Today, Pope Benedict and Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams met and prayed the Ora Media, or midday prayer.

Pope Benedict’s statement:

In the present context, however, and especially in the secularized Western world, there are many negative influences and pressures which affect Christians and Christian communities. Over the last three years you have spoken openly about the strains and difficulties besetting the Anglican Communion and consequently about the uncertainty of the future of the Communion itself. Recent developments, especially concerning the ordained ministry and certain moral teachings, have affected not only internal relations within the Anglican Communion but also relations between the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church. We believe that these matters, which are presently under discussion within the Anglican Communion, are of vital importance to the preaching of the Gospel in its integrity, and that your current discussions will shape the future of our relations. It is to be hoped that the work of the theological dialogue, which had registered no small degree of agreement on these and other important theological matters, will continue be taken seriously in your discernment. In these deliberations we accompany you with heartfelt prayer. It is our fervent hope that the Anglican Communion will remain grounded in the Gospels and the Apostolic Tradition which form our common patrimony and are the basis of our common aspiration to work for full visible unity.

The world needs our witness and the strength which comes from an undivided proclamation of the Gospel. The immense sufferings of the human family and the forms of injustice that adversely affect the lives of so many people constitute an urgent call for our shared witness and service. Precisely for this reason, and even amidst present difficulties, it is important that we continue our theological dialogue. I hope that your visit will assist in finding constructive ways forward in the current circumstances.

The formal common declaration:

There are many areas of witness and service in which we can stand together, and which indeed call for closer co- operation between us: the pursuit of peace in the Holy Land and in other parts of the world marred by conflict and the threat of terrorism; promoting respect for life from conception until natural death; protecting the sanctity of marriage and the well-being of children in the context of healthy family life; outreach to the poor, oppressed and the most vulnerable, especially those who are persecuted for their faith; addressing the negative effects of materialism; and care for creation and for our environment. We also commit ourselves to inter-religious dialogue through which we can jointly reach out to our non-Christian brothers and sisters.

Mindful of our forty years of dialogue, and of the witness of the holy men and women common to our traditions, including Mary the Theotókos, Saints Peter and Paul, Benedict, Gregory the Great, and Augustine of Canterbury, we pledge ourselves to more fervent prayer and a more dedicated endeavour to welcome and live by that truth into which the Spirit of the Lord wishes to lead his disciples (cf. Jn 16:13). Confident of the apostolic hope "that he who has begun this good work in you will bring it to completion"(cf. Phil 1:6), we believe that if we can together be God’s instruments in calling all Christians to a deeper obedience to our Lord, we will also draw closer to each other, finding in his will the fullness of unity and common life to which he invites us.

Dr. Williams’ statement:

However, there is a task which is laid upon us both as pastors of the Christian family: to be advocates of reconciliation, justice and compassion in this world – to be ambassadors for Christ – and I am confident that an honest exchange of our concerns will not be allowed to eclipse what we can affirm and proclaim together – the hope of salvation and healing found in the Grace and Love of God revealed in Christ.

From the Anglican Communion News Service:

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVIth and the Archbishop of Canterbury today shared worship together at the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The worship followed a formal Audience in the Papal Library.

The service took the form of midday prayers with psalms sung in plainsong, in the presence of senior Vatican representatives, including Cardinal Walter Kasper and Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, and senior Anglicans including Archbishop Peter Carnley and Bishop David Beetge.

The Redemptoris Mater Chapel, formerly known as the Matilde Chapel, was rededicated by Pope John Paul II in 1999 after nearly four years of restoration work.

After the service Pope Benedict hosted a private lunch for Dr Williams.

Photo source: Anglican Communion News

Also from that source, on the Archbishop’s gift to the Pope:

The gift being presented by Dr Williams is an icon which has been specially commissioned for the occasion. It is a panel icon of Christ the Saviour, Lord of the Universe, Head of his Body the Church, with standing figures of Pope St Gregory and St Augustine of Canterbury in prayer. Tempera on a gold ground and gesso on wood. Painted by Sergei Fyodorov in 2006. 66 cm x  46 cm

The composition of the icon is unique and shows the New Testament concept of the Church. Looking onto the icon as through a chancel arch into the altar, we see Christ the Saviour, Lord of the heavenly and earthly realms. By his death and resurrection, Christ has united in his risen body all who believe in him. The saintly forbears of the Pope and the Archbishop – both Benedictine monks – intercede for the Church on earth to Christ whose heavenly kingdom is close at hand. They signify the apostolic continuity of both churches through centuries of unity and, more recently, of disunity.

The icon has been painted in Moscow by Sergei Fyodoro, a young Russian iconographer, a pupil of Fr Zenon. His work features in several of the major churches of the Church of England, most notably at the Benedictine Foundation of Westminster Abbey.

The inscription on the reverse reads:

“Presented by Rowan, Archbishop of Canterbury to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI with fraternal love and esteem as a sign of my prayer for your apostolic ministry and of the shared goal of our two communions – the full visibility of the one holy Church on earth.”