Your Holiness, beloved Brother in Christ,

Dearest faithful in the Lord, It is with solemn joy that we stand for vesperal prayer in this splendid and ancient temple of St. Paul “Outside the Walls” in the presence of numerous devout pilgrims from throughout the world on the occasion of the formal and festive opening of the Year of St. Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles.

The radical conversion and apostolic kerygma of Saul of Tarsus literally shook history in its entirety and shaped the very identity of Christianity. This great man profoundly influenced such classical Church Fathers as St. John Chrysostom in the East and St. Augustine of Hippo in the West. Though he never met Jesus of Nazareth, nevertheless St. Paul received the Gospel directly “from the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Gal. 1.11-12)

This sacred venue “Outside the Walls” is surely most appropriate for the commemoration and celebration of a man who married the Greek language with the Roman mindset of his time, once and for all shedding Christianity of any narrow mentality and forever forging the catholic ground of the ecumenical Church.

May St. Paul’s life and letters continue to inspire us, “so that people all over the world may believe in Christ.” (Rom. 16.27)

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls

June 28, 2008