Met. NICHOLAS: Ut Unum Sint

His Eminence Met. NICHOLAS of the American Carpatho-Russian Archdiocese has instructed his spiritual flock to pray for peace and unity, leading up to the historic meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch BARTHOLOMEW I in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) next week. The two hierarchs will meet from November 28 to December 1.

In a statement issued November 16, Met. NICHOLAS hopes at this hierarchical meeting, theological controveries will be"set on the way toward resolution" and that no violence will mar the occasion:

It is for these two reasons – for hope and for concern – that I ask for your supplications for the safety and success of this visitation. Pray for peace and protection, and the stilling of tumult. Pray for doctrinal clarity and ecclesial harmony. Pray for history to be made this month, for the glory of God and the aggrandizement of the Apostolic Church. Pray, truly, that “Thy Kingdom come, and Thy will be done.”

For this cause, I am directing all priests of the Diocese to include the following special petition in the “Triple Litany” after the Gospel in the Divine Liturgy:

O Holy Father from Whom all blessings flow, we come before You in meekness and bow down: humbly we beseech You to look kindly upon the meeting of Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, and Pope Benedict, Pontiff of Rome. For too long, there has been division and alienation in the Church, when there should have been the unity of the Body of Christ. We beg Your mercy and wisdom, O Lord, to provide for the welfare of the holy churches of God and for their union. Let this occasion of fellowship be for the healing of old disputes. In Your infinite power, protect these Shepherds of the Great and Holy Pasture of Christ. Shield them, and all who attend, from the peril of harm. And in Your matchless grace, establish a bright new work in these latter days, so that the world might see the Face of Christ; so that men and women might repent, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and be saved in the Apostolic Church of God. For these supplications, we humbly beseech You, Holy Father, hear us and have mercy.

This is to be done for the Liturgies on the Sundays of November 19 and November 26. This petition may also be used in other Liturgies throughout the respective weeks.

The Roman Catholic television network EWTN will have live coverage of this meeting beginning at 3 a.m. Pacific/6 a.m. Eastern.

May we all share this prayer, and Christ's petition as our Great High Priest, "Ut unum sint": that all may be one, in Him and in His Truth.

P.S.: Am I the only one who heard "The Old 100th" while reading the first line of this prayer?