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May visit of The Patriarch reign in Goodwill

February 6, 2015, 7:33 am
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Dr Thomas Mar Athanasius
(Metropolitan of the Diocese of Kandanad East of Malankara (Indian) Orthodox Syrian Church)

The visit of The Patriarch of Antioch ,HH Aprem II,who was recently elected and enthroned as The Primate of Syriac Orthodox Church, now appears a certainity.There has been some misunderstanding or confusion about his visit to India, even within the very Church faction directly under him and the media has been celebrating the same for a while.The outbursts that ’Patriarch is coming’,’He is not coming’, ’He should come’, ’He will not be allowed to come’, ’He has the right to come anytime’ appears to have almost ceased.The silence Malankara Orthodox Church maintained in this context has been wise and sensible.As the visit of HH The Patriarch has been confirmed,let us earnestly hope and pray that it will bring goodwill and blessing to the Church.
Malankara Orthodox Church had earlier protested against the visit of then Patriarch, HH Zakka I Bava of blessed memory, after the Supreme Court verdict of 1995. He came with an ‘ill intention’ of hastening the divisive process by toppling the Court verdict that had created a background and goodwill atmosphere for Church unity.He tried to organize the faction that remained loyal to him thus promoted formation of a new Church in Malankara.
Malankara Orthodox Church could not comprehend and accept this visit of HH Zakka I, who came to deepen and establish the division and unfortunately provide his blessings for the same.However,that kind of a situation/atmosphere does not exist now.The followers of Patriarch has by now formed a Church and established a Constitution also for the same.In such a context when the Head of that newly formed Church is visiting Kerala, Malankara Orthodox Church need not protest against it.However if we can take with face value the statement of The Patriarch that he would like to bring about a solution to the Church feud, his visit could be a blessing indeed.Malankara Orthodox Church certainly does not consider this visit as one that is intended on showcasing or reflecting Patriarchal hegemony,supremacy or occupation.The Malankara Orthodox Church also sincerely nurture the hope that this visit will have a positive impact on the Orthodox Church as a whole.
Malankara Orthodox Church has never wished that Patriarcch should be outsted /eliminated from our Church relationship.It has been the constant and firm stand of Malankara Orthodox Church that the relation with Patriarchate be continued and maintained.This relationship which came into existence sometime after the Coonan Cross Oath is centuries old.The Patriarch pertaining articles in our Church Constitution was purposely included to maintain this historical relationship.Malankara Sabha never tried to undo this historic bilateral relationship even at times of severe discord.Though the Catholicate came into being in 1912 and even in the context of active court cases between the Church and the Patriarch faction,Malankara Orthodox Church has tried to give due recognition to the Patriarch.When in 1995 when the Patriarch factioneers formed a new Church,challenging and disregarding the Court verdict,Malankara Sabha continued to maintain the articles in Constitution that pertains to the Patriarchate.The Patriarch having been elected without endorsement from our Malankara Sabha and in the context of he being the Supreme Head of a parallel faction,the role of Patriarch in our Church is at present totally null and void, as per the Constitution.Inspite of this Malankara Sabha still maintain the hope that this historical relationship can be honourably restored in future.
There are certain clear and valid reasons why Malankara Sabha wants to retain the relationship with the Patriarch.
1)Malankara Sabha desires that yhe historical mutual Church relationship that existed for more than 3 centuries should not just abruptly end due to certain unsolicited or unwarranted periodical disturbing situations.
2.Malankara Sabha considers it undesirable,unreasonable and a negation of Christian testimony that the blood related believers of same faith,historical background,heritage,culture and practice of worship have a division among them than promoting Church unity.
To achieve this unity it is necessary that The Patriarch gets due recognition.If there was unity in Church in 1958,it was because The Patriarch was given a honourable recognition in the 1934 Church Constitution. Therefore,Malankara Sabha believes that the due place given for The Patriarch in the Church Constitution will encourage and pave the way for Church unity.It is however at the same time, not at all binding on Malankara Sabha ,as an autonomous denomination, to owe any allegiance to The Patriarch of Antioch.Again,inspite of this, considering and recognizing the past close relationship and future chances for peace in the Holy Church, Malankara Sabha does not spare any effort to retain this relation to Patriarch.
Malankara Sabha also does not however wish this relation to be ambiguous or non specific.This relation should also be not one of dependence.It is only because the Holy Church considers this relationship very important it was given due place in the Church Constitution.Thus the Church believes that the relationship between Malankara and Antioch should be cordially established in very specific and clear terms.This points to a healthy and spiritual honourable church relationship.This kinship should also complement the overall faith and driving principles of communion of Oriental Orthodox Churches.In Oriental Orthodox Churches all the presiding Chief Metropolitans are of equal status and Churches are free to have their own autonomous governance in place.If at all any Head of a Church gets a special respect or honour from another Church, it does not at all mean that this particular Head of Church has any Supremacy over that Church.
The position,honour and privileges offered to The Patriarch by Malankara Sabha does not at all entitle Patriarch to have any authority over the Church.If there has been continuous discord between the Patriarch faction in Malankara with its Supreme Head in the recent past and earlier, it was because of the lack of precision in their interrelation,the hegemonial attitude of Patriarchate and the slave like unconditional submission of factioneers.In 2002 when the Patriarch faction formed its Constitution it gave The Patriarch unlimited powers and authority.This situation encouraged the Patriarch to go beyond certain established norms of non interference in the Patriarch faction of Malankara Church.The very recent internal rumblings and squabbles in the Patriarch faction developed as a result of this unacceptable position of authority and resultant attitude of The Patriarch.
The Syrian Churches of Kerala,whatever denomination they may be of,are different from Syrian Churches in the Middle East in culture,language,practice and organizational features.They have similarity only in Worship and Theology.Therefore,it is very essential for the growth of these Malankara Syrian Churches to maintain their individuality,independence and culturo-spiritual identity.The Patriarch factioneers,even considering the recent undesirable events in their faction,should realize the necessity of truly witnessing Christ and upkeep of sacred ecumenical cordiality between Churches,must join hand in glove with their Orthodox brethren to lead our Malankara Sabha as a whole into a viable and spiritually healthy relationship with the Patriarch of Antioch.
Malankara Sabha has no complaints on the position of The Patriarch.Though the Supreme Court said that he is spiritually superior to the Catholicose of the East Malankara Sabha do not want to object to it either.However,it should be crystal clear and assured that The Patriarch can relate to Malankara Sabha and The Catholicose only within the ambit of the Church Constitution as per the honourable Supreme Court observations.If it is so it is not impossible to bring about Church unity.Neverthless, if the so called parallel Catholicate created by The Patriarch continue to exist,any Patriarchal role in Malankara Sabha will remain null and void. Therefore, if the autonomy of the Malankara Sabha is respected by The Patriarch with due honour to the Canonic Catholicate and due recognition and acceptance of the !934 Church Constitution and a sincere effort is made to bring in Unity in our Church, we can certainly steer Malankara Sabha to a united entity and The Patriarch will be honoured and accepted by one and all in the whole of Malankara.
The Patriarch faction considers the relation to Patriarch as one of indebtedness or loyalty.There is no room or reason for such indebtedness.If Antiochians had not come after the Oath at Coonan cross we would have been under the Catholic yoke.In such a case the divisions and squabbles that has been going on in the Church in the last two centuries would not have occurred.Factually the reason for all problems and court cases in the last many years was because of the unclear, ambiguous and unprecise relationship with the Patriarchate of Antioch. The Patriarch and the Jacobite faction under him should clearly and distinctly realize this genuine truth.On the basis of a precise and tangible agreement and mutual relationship with the autonomous Malankara Sabha and the Patriarchate establishment, the prevailing chaotic situation can be smoothly resolved.
If the Antiochian Patriarch move ahead with sincere good intention towards achieving this state of accord and unity,setting aside objections against it, he will get the unstinted support and goodwill of all well meaning faithful of the Church. The Church will always remain grateful to a Godfearing,blessed and visionary holy Father who is responsible for well intentionally reshaping the Church history.
(TRANSLATION BY Dr. VINU THOMAS)
Source: Malankara Nazrani

