Angelo Scelzo

One of the articles in this issue of Tertium Millennium was written a little each day, when the author "felt strong enough".

"I will do this in those moments of the day in which I am able to work". On the other end of the telephone line, thanks to Sister Frederick, we heard the echo of the frail voice of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

We are proud of her "signature" which gives new impulse to our work. And once again, even for a thing as simple as this, we are moved by her witness: the unlimited generosity of this woman reveals to our eyes and our heart, her will and ability to live of Christ.

"And you, who do you say that I am? , is a question which has challenged men and women of every era but particularly those of today - our day - standing on the border-line between one millennium and the next.

The Archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljic, Zlata Filipovic, the child authoress of the diary of war-days in the Bosnian capital, Abbe Pierre, Jean Guitton, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray and Mother Teresa have provided us with a first series of present-day replies to the question posed by the Master to his disciples two thousand years ago, at Cesarea di Philippi.

These testimonies open the different sections of this new series of Tertium Millennium, all linked by the underlying theme of the year devoted to the figure of Jesus Christ, only Saviour of the world, yesterday, today and for ever.

The first of our series of Dossiers, which as we proceed, will focus on particular aspects of the jubilee journey, has a pronounced Christocentric character: it deals with the "New Martyrs", those who went as far as to shed their blood in order to follow Christ. A host of courageous witnesses brought to the fore by the history of the 20th century, with its tragedies and the horrors of its anti-human ideologies.

The activity of the different commissions and committees, the Words of the Pope - references to the Jubilee found in almost every one of Pope John Paul II's speeches - and a panorama on the work - already well underway - all over the world, in view of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, are the basis of this first official issue of Tertium Millennium.