The church of San Miniato al Monte lies on a hill on the north side of the Arno, overlooking the city of Florence. It is dedicated to a deacon, reputedly the son of the king of Armenia, who was martyred in the city around 25 A.D. during one of the imperial persecutions. The church which presently stands on the site was begun in 1013. It is one of the oldest and certainly one of the most beautiful churches in Florence—a perfectly preserved Romanesque basilica with a striking facade of mosaics and green and white marble in geometric designs. The church is attached to a monastery of Olivetan monks and their services attract large congregations, both tourists and native Florentines.

At Mass opening the Octave of prayer for Christian unity this year, the abbot of San Miniato preached a sermon on the Christian vision of Europe. He spoke of the two great scourges which had afflicted Europe in this century, Nazism and Stalinism. He talked of the post-War division of Europe at Yalta by the agreement of the triumvirate of Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt. He presented this division as a rending of Europe in two, as the creation of a dualism in the world which was antithetical to the Christian vision. However, he saw a Christian response to this division, to this freezing of Europe in a state of war, in the work of three other men: De Gasperi of Italy, Schumann of France and Adenauer of Germany. These men were responsible for the formulation of the idea of a European Community.