Ecumenical Patriarch and Pope Sign Joint Declaration Affirming Commitment to Unity, Rejection of Violence

At the Phanar, the sacred center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople on November 29, 2025, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and His Holiness Pope Leo XIV signed an historic Joint Declaration that reiterated their commitment, on behalf of both Churches, to continue to pursue dialogue for the ultimate goal of restoring full communion between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The Declaration also reaffirms the Hierarchs’ mutual rejection of using religion to justify violence. This Joint Declaration will form the foundation of future efforts to heal ancient divisions and heed the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, “that they all may be one” (John 17:21).

The Declaration firmly rejects religious violence and concludes on an inspiring note of abiding faith in these troubled times: “While we are deeply alarmed by the current international situation, we do not lose hope. God will not abandon humanity.”