Malankara Orthodox.tv

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Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Visit: Peace Talks in Offing

February 6, 2015, 7:41 am
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By Babu K Peter

The letter of His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, the Catholicos of the East to His Holiness Ignatius Aphrem II, the Patriarch of Antioch.
(Photo courtesy of the SyrianOrthodox Church Almaya Forum Facebook page)
KOCHI (INDIA): With hardly two weeks left for the  Apostolic visit of Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II, to India, hopes for peace and reconciliation between Jacobite and Orthodox factions soar high. The Orthodox Church has expressed willingness to attend genuine meetings for reconciliation.
Orthodox Church head Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Paulose II has sent a letter to the Patriarch, expressing willingness to hold a conciliation  meeting.The Jacobite Church and the Orthodox Church,  that trace the same roots, have been at loggerheads for more than 50 years over ownership of various churches and other establishments.
There were reports that the Patriarch had expressed his wish to put an end to the disputes between the duo. The prelate reported to have stated that he would  use all possible means to bring peace between two Churches. As communicated to a Metropolitan delegation visited him earlier, he is of the opinion that amalgamation of churches is not the possible way for unity, instead  there should be peaceful existence with mutual respect.
“It is our fervent hope that steps would be initiated for a genuine reconciliation in the Church as per the will of  Christ, taking into account, the desire of the faithful, law of this land and our precedent in blessed unity,” the Catholicos stated in the letter to the Patriarch. “The Orthodox Church has never been against the attempts to bring peace among the Churches through conciliation. If there is a genuine effort to put an end to the standoff, we’ll cooperate,” said Fr John Abraham Konat priest trustee of Orthodox Church.
COURTESY: New Indian Express 
Published: 26th January 2015
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Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem-II arrives in India

February 10, 2015, 7:24 am
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Chief Minister Oommen Chandy welcomes the Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church Ignatius Aphrem II at Nedumbassery International Airport in Kochi on Saturday, February 7, 2015.

Kochi (Kerala, India), Feb. 7, 2015: Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch , His Holiness Ignatius Aphrem II, arrived in the southern Indian state of Kerala on Saturday, February 7, 2015 on a 11-day India visit.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Excise Minister K Babu, Minister for Civil Supplies Anoop Jacob and Catholicos of the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church in India His Beatitude Baselios Thomas I were among those who received him at the airport here this morning.

This is the first time His Holiness Ignatius Aphrem II is coming to India after he was elected the Patriarch of the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church early last year.

The Patriarch spent an hour at the airport, greeting the clergy members who gathered to welcome him. After blessing the crowd, the Patriarch proceeded to address the media at the Patriarchal Centre, Puthencruz, the regional headquarters of the Antiochian Syrian church.

