, in a Feb. 8, 2006 letter, requested a solution on the issue.
“The spring holiday of the European Parliament coincides, traditionally, with the Catholic Easter. With that logic and for the benefit of all those affected, the same should be the case for the celebration of the Orthodox Easter. Of course we will have to take into account that some times, the two celebrations coincide, date-wise.”
As the situation is now, as Mavrommatis emphasised in his letter, people coming from Greece and Cyprus, but also many coming from Bulgaria, Romania and some of the new Member States from central-eastern Europe, do not have the opportunity to be with their families during this time of Orthodox Christianity.
In a letter addressed to Patriarch Bartholomew, and with the opportunity of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Patriarch, this issue was discussed among the two leaders of Christianity.
Patriarch Bartholomew sent a letter to Mavrommatis, which noted: “Pope Benedict XVI responded positively on the subject and when he returned to Vatican City, he personally looked into the issue. I received a letter for my information as proof (which I attach), signed by Cardinal Walter Kasper, who is the head of the Papist Council for Promoting Unity of Christians.”
After this development, Mavrommatis wrote European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering requesting him to proceed to make the necessary arrangements.
Mavrommatis stated: “I believe that the convergence on such an important issue as the common celebration of Catholic and Orthodox Easter in the European Parliament and possible in the Christian world is a very important step for the two Churches.
The effort of Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Benedict XVI is essential, especially since the dialogue brought promising perspectives for Christianity.
I hope that the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, will also make an effort for fulfilling the fair request of our people and this would be the beginning of a more extensive dialogue between the representatives of the 27 Member States of the European Union.”
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