Pt.1
The declarations highlight the serious scope used when formal meetings occur between Orthodox Primates and the heterodox. There is not a hint of correcting any heresies that the Papists have embraced prior to "full communion."
Common Declarations of Popes, Other Church Leaders
Taken from the 2007 Catholic Almanac by Matthew Bunsen
Paul VI and Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I, First Common Declaration, Dec. 7, 1965. They hoped the differences between the churches would be overcome with the help of the Holy Spirit, and their “full communion of faith, brotherly concord and sacramental life” would be restored.
Second Common Declaration, Oct. 27, 1967: They wished “to emphasize their conviction that the restoration of full communion (between the churches) is to be found within the framework of the renewal of the Church and of the Christians in fidelity to the traditions of the Fathers and to inspirations of the Holy Spirit who remains always with the Church.”
John Paul II and Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I, First Common Declaration, Nov. 30, 1979: “Purification of the collective memory of our churches is an important fruit of the dialogue of charity and an indispensable condition of future progress.” They announced the establishment of the Catholic-Orthodox Theological Commission.
Second Common Declaration, Dec. 7, 1987: Dialogue conducted since 1979 indicated that the churches can already profess together as common faith about the mystery of the Church and the connection between faith and the sacraments. They also states that, “when unity of faith is assured, a certain diversity of expressions does not create obstacles to unity, but enriches the life of the church and the understanding, always imperfect, of the revealed mystery.”
John Paul II with Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, Pope John Paul and Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, after several days of meetings, signed a common declaration June 29, 1995, declaring: “Our meeting has followed other important events which have seen our Churches declare their desire to relegate the excommunications of the past to oblivion and to set out on the way to establishing full communion. Our newfound brotherhood in the name of the Lord has led us to frank discussion, a dialogue that seeks understanding and unity. This dialogue - through the Joint International (Catholic-Orthodox) Commission - has proved fruitful and has made substantial progress.”
Pope John Paul II and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I signed a Common Declaration on Environmental Ethics, June10, 2002: We are gathered here today in the spirit of peace for the good of all human beings and for the care of creation. At this moment in history, at the beginning of the third millennium, we are saddened to see the daily suffering of a great number of people from violence, starvation, poverty and disease. We are also concerned about the negative consequences for humanity and for all creation resulting from the degradation of some basic natural resources such as water, air, and land, brought about by economic and technological progress which does not recognize and take into account its limits. Rome - Venice, June 10, 2002
Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Teoctist of the Romanian Orthodox Church signed a Joint Declaration in Rome on Oct. 12, 2002: “The glory which you have given me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (Jn 17:22-23).
In the deep joy of being together again in the city of Rome, close to the tombs of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, we exchange the kiss of peace under the gaze of the One who watches over his Church and guides our steps: and we meditate anew on these words, which the Evangelist John transmitted to us and which constitute Christ’s heartfelt prayer on the eve of his Passion.
The third Common Declaration of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope John Paul II of June 29, 2004 is of some length. That is for Pt. 2.
