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11 chapter 6
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Chapter 6 1995-1996 1995 36. A visit by the Minister to the Golden Horn Background: In March 1995 the Minister General and Tecle Vetrali (Venice Province) visited the Ecumenical Patriarch at the Phanar (Istanbul) and a church served by friars of the Tuscany Province. “There are many colors but only a single rainbow.” Spring in the Bosphorus It was spring again. The Muslim world had begun Ramadan and Christians were preparing to celebrate the season of Lent in 1995. On the fragrantly scented hill of jasmine of the Roman curia, there came to fruition the plan for an “ecumenical gesture” on the Bosphorus, in the country of the Fathers of Cappadocia, who were distinguished for their courageous faith and powerful word, where East and West still meet. For some months with a tenacious gentleness, the Minister had been requesting an audience with His Holiness, Patriarch Bartholomew. It was Brother Hermann’s firm belief that the Catholic tradition does not lie in tending the ashes but in taking good care that the fire of hope is not extinguished. At the airport of Istanbul, the Minister and his companion, Brother Tecle, were welcomed by a certain monk named Gennadios, who with exquisite courtesy accompanied his guests to their hotel. That evening he brought them to a seashore restaurant specializing in fish, where the scent of lavender and rosemary was heralding the arrival of spring. The Audience With the monk Gennadios as their guide, the two Romans visited the principal monuments of the city on the following morning, which was a Saturday. First called “Rome of the East” and later Byzantium, Constantinople was conquered in 1453 by the 154 Fioretti for Our Times Turks. According to a very ancient tradition, this city is the repository of the relics of the Apostle Andrew and the apostle’s disciples, Luke and Timothy. Continuing their tour, the visitors arrived at the Chora, a church which the Emperor Theodosius (504-595) had erected. Afterwards, they came to Hagia Sophia (Church of Divine Wisdom) where since 1453 it has not been possible to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. Then they visited the Blue Mosque. It was about midday when they eventually reached Phanar Hill and St. George Church, which since 1612 has been the residence of the Ecumenical Patriarch of the East. His Holiness received his Roman guests with exquisite kindness and conversed with them alternately in Italian and German. He recalled the Councils of Chalcedon and Nicaea, the fall of the city in 1453 and the need for communion between the Churches of the East and West. He expressed his joy that he would soon visit Rome to give the fraternal embrace of the Apostle Andrew to the Apostle Peter. As a sign and confirmation that the friars throughout the whole world support this desire, Brother Hermann presented him with a replica of the San Damiano Cross. The Patriarch kissed it reverently and gave it a place of honor in his own study. In exchange he presented his guests with a glass-mounted seal of the Ecumenical Patriarch. Furthermore he invited them, together with some other members of the Holy Synod, to a frugal meal which they shared with hearts full of joy. In the afternoon the monk Gennadios accompanied his guests on a trip to the island of Chalki in the Bosphorus and to a monastery there which can be reached only in a horse-drawn carriage. They paid a visit to the library and saw more precious items. A young monk named Jeremiah from Mount Athos gave the Minister a jewel case of aromatic incense, the Eastern scents of which would be blended shortly afterwards—“non commixtionem passus, neque divisionem” (unchanged, not separated)—with the fragrant perfume of Roman incense and jasmine. And while the skies above Istanbul were resounding with many voices proclaiming “Allah akbar” (God is great), the visitors returned to their hotel. The Large and Small Throne On Sunday morning our visitors returned to Phanar Hill. They were invited to participate with the Patriarch in the liturgy according to the Greek Orthodox Rite. In preparation they had already meditated from early morning on the words of Origen: [52.90.211.141] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 01:46 GMT) 155 1995-1996 “Seek to drink from the spring of the Spirit which is already in you. In the depths of your being is the fountain of living water from which the inexhaustible rivers of spiritual feeling gush forth, unless they are blocked...