World’s Christian leaders recall Pope Francis

April 22, 2025

Non-Catholic Christian leaders from around the world recalled Pope Francis in the hours following the Pontiff’s passing.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches, described Pope Francis as “a precious brother in Christ” and “a true friend of Orthodoxy.”

“Throughout these 12 years of his papacy, he was a faithful friend, companion, and supporter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,” he continued. “He left behind an example of genuine humility and brotherly love.”

The Ecumenical Patriarch recalled the upcoming joint celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea,” an idea conceived as “we knelt side by side in prayer before the Lord’s Tomb” in Jerusalem in 2014. “It was not meant to be for him to come.”

““Eternal be your memory, Brother Pope Francis,” he concluded.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the largest of the Orthodox churches, said that “the late Pontiff led the Roman Catholic Church during a time of epochal change.”

He continued:

His name is associated with an important stage in relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The historic first meeting of their Primates in 2016 marked the desire of our Churches to heal “the wounds inflicted by conflicts of the distant and recent past” and to “unite efforts in witnessing to the Gospel of Christ and the shared heritage of the Church of the first millennium” (Joint Statement 5, 7)

For Christians worldwide, His Holiness’s commitment to standing in solidarity with the suffering and the marginalized held particular significance. Continuously reminding us of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in every poor and needy person, the Pope drew attention to often deliberately overlooked instances of injustice, violations of human dignity, and various forms of persecution. We will gratefully remember his statements in defense of religious freedom, particularly concerning the persecuted Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

“May the All-Merciful Lord grant rest to the soul of His departed servant, who passed away on the second day of the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection by Christians worldwide, in the abode of the righteous,” Patriarch Kirll concluded. “May He lead him ‘from death into life’ (John 5:24), forgiving all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and may He grant him eternal memory!”

World Council of Churches

Dr Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, said that “Pope Francis’s passing will be mourned around the world, not least among his many allies and admirers in the ecumenical movement and in the worldwide fellowship of the WCC,” whose members include 350 Protestant and Orthodox communities. “His papacy has been a great gift to the ecumenical movement, and he has been a dedicated collaborator in our efforts toward Christian unity and reconciliation and a prophetic voice for peace, the environment, and justice everywhere.”

““His words and actions on some matters may have frustrated and alarmed some people, but his courage and leadership are certainly appreciated,” Pillay continued. “His ability to speak truth to power and speak out on political issues may have raised some eyebrows, but prophetic witness is a gift in ecumenical circles.”

Pillay added:

In one of my personal meetings with him, we talked about Christian unity. I said to him that the WCC appreciated his words to us in 2018, when he visited us at Bossey, that we must keep ‘walking, praying, and working together.’ I said to him that these are good words, but ‘Don’t you think the time has come for us to hold hands while we are walking, so that we can demonstrate visible Christian unity?’ He smiled and said, wagging his finger, ‘I like that, I like that.’ What I remember most were his final words with a handshake on every occasion I met him: ‘Please pray for me.’

Perhaps Pope Francis’s signal insights are best captured in the themes of his chief encyclicals and exhortations: the joy of the Gospel, the joy of love in families, the light of faith in Christ, the need to care for our common home the earth, and the indispensability of mercy and peace. These are precisely what we as Christians have to offer a hurting world to kindle personal and social transformation and nurture the reign of God among us. We have been abundantly blessed by Francis’s ecumenical and pastoral leadership, and we have nothing but gratitude to God for his life and ministry. May he rest in God’s embrace as we continue to be inspired by him in our work.

Anglican Communion

Following the resignation of Archbishop Justin Welby in January, the office Archbishop of Canterbury is vacant. Lambeth Palace, the archbishop’s residence, issued the following statement:

The death of His Holiness Pope Francis is a great loss for the Roman Catholic Church, as it is for the entire global Church which has benefitted from his warmth, wisdom and ministry over the past 12 years. At Lambeth Palace, we cherish the strong bond between Popes and Archbishops of Canterbury—the fruit of many decades of ecumenical dialogue.

During meetings of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission in Rome, on the joint pilgrimage to South Sudan in 2023, and recently with the Primates of the Anglican Communion in Rome, Pope Francis was a tireless champion of the strong ecumenical bonds formed between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, and we give thanks for his ministry to millions of Christians around the world.

His strong commitment to reconciliation, to peace, and to the poor and to refugees, served as an important call to action, as he fearlessly modelled the love, humility and service of Jesus Christ. We pray for our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters as they mourn his death. May Pope Francis rest in peace and rise in glory.

 

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