Coptic Church & Ecumenical Movement - Saint Mina Coptic ...

RESPONSE OF POPE PAUL VI TO POPE SHENOUDA III
May 6th 1973
Beloved Brother in Christ,
It is with joy that we extend to you our heartfelt greetings in the Lord as we welcome you
in this great Basilica dedicated to the Apostle Peter, who until his death gave witness to
his ardent faith in the Incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, and whom, with Saint Paul, we
venerate as the founder of the Church of Rome.
We greet also your brother bishops, the clergy and the distinguished laymen, worthy
representatives of the entire community of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Our greetings
go moreover to the two venerable bishops of the Ethiopian Church who form a worthy
part of your delegation. Welcome into our home and into our hearts.
It is not only in our own name that we speak. Surrounding us are our brothers in the
episcopate and thousands of our Christian priests and laity gathered here at the tomb of
the Apostle to honour another great witness to the faith, Athanasius of Alexandria.
On this solemn day the Church of Rome greets the Church of Alexandria in a gesture of
brotherly love and peace.
Over sixteen hundred years ago, the great Saint Athanasius was welcomed by our
predecessor Julius I, who saw in him a champion of that faith which was being
compromised and even denied by people who were stronger than him in political power
but weaker in faith and understanding. The Church of Rome supported him steadfastly.
He in turn recognised in the Church of the West a secure identity of faith despite
differences in vocabulary and in the theological approach to a deeper understanding of
the mystery of the Triune God. His successor Peter was to find the same brotherly
reception and support from our predecessor Damasus. A half-century later, the Churches
of Alexandria and Rome, in the person of their bishops Cyril and Celestine, were to serve
once more as beacons of light when belief in the God Man, Jesus Christ, was obscured by
those who refused to render to the holy Mother of God her glorious title of "Theotokos".
These are our great Fathers, Doctors of the faith and Pastors of men.
Humbly conscious of our own frailties we look to them to strengthen us now as we seek
to fulfil the vocation to which God has called us.
For God has truly called us to great things. In a particular way, he wishes us to bring to
the world his gift of faith, reconciliation and peace. Men, estranged from him and from
each other, are to be reconciled by our humble ministry.
First, however, we must ask ourselves how far we can accomplish this if we Christians
are not reconciled with each other. The question is an important one for us. By the grace
of God we share with you faith in the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In Jesus
Christ we profess the Incarnate Son of God, who for us and for our salvation was born of
the Virgin Mary, suffered, died and rose from the dead. Incorporated into him by
baptism, we share his divine life in the sacraments of his Church; we share the Apostolic
traditions handed down by our common Fathers; our liturgical, theological, spiritual and
devotional life are nourished from the same sources, even though they receive various
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