Benedict XVI was seen as a ‘traditionalist’ by many Eastern Christians, including men such as the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill I. The former Pope was a man with whom many Orthodox leaders (Oriental and Eastern) could work – he was viewed as someone who, like them, took liturgical and moral holiness seriously. He was a Bishop of Rome who stood up to secularism and the madness of modern Western ‘morality’, whilst also promoting beauty and holiness in the Roman Rite.
Soon after Benedict XVI’s resignation, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow sent a telegram to the Pope Emeritus, in which he said:-
We have always held dear your consistent position characterized by uncompromising stand in the questions of faith and commitment to the living church tradition. In an age when the ideology of all-permissiveness and moral relativism tries to force moral values out of people’s life, you boldly raised your voice in the defense [sic] of the Gospel’s ideal, the lofty dignity of human beings and their calling to freedom from sin.
It is with warmth that I remember our meetings before your election to the chair of Rome. In the years of your pontificate, a good development was given to relations between our Churches who bear a great responsibility for common witness to Crucified and Risen Christ in the modern world. I sincerely hope that good and confidential relations established with your active participation will develop under your successor.
Metropolitan Hilarion: For the sake of Unity, the Pope must be a traditionalist
It was also reported (see Rorate Caeli) that Metropolitan Hilarion, who heads the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department for External Church Relations, and who had an excellent working relationship with Benedict XVI, recently gave an interview during which the imminent Conclave was discussed. In that interview, the Metropolitan said that for the sake of Christian unity he hoped that the new Pope would be a “traditionalist”.
Through men like Hilarion and his Patriarch, Kirill, a clear message is being sent to Rome, namely that if the Catholic Church is serious about the reunification of the ancient Churches, then the next Pope must continue the work of Benedict XVI. The next Bishop of Rome must be a promoter and guardian of ‘the splendor of truth and the beauty of holiness’, both in the way the Church preaches the Gospel and worships Almighty God.
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