He addressed the regional synod of the bishops of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch in the afternoon at St. George’s Cathedral, Karingachira.

The Patriarch has a heavy schedule in Kerala. He will be accorded a public reception in Kottayam on Sunday and also attend a State dinner in the town.
The Patriarch will leave for Chennai on February 17 and from there he will fly to New Delhi. He is scheduled to meet President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narrendra Modi and Congress (I) leader Sonia Gandhi there. He will leave for Lebanon on February 19.

The Patriarch’s maiden visit to Malankara (India) is being viewed with great optimism by those wishing to forge a unity among the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian factions of the Syrian Church.

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Oriental Orthodox and Catholics work to conclude joint document

January 28, 2015, 4:12 am
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Rome, 27/01/2015--

(Vatican Radio) Representatives of all the Oriental Orthodox Churches are here in Rome this week for a meeting of their International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue with the Catholic Church. During the five day encounter, which began on Monday, participants hope to finalise a joint document on Communion and Communication in the first five centuries of Christianity.

The Oriental Orthodox Churches are amongst the most ancient Christian communities in the world, founded according to tradition by the first apostles in Egypt, Armenia, Syria, India and Ethiopia in the decades following Christ’s death and Resurrection. They have not been in communion with either the Roman Catholic Church or the Byzantine Orthodox world since they officially severed ties in the 5th century.

To find out more, Philippa Hitchen spoke with Fr Gabriel Quicke, who’s in charge of relations with these Oriental Orthodox Churches at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity….

Listen: http://media02.radiovaticana.va/audio/audio2/mp3/00463219.mp3

Fr Gabriel says the new document is significant for Christians today as it highlights the rich heritage the Churches shared in the first five centuries before the divisions took place…

He says the Commission will go on to a new round of discussions on the sacraments, especially the question of Baptism which is still not recognised by some of the Oriental Orthodox Churches…

Fr Gabriel says many of the Oriental Orthodox Church leaders are witnessing an emptying out of their communities because of the lack of security in the Middle East region. He says the solidarity of the Catholic world and the appeals of Pope Francis on behalf of persecuted Christians are very important and much appreciated by the people there…..

Courtesy of Vatican Radio


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Pope Francis: spirit of fraternity with Oriental Orthodox

January 31, 2015, 4:44 am
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Vatican Radio

VATICAN CITY, Jan.30, 2015—
Pope Francis with Oriental Orthodox leaders at the Vatican - Credit: Vatican Radio/OSSERVATORE ROMANO

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday received the participants in a meeting -this week - of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

The Oriental Orthodox Churches those Orthodox Eastern Christian churches which recognize only the first three ecumenical councils, and rejected the formulae of the Council of Chalcedon, at which certain central Christological doctrines were dogmatically defined, most especially the dual nature – fully divine and fully human, perfectly united though without mixing, blending or alteration – of Christ.

Click below to hear our report 
http://media02.radiovaticana.va/audio/audio2/mp3/00463660.mp3


In remarks prepared for the occasion and delivered during the noon audience in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, Pope Francis praised the progress of the Commission in its dozen years of work, and called on all participants to continue their journey in a spirit of brotherhood. “I express my hope that this work will bear rich fruit for our common theological research and help us to experience ever more fully our fraternal friendship,” the Holy Father said.

Pope Francis went on to note, with, “dismay and deep sadness,” the ongoing conflicts and crises in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria. “I join you,” he said, “in praying for a negotiated solution and in imploring God’s goodness and mercy upon all those affected by this immense tragedy.” The Holy Father continued, saying, “All Christians are called to work together, in mutual acceptance and trust, in order to serve the cause of peace and justice. May the intercession and example of the many martyrs and saints who have borne courageous witness to Christ in all our Churches sustain and strengthen you and your Christian communities.”

Pope Francis concluded his remarks by thanking the participants for their visit, invoking the Lord’s blessings and the maternal protection of Mary on their ministry, and asking in turn for their continued prayers for him.


(from Vatican Radio)

COURTESY: Vatican Radio

Pope Francis to Oriental Orthodox: common witness of suffering

Vatican Radio

VATICAN CITY, Jan.30, 2015—
The Members of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches with the Roman Pope Francis. Credit: Facebook page of Roman Catholic- Oriental Orthodox Dialogue/OSSERVATORE ROMANO
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis of Rome on Friday (Jan. 30, 2015) received the participants in a meeting - this week - of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Below, please find the official English text of the Holy Father's remarks.
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Dear Brothers in Christ,
With great joy I welcome you, the members of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Through you, I offer fraternal greetings to my venerable brothers, the heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. I thank His Eminence Anba Bishoy, Co-President of the Commission, for his kind words.
It is gratifying to reflect on the work of your Commission, which began in January 2003 as a joint initiative of the ecclesiastical authorities of the family of the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. In the last ten years the Commission has examined from an historical perspective the ways in which the Churches expressed their communion in the early centuries, and what this can mean for our pursuit of communion today. In the course of this week’s meeting you have also embarked upon a deeper examination of your work on the nature of the sacraments, and of baptism in particular. I express my hope that this work will bear rich fruit for our common theological research and help us to experience ever more fully our fraternal friendship.
With deep appreciation I recall the inspiring commitment to dialogue shown by His Holiness Ignatius Zakka Iwas, Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East, who died this past year. Together with you and his own clergy and faithful, I pray for the eternal rest of this dedicated servant of God.
At this time we especially feel dismay and deep sadness at what is happening in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria. I think of all those living in the region, including our Christian brothers and sisters, and many minorities, who are experiencing the effects of a prolonged and painful conflict. I join you in praying for a negotiated solution and in imploring God’s goodness and mercy upon all those affected by this immense tragedy. All Christians are called to work together, in mutual acceptance and trust, in order to serve the cause of peace and justice. May the intercession and example of the many martyrs and saints who have borne courageous witness to Christ in all our Churches sustain and strengthen you and your Christian communities.
Dear brothers, I thank you for your visit. Upon you and your ministry I invoke the Lord’s blessing and the maternal protection of Mary Most Holy. Please pray for me.
(from Vatican Radio)
COURTESY:Vatican Radio

