BOSTON -- Continuing a years-long tradition between Boston's Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox communities, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley attended a morning liturgy celebrated by Metropolitan Methodios at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England on Nov. 30, the feast of St. Andrew.

Each year, the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople sends a delegation to the Vatican for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, patrons of Rome, on June 29. The pope, in turn, sends a delegation to the patriarchate for the feast of St. Andrew, patron of Constantinople, on Nov. 30. Since 1996, the leaders of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston have mirrored this on the local level by exchanging delegations on their patronal feast days.

Cardinal O'Malley was accompanied by representatives of the Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, including its Associate Director Vito Nicastro and two deacons assigned to the office for their ministry, Deacon John Koza and Deacon Michael Curren.

The liturgy ended with a procession with an icon of St. Andrew and the blessing of five loaves of bread, which were then cut up and distributed as the faithful left. Five loaves are a symbol of St. Andrew because he pointed out the boy with five loaves and two fishes at the miraculous feeding of the 5,000. St. Andrew is also remembered as the "first called" of the apostles. The Gospel of John says he was a disciple of John the Baptist, who pointed out Jesus to him. When St. Andrew and another disciple followed Jesus and asked where he was staying, he told them, "Come and see."

Before the dismissal, Metropolitan Methodios addressed Cardinal O'Malley, expressing "my great love and respect for you and for all my brother priests here in the Archdiocese of Boston." He thanked the cardinal, on behalf of the clergy of the metropolis, for his presence and leadership as "one of the superb and dedicated leaders of the Christian Church."

"Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew continue the work of St. Peter and St. Andrew, as do all the bishops and all the priests in the days in which we live," Metropolitan Methodios said.

He shared that he had recently represented the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' fall general assembly in Baltimore. According to the USCCB website, it was the second time in history that the USCCB invited them to send a delegation to participate as observers.

"There, I was embraced by men of God who are shining the light of our Christian faith in a nation, which, unfortunately, day by day, has grown far away from Christ and from Judeo-Christian ideals. They struggle every day -- we struggle every day -- to be shining lights of our faith in a world that is suffering from faithlessness, from terror, from abandonment," Metropolitan Methodios said.

Cardinal O'Malley also shared brief remarks. He spoke of the "darkness of unbelief (that) is engulfing us."

"And in the midst of all that, we are here, gathered by Jesus Christ, who said to those first apostles, 'Come and see.' We have come to be able to see with the eyes of faith and to discover who we are as God's children, made in his image and likeness, brothers and sisters to one another," the cardinal said.

He shared that a few weeks earlier he gave a conference at the University of Salamanca in Spain. The president of the university announced that they were bestowing honorary doctorates to both Cardinal O'Malley and Patriarch Bartholomew.

"I am anxious to go back for that celebration and be able to tell the Ecumenical Patriarch how much we appreciate his ministry, his friendship with the Holy Father, and all that he means for the Christian community and humanity itself," Cardinal O'Malley said.

He promised to remember the Greek Orthodox community during his upcoming trip to Rome.

"I will tell the Holy Father that I was here with you and that we were praying together, that we might be brothers and sisters, deeply united in our faith and our mission to share the light of Christ with the world," he said.

Nicastro spoke with The Pilot about the significance of Metropolitan Methodios inviting the cardinal on the feast of St. Andrew each year.

Like the Chrism Mass for the cardinal, "it's his moment to be with his clergy, and in the midst of that, he invites what some might have considered an outsider, but who's actually his brother," Nicastro said.

In addition to exchanging delegations on their patronal feast days, Metropolitan Methodios typically attends Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross during Holy Week. Cardinal O'Malley and Metropolitan Methodios have also gone on pilgrimages together.

Nicastro is unaware of any other diocese in the U.S. that has maintained regular visits between its Orthodox and Catholic leaders.

"These have given an opportunity for a personal relationship to develop between (the metropolitan) and the cardinal, which spreads out into their consultation," Nicastro said.

In his remarks, Metropolitan Methodios said these visits are a tradition that their people have appreciated.

"It's a good thing, and we're all praying that one day we don't have to visit each other's churches but that we'll all be one Church," he said.