His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in his continuation of the tradition of fellowship and dialogue between the Churches that are in a state of schism, visited the Church of Rome last June during the Feast Day of the Throne of the Church of Rome in order to celebrate the 40 years anniversary of the meeting between the ever-remembered Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI in Jerusalem in 1964. This meeting signalled the beginning of a new era of fellowship and dialogue between the Orthodox and the Roman-Catholic Churches.

In the framework of the conversations that took place during the visit of Patriarch Bartholomew in Rome last June the issue of the return of the Holy Relics of these two saints was discussed among the other things. As far as the Ecumenical Patriarchate had known the Holy Relics were in the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, the President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting of Christian Unity sent a letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch on 15 July confirming the information concerning the presence of the Holy Relics in St. Peter's Cathedral but clarifying that the final decision for their return was under the authority of the Pope.

Thereafter, on 21 July, His All Holiness, the Ecumenical Patriarch "with a synodal decision" sent an official request to Pope John Paul II, "for the return of the Holy Relics of the aforementioned Saints to the Church of Constantinople, to which they ethically belong". This pan-orthodox request, which had been expressed through Patriarch Bartholomew, was justified as a promotion for the "restoration of some traumatic experiences that were due to historical adventures of past years" and as "a great contribution for the normalisation of the relations and the creation of appropriate climate of brotherly love" between the two Churches. Finally, the Patriarch underlined the fact that "the natural and rightful position" of the Holy Relics "is in the Sacred Patriarchal Cathedral of Constantinople, of which they were Archbishops".

On 27 October, Pope John Paul II, responded to the Ecumenical Patriarch with a letter written for the first time in Greek, in which he accepted the return of the Holy Relics "with joy as a sign of brotherhood and of a complete union to which we are called constantly more and more". He underlined the meaning of these two saints for Christianity, by saying that "the two Holy Patriarchs of the East, pillars of faith, are beacons for the entire Church and teachers for the knowledge of the Word of God and of the Triadic mystery". Finally, he looked into the future by saying that "the return of the relics to their home country.. .will become a new bridge between us".