Some more snaps from the Roman Holy Father's meeting with the members of the Catholic-Oriental Orthodox dialogue commission
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Report of the Twelfth Meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches

February 7, 2015, 5:43 am
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Here is the report issued at the conclusion of the Twelfth Meeting meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The meeting took place January 24 to 31, 2015 in Rome.

INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION FOR THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES

REPORT

Twelfth Meeting

Rome, January 24 to 31, 2015

The twelfth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches took place in Rome from January 24 to 31, 2015, hosted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. It was chaired jointly by His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and by His Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy of Damiette.

Joining delegates from the Catholic Church were representatives of the following Oriental Orthodox Churches: the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicosate of All Armenians), the Armenian Apostolic Church (Holy See of Cilicia), the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. No representative of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church was able to attend.

The two delegations met separately on January 26. Plenary sessions were held on January 27, 28, 29 and 30, each of which began with a brief prayer service based on material prepared for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

At the beginning of the opening session, Cardinal Koch noted first of all that since the last meeting Pope Francis had appointed a member of the dialogue, Archpriest Levon Boghos Zekiyan, as Apostolic Administrator sede plena of the Archeparchy of Istanbul of the Armenians, elevating him to the dignity of Archbishop. He also congratulated Archbishop Nareg Alemezian on his appointment as Archbishop of the Armenians in Cyprus (Holy See of Cilicia). During the past year His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, visited Pope Francis in Rome on May 8 and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, visited him on June 5. The Cardinal also noted with sadness the passing away of His Holiness Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of the Antioch and All the East, on March 21. The Cardinal represented Pope Francis at the enthronization of the new patriarch, His Holiness Ignatius Aphrem II, in Syria on May 29, and extended to him warm congratulations. Metropolitan Bishoy thanked Cardinal Koch for hosting the meeting and spoke briefly about the centenary of the Armenian and Syrian Genocide which is commemorated this year.

The major achievement of this meeting was the final approval given to the second common document produced by the dialogue. It will now be submitted to the concerned authorities of the churches for their consideration and action. It is entitled, “The Exercise of Communion in the Life of the Early Church and its Implications for our Search for Communion Today.” In 74 paragraphs, the document examines in detail the nature of the relationships that existed among the member churches in the period leading up to the divisions of the 5th century. It shows that the full communion that existed among the churches was expressed in many different ways in a vast web of relationships founded on the common conviction that all of the churches shared the same faith. These expressions of communion were manifested in at least six areas: 1) through the exchange of letters and visits (both formal and informal) extending even beyond the borders of the Roman Empire; 2) through synods and councils held to resolve problems of doctrine and discipline; 3) through prayer and similar liturgical practices; 4) through sharing in the veneration of common martyrs and saints; 5) in the development and spread of monasticism to all the churches; 6) through pilgrimages to the shrines of the various churches.

In the conclusion of the document, the dialogue members note that many of the relationships that existed among the churches in the early centuries have continued to the present day in spite of the divisions, or have been recently revived. In view of these developments, they will examine in a positive way remaining divergences in doctrine and practice, and determine to what extent those divergences can be accepted as legitimate and not compromising the essence of the faith. This question will continue to be addressed as they take up the Sacraments of Initiation and other sacraments in the next phase of the dialogue. They will be asking themselves to what extent a restoration of the relationships that existed in the early centuries would be sufficient to restore full sacramental communion today. In time, this will include, among other important issues, a consideration of the place of the Bishop of Rome in that communion, a question that is being broadly re-examined in all the churches.

In keeping with the theme of the next phase of the dialogue, several papers were presented on the Sacraments of Initiation. These included: “The Historical Development of the Sacraments” by Rev. Father Mark Sheridan, OSB; “The Seven Sacraments of the Church According to the Tradition of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch” by Archbishop Theophilus George Saliba; “Baptism and Chrismation: The Historical Development and Actual Practice in the Malankara (Indian) Orthodox Church” by Metropolitan Gabriel Mar Gregorios; “Sacraments of Initiation in the Armenian Church Tradition: An Overview of Historical and Theological Development” by Rev. Father Shahe Ananyan; “The Bari Document: ‘Faith, Sacraments and the Unity of the Church’” by Rev. Father Ronald G. Roberson, CSP; “Actual Liturgical Practice of the Sacraments of Initiation: Coptic Orthodox Perspective” by Metropolitan Bishoy of Damiette; “Actual Liturgical Practices of the Sacrament of Initiation in the Ethiopian Tewahedo Church” by Archbishop Gabriel and Rev. Father Daniel Seifemichael Feleke; and “Theology of the Sacraments of Initiation” by Bishop Paul Rouhana, OLM.

On the evening of Sunday January 25, the members attended the Vespers Service at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls on the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle which was presided over by Pope Francis to conclude the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In his homily, in which he extended his best wishes to the dialogue members, Pope Francis observed that “So many past controversies between Christians can be overcome when we put aside all polemical or apologetic approaches, and seek instead to grasp more fully what unites us, namely, our call to share in the mystery of the Father’s love revealed to us by the Son through the Holy Spirit.” He also reflected on the witness of the many martyrs who have given their lives for Christ in recent times, many of them members of the churches that participate in this dialogue: “In this moment of prayer for unity, I would also like to remember our martyrs, the martyrs of today. They are witnesses to Jesus Christ, and they are persecuted and killed because they are Christians. Those who persecute them make no distinction between the religious communities to which they belong. They are Christians and for that they are persecuted. This, brothers and sisters, is the ecumenism of blood.” At the end of the service the Holy Father paused to greet personally many of the commission members.

On the evening of Thursday January 29, Cardinal Koch kindly hosted a dinner for the members of the Commission at the Casina Pio IV in the Vatican gardens. They were joined by His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, and by His Eminence Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.

At noon on Friday January 30, Pope Francis received the dialogue members in private audience. In his greetings to the Pope, Metropolitan Bishoy reviewed the progress of the dialogue over the past 12 years, and formally presented him with an icon and a copy of the new common document. He also assured Pope Francis of the prayers of the heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches for the success of the dialogue, and asked him for his prayers and support, especially for Christians in the Middle East. This was a major concern of the members that was discussed during the dialogue.

In response, the Pope said, “With great joy I welcome you, the members of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Through you, I offer fraternal greetings to my venerable brothers, the heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. I thank His Eminence Anba Bishoy, Co-President of the Commission, for his kind words. It is gratifying to reflect on the work of your Commission, which began in January 2003 as a joint initiative of the ecclesiastical authorities of the family of the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. In the last ten years the Commission has examined from an historical perspective the ways in which the Churches expressed their communion in the early centuries, and what this can mean for our pursuit of communion today. In the course of this week’s meeting you have also embarked upon a deeper examination of your work on the nature of the sacraments, and of baptism in particular. I express my hope that this work will bear rich fruit for our common theological research and help us to experience ever more fully our fraternal friendship. With deep appreciation I recall the inspiring commitment to dialogue shown by His Holiness Ignatius Zakka Iwas, Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East, who died this past year. Together with you and his own clergy and faithful, I pray for the eternal rest of this dedicated servant of God. At this time we especially feel dismay and deep sadness at what is happening in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria. I think of all those living in the region, including our Christian brothers and sisters, and many minorities, who are experiencing the effects of a prolonged and painful conflict. I join you in praying for a negotiated solution and in imploring God’s goodness and mercy upon all those affected by this immense tragedy. All Christians are called to work together, in mutual acceptance and trust, in order to serve the cause of peace and justice. May the intercession and example of the many martyrs and saints who have borne courageous witness to Christ in all our Churches sustain and strengthen you and your Christian communities. Dear brothers, I thank you for your visit. Upon you and your ministry I invoke the Lord’s blessing and the maternal protection of Mary Most Holy. Please pray for me.”

The next meeting will take place in Cairo, Egypt, hosted by the Coptic Orthodox Church. The day of arrival will be Saturday January 30, 2016. Separate family meetings will take place on Monday February 1, followed by plenary meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday February 2, 3, 4, and 5. Departures on Saturday, February 6.

The members of the Commission are:

Representatives of the Oriental Orthodox Churches (in alphabetical order)

Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church: H.E. Mor Theophilus George Saliba, Archbishop of Mount Lebanon, Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Syrian Orthodox Church, Beirut, Lebanon; H.E. Kuriakose Theophilose, Metropolitan of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Theological Seminary and President of the Ecumenical Secretariat of the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church in India, Ernakulam, India;

Armenian Apostolic Church: Catholicosate of all Armenians: H.E. Khajag Barsamian, Archbishop of the Eastern Diocese of the USA, New York; H.E. Archbishop Yeznik Petrossian, General Secretary of Bible Society of Armenia, Etchmiadzin, Armenia (unable to attend, represented by Reverend Father Shahe Ananyan, Director of the Publishing Department, Etchmiadzin, Armenia; H.G. Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, Ecumenical Officer, Etchmiadzin, Armenia (Observer);

Armenian Apostolic Church: Holy See of Cilicia: H.E. Archbishop Nareg Alemezian, Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church of Cyprus, Nicosia; H.E. Bishop Magar Ashkarian, Armenian Prelacy, Teheran, Iran;

Coptic Orthodox Church: H.E. Anba Bishoy, Metropolitan of Damiette, Egypt (co-chair); Rev. Fr. Shenouda Maher Ishak, West Henrietta, New York, USA; H.G. Bishop Daniel of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Sydney, Australia (Observer); H.G. Bishop Barnaba El Soryany, Rome, Italy (Observer);

Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church: Rev. Fr. Kaleab Gebreselassie Gebru, Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Patriarchate, Asmara, Eritrea (unable to attend);

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church: Archbishop Gabriel of Sidamo; Rev. Fr. Daniel Seifemichael Feleke of Holy Trinity Theological University College in Addis Ababa;

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church: H.E. Metropolitan Dr. Gabriel Mar Gregorios, President of the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Metropolitan of the Diocese of Trivandrum, India; H.E. Metropolitan Dr. Youhanon Mar Demetrios (co-secretary), Metropolitan of the Diocese of Delhi, India.

Representatives of the Catholic Church

His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (co-chair);

Most Reverend Paul-Werner Scheele, Bishop Emeritus of Würzburg, Germany;

Most Reverend Youhanna Golta, Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop of the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate, Cairo, Egypt (unable to attend);

Most Reverend Archbishop Basilios Georges Casmoussa, Syrian Catholic Patriarchate, Beirut, Lebanon;

Most Reverend Peter Marayati, Armenian Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo, Syria;

Most Reverend Woldetensae Ghebreghiorghis, Apostolic Vicar of Harar, Ethiopia, President of the Ecumenical Commission of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia and Eritrea;

Most Reverend Paul Rouhana, OLM, Bishop of the Patriarchal Maronite Vicariate of Sarba, Jounieh, Lebanon;

Most Reverend Boghos Levon Zekiyan, Titular Archbishop of Amida, Apostolic Administrator sede plena of Catholic Armenians of Istanbul and Turkey;

Rev. Fr. Frans Bouwen M.Afr., Sainte-Anne, Jerusalem;

Rev. Fr. Columba Stewart, OSB, Executive Director, Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, Saint John’s Abbey and University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA;

Rev. Fr. Ronald G. Roberson, CSP, Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC, USA;

Rev. Fr. Mark Sheridan, OSB, Pontificio Ateneo S. Anselmo, Rome, and Dormition Abbey, Jerusalem;

Rev. Malpan Fr. Mathew Vellanickal, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Changanacherry, India;

Prof. Dietmar W. Winkler, Consultant to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Salzburg, Austria.

Rev. Monsignor Gabriel Quicke, Official of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Rome (co-secretary).

Rome, January 30, 2015
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Click here to read the complete text of the second common document of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.
THE EXERCISE OF COMMUNION IN THE LIFE OF THE EARLY CHURCH AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR SEARCH FOR COMMUNION TODAY
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THE EXERCISE OF COMMUNION IN THE LIFE OF THE EARLY CHURCH AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR SEARCH FOR COMMUNION TODAY

February 17, 2015, 1:34 am
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INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION FOR THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES


THE EXERCISE OF COMMUNION IN THE LIFE OF THE EARLY CHURCH AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR SEARCH FOR COMMUNION TODAY

- Document of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches 


INTRODUCTION

1. In the common document „The Nature, Constitution and Mission of the Church” (NCMC), the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches[1] was able to affirm in common the fundamental elements of the ecclesiology of communion, comprising episcopacy, apostolic succession, relationship between collegiality and primacy, status and meaning of local, regional and ecumenical councils, as well as a common vision of the mission of the Church. The text also points out the main questions that require further study in these fields.

2. In a second stage of the dialogue the Commission decided to study more in detail “the visible bonds of communion” (cf. NCMC n. 23), that manifest and strengthen communion among the churches. This study is centered on the first five centuries of the history of the Church. Indeed, our churches agree that the common experience of communion before the time of separation has a special significance in the search for restoring communion today. It is certainly impossible to disregard the many developments that took place during the following fifteen centuries, but the time until the mid-fifth century remains a unique source of reference, inspiration and hope. The fact that our churches were able to live in communion throughout these centuries, despite the differences in approaches and interpretations, should challenge us in our present search for a visible unity in diversity, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In his encyclical Ut unum sint (1995), Pope John Paul II reaffirms the acceptance and importance of legitimate diversity in unity and states that “the structures of unity which existed before the separation are a heritage of experience that guides our common path towards the re-establishment of full communion” (UUS 55). In the various unofficial and official dialogues that already took place between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, as well as in the common statements issued by the Heads of these Churches this principle of unity in the essentials of faith and diversity in their expressions is recognized on many occasions as the goal of our dialogue. However, there are still differences regarding aspects and understanding of the essentials of the faith that still must be resolved in order to achieve this goal in our dialogue.

3. In the course of our studies and dialogue, we realized that communion is multidimensional and may not be reduced only to an official, hierarchical communion. We learned that Communion is expressed in various and distinctive ways by mutual responsibility, in the exchange of letters and visits, in liturgy and prayer, through common witness and martyrdom, in monasticism and veneration of saints.

I. NEW TESTAMENT EVIDENCE

4. In the New Testament the basic term, koinonia, translated as “communion”, “fellowship”, “communicate”, “partake”, etc., can be understood as close association marked by mutual interest and sharing; it can also be understood as having a share, giving a share or sharing. St. Paul, the pioneer in using this vocabulary, uses it primarily to indicate the religious communion of believers in Christ and the sharing of spiritual and material goods and fellowship among Christians.

5. The inclusive and universal nature of communion inaugurated by our Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of the ecclesial communion that we observe in the New Testament. The Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one in essence and three distinct inseparable divine persons – is the source and model for the churches to be in communion in diversity (cf. 1 Jn l:1-4; NCMC n. 6-13).

6. The communion experienced in this world is a foretaste of the ultimate communion to be manifested in the final coming (parousia), when the departed and the living on the earth will be fully united with Christ (cf. 1 Thess 4:17) and when all things in heaven and on earth will be finally united in Him (cf. Eph 1:9-10).

7. Baptism is the initiation into the life of faith and entrance into the communion with Christ and his Church (cf. Gal 3:26-27). Through baptism a person enters, on the one hand, into communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (cf. Mt 28:19) and, on the other hand, with the worldwide united community formed in this Trinitarian communion (cf. Joh 17:21). The communion with Christ begins with baptism and is nourished and expressed in the celebration of the Eucharist, which is the supreme manifestation and means of ecclesial communion.

