The Magisterium of Benedict XVIPope on Benedict XVI: "Only God knows the strength of his sacrifices offered for the Church".The spiritual testament of Benedict XVIThe representatives of many religious denominations want to attend the funeral of Benedict XVI to be held this Thursday, January 5 in Rome. These names join those of so many people who will be mobilized over the next few days to give a last farewell to the Pope emeritus.
Orthodox representatives
Thus, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople expects the attendance of its eminences Polycarp of Italy and Emmanuel of Chalcedon. Bishop Gennadios of Botswana is also expected as Greek Orthodox representative.
The Moscow Patriarchate, for its part, in RussiaThe funeral will be attended by the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, Antony of Volokolamsk, and the Assistant of the Department for External Church Relations, Ivan Nikolaev. The Serbian Patriarchate will be represented by the Bishop of Bec.
From Romania, the bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Northern Italy, Monsignor Siluan, and his auxiliary bishop, Athanasius, will attend on behalf of the Romanian Patriarchate.
The Patriarchates of Bulgaria and Georgia will be represented by Ivan Ivanov, Administrator of the Bulgarian communities in Italy, and the pastor of the Georgian community in Rome, Ioane Khelaia, respectively.
The Church of Cyprus will send Metropolitan Bishop Basil of Constance, and the Greek Church will be represented by Metropolitan Ignatius of Dimitriades. Representing North Macedonia will be His Highness Josif of Tetovo-Gostivar and Deacon Stefan Gogovski.
On behalf of the Orthodox Church in America (IOA), IOA Primate Tikhon and its secretary, Alessandro Margheritino, will attend the funeral.
The Bishop for Italy of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, Monsignor Bernabé El Soryany, will also be present. From the Armenian Apostolic Church, the representative to the Holy See, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Bagrat Galstanyan from the Diocese of Tavush in Armenia, and the Pontifical Legate for Central Europe, Tiran Petrosyan, are expected to attend. From the same church, but from Cilicia, Archbishop Nareg Alemezian will attend.
Abraham Mar Stephanos, metropolitan for the United Kingdom and Europe, will represent the Syrian Malankara Church; and Mar Odisho Oraham, bishop for Scandinavia and Germany, is the envoy from the Assyrian Church of the East.
Veterocatholic representatives
The Old Catholic Church in Utrecht will be represented by Bishop Heinrich Lederleitner, from Austria.
Anglican representatives
On behalf of the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury's representative to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Center in Rome, Ian Ernest; the representative of the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Msgr. Christopher Hill; and the suffragan bishop of the Diocese in Europe, Bishop David Hamid, will travel to Rome.
Methodist representatives
Matthew Laferty, Director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome.
Lutheran representatives
On the other hand, the Lutheran parish of Rome will be represented by Pastor Michael Jonas, of the Evangelical Lutheran Community of Rome.
Representatives of the Ecumenical Council
Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Moderator of the Ecumenical Council of Churches, will visit the Vatican on behalf of the Ecumenical Council of Churches.
Evangelical representatives
Samuel Chiang, Assistant General Secretary for Ministries of the World Evangelical Alliance, is the representative of evangelicals at the funeral.
Youth representatives
Finally, representing the Young Men's Christian Association in Italy will be the President of the Congress, Federico Serra; the President of the National Committee, Maurizio Donnangelo; and the Secretary General of the Federation, Alessandro Indovina.