8. The apostles and their faith are recognized as authoritative and normative for the transmission of the faith of the church. Also, the New Testament provides witness to the existence of several ecclesial traditions with a basic unity deriving from the same apostolic Tradition common to all of them, centered on the events of Christ’s life, death and resurrection (cf. 1 Cor 15:3-4). The New Testament churches, in spite of their diverse and plural expressions of the one faith, maintained communion and communication among themselves.

9. We can trace in the New Testament different ways of exercising communion such as sharing the same apostolic experience of Christ (cf. Gal 2: 9-10) and founding new local churches by the already existing ones, the continuing solicitude of the older churches in favor of the younger ones (cf. Tit 1:5; 1 Tim 1:3), collecting funds and sending them to other churches in need (cf. 2 Cor 9:11-14), hierarchical exercise of the apostolic ministry through ordained ministers to make sure that the churches remain in communion (cf. 1 Tim 3:1-7), mutual exchange of letters (cf. Col 4:15-16) and welcoming members of sister churches (cf. Rom 16: 1-2; 3 Jn 5-8) etc.

10. In the New Testament there are also indications of the exercise of ecclesial communion beyond any particular region. The ministry of the apostles was universal in character. The meeting of the Apostles and Presbyters usually called the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) settled questions of doctrine and discipline pertaining to the whole church communion. St. Paul’s entrusting to Titus and Timothy the responsibility of founding and organizing various new churches (cf. Tit 1:5; 1 Tim 1:3) is an indication of ecclesial communion exercised with respect to an area that transcended a local church.

11. Through shared faith in Christ, rooted and expressed in the proclamation of the Word, celebration of the sacraments, and lives of service and witness, each local Christian community participates in the life and witness of all Christian communities in all places and all times. Since the local church is a manifestation of the universal Church that is present within her, the local church is never depicted in the New Testament as an isolated reality. The reality of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church is fully realized in the local churches possessing apostolic ministry but on condition that they are in communion with the other local churches.

II. THE EXPRESSION OF COMMUNION AMONG OUR CHURCHES IN THE FIRST FIVE CENTURIES

II. A. EXCHANGE OF LETTERS AND VISITS

12. Many letters have been preserved from the period before Constantine that show a continuation of the concerns and the kind of communication evident already in New Testament documents. Among these may be mentioned the letters of Ignatius of Antioch, the first letter of Clement to the Corinthians, and the many letters preserved and quoted by the historian Eusebius.

13. There were several reasons for this communication. One of these seems to have been the question of determining correct and traditional doctrine. The various bishops and communities show mutual responsibility for each other. From the information provided by Eusebius, it is clear that the bishops consulted frequently with one another by letter about how to resolve problems, what were considered to be common practices, etc. and these letters were collected and passed on to others. From this correspondence it seems that new bishops must have written to their counterparts announcing their election.

14. As, for example, 1 Clement shows, the Church of Rome is deeply and fraternally concerned about the unity of the Church and seeks to restore peace and order in the Church of Corinth. With this letter we probably have the oldest Christian document showing that a local church has the welfare of another church at heart. Other examples, a little later, are the letter of Dionysius of Corinth to bishop Soter of Rome and the correspondence of Dionysius of Alexandria, who is concerned about the schism caused by Novatian, and who wrote letters to the bishops of Antioch, Rome, Armenia Major, and the priest Novatian at Rome, as well as the correspondence between Cyril of Alexandria and Celestine I of Rome concerning Nestorianism.

15. The documentation available shows that this communication and communion extended to churches beyond the borders of the Roman Empire and included among others Armenia, Persia, India, and Ethiopia. For example:

a. Concerning Armenia, one can mention the correspondence between Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem and Vrtanes, Catholicos of Armenia (first half of 4th c.), concerning ritual and liturgical issues; furthermore the exchange of letters between Acacius, bishop of Constantinople, and Sahak, Catholicos of Armenia (first decade of 5th c.) concerning the teaching of the Armenian Alphabet among Armenian regions of the Byzantine Empire; also correspondence between both Proclus of Constantinople (5th c.) and Acacius of Melitene with Sahak, Catholicos of Armenia, concerning Nestorius and the translation of the Holy Bible from Greek into Armenian might be mentioned.

b. The Church in Persia, which spread along the Silk Road towards Central Asia and China stayed in contact with the Church of the Roman Empire. For example, at the first recorded Synod of that Church in Seleucia-Ctesiphon (410) a letter from „western” fathers was read, which a bishop from the Roman Empire, Marutha of Maipherkat, had brought. The letter was signed by bishops Porphyry of Antioch, Acacius of Aleppo, Pakida of Edessa, Eusebius of Tella, Acacius of Amida, and others. This Synod also received the faith of Nicea (325).

c. According to tradition there was a strong relationship between the Church of Malabar and the Churches of Antioch, Edessa, Seleucia-Ctesiphon and others. The contacts and communication that the St. Thomas Christians of India had during the first five centuries attest to the fact that the Indian Church remained in communion with the other Churches.

d. Since the Syrian monk Frumentius, the evangelizer of the kingdom of Axum, was ordained a bishop by St. Athanasius in 330, the Ethiopian Church has preserved its episcopal relation with the Church of Alexandria. The communion with other churches is also evident, e.g. by the letter of Emperor Constantine II to Ethiopian kings to accept the Arian faith. But the Arian Patriarch of Alexandria was rejected, which shows the faithfulness of the Ethiopian Church to the communion of faith.

16. The amount of communication and exchange between the various sees demonstrates fraternal responsibility. Therefore communication is an important means of maintaining communion. What is particularly impressive and striking is the degree of communion that existed in a movement that lacked central direction after several hundred years of Christian expansion throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. By the middle of the 3rd century most of the Christian communities were in communion with one another. The need for communion is realized through a process of sharing, giving and taking among the local churches.

II. B. SYNODS/COUNCILS AND THEIR RECEPTION

17. Synods (Grk. synodoi, Lat. concilia) came into being because of the need for a common reaction to certain difficulties and questions in order to maintain unity. Early synods were convened on provincial, regional and local levels. For the second half of the 3rd century onwards, we have clear evidence of such gatherings in Asia Minor, Egypt, Syria, North Africa, Gaul, Corinth, etc. These first regional and provincial synods were characterized by independence and freedom with topics concerning the respective geographical area and included clergy and laity. The results of these synods were intended to be received by the local or regional churches, and further communicated through synodical letters to other churches announcing the decisions. However, ecclesial communion in the early centuries was exercised more in terms of faith and liturgical life, rather than of juridical structure.

18. While the practice of regional and local synods convoked by bishops continues, with the Emperor Constantine the Church in the Roman Empire entered a new phase in her history. While the earlier synods had been the outcome of episcopal initiatives, now the emperor initiated a new practice. He asked the bishops for advice when dealing with ecclesiastical matters. Beginning with Constantine, emperors believed they had a duty to maintain unity and peace in the Church. The emperors convoked the bishops and determined the time and place of the synod (council).

19. In the Ancient Church the reception of the doctrinal decisions of a council was a rather long process including conflicts and controversies, with the participation of the whole people of God. This was particularly true after the Council of Nicea (325), the first synod of the whole Roman Empire.

20. The Council became ecumenical (i.e. universal) through reception. The effective reception process of the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils within the Church was not reached through the mere proclamation by the emperor. The promulgation and acceptance of a doctrinal or canonical decision by the ecclesial authority is only one part of reception. The process of reception is not only a process of legitimation but also one of appropriation and incorporation of the synodical decisions in the life of the churches and the faithful. This means that the council’s decisions have to be officially promulgated by ecclesiastical authority, that they have to be received in the hearts and minds of the faithful, and that the theological teachings of a council need to be clarified and enriched by dialogue and discussion, at this stage even with opponents of the council’s decisions.

21. In Late Antiquity the term “ecumenical” in Greek and Latin sources refers to the oikoumene of the Roman Empire. Because “Ecumenical Councils” were gatherings confined to bishops of the Roman Empire – although bishops from outside the Roman Empire, e.g. Armenia and India, occasionally participated – and were convoked by the emperor, whose authority was not recognized outside the bounds of the Roman Empire, the creeds and canons issued by these councils were only authoritative within the Roman Empire. However, the results of a Council may have been subsequently accepted by the churches outside the Roman Empire, such as those of Armenia, Persia, India, and Ethiopia.

22. Through this rather complex process of reception within and beyond the Roman Empire, some synods convened by the emperor acquired greater acceptance than others, for example, the synods of Nicea (325) and Constantinople (381) and the resulting Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.

III. PRAYER AND LITURGY AS A MEANS OF COMMUNION AND COMMUNICATION

23. Prayer is a universal aspect of human religious experience. Prayer links past and present, the living and the departed. Prayer is the essential way leading to knowledge of God. Liturgy is the common prayer of the gathered Christian people, the principal expression of Christian faith and doctrine, and the treasure house of Christian Tradition. The liturgy is the school of Christian life, the meeting point between God and his creation, employing symbols and material things that become channels of divine grace and communication.

24. In all churches and traditions, the common prayers of the liturgy and of personal devotion are based on biblical models and the teaching of Jesus himself. The Psalms, biblical hymns, and doxologies have a particularly important place. There is a close connection between the language of the liturgy and the language of private prayer.

25. Early Christian writings reveal a consensus about the theological grammar of prayer and about basic practices such as times of prayer, postures, and facing toward the east while praying. From the fourth century onward, the monastic movement and its writings were a major source of reflection and sharing about unceasing prayer and the central role of the Psalms in Christian life. The Christian tradition cherishes the place of tears and mystical prayer in the Christian life.

26. The Liturgy of the Hours, marking each day with times of prayer, and the Eucharistic Liturgy itself have basic features found in every tradition. The Eucharistic Liturgy in its essential form of readings from Scripture followed by the offering of bread and wine for consecration through remembrance of the Last Supper and invocation of the Holy Spirit is the central act of worship for all of the churches. The evolution of the Eucharistic prayer, the anaphora, demonstrates in a special way the exchange among early Christian ecclesiastical centers and major theologians, with every tradition receiving insights and texts from other traditions. In this evolution the centers of Jerusalem, Alexandria, Cappadocia, Rome and Antioch/Edessa played a particularly significant role.

27. The period between Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples and the rather developed anaphora texts that appear in the fourth century is illuminated by only a few, though important, witnesses to the content of eucharistic praying. The earliest surviving written description is found in the late first-century Didache, a Greek work from Syria. In the course of the second century, the celebration of Eucharist was definitively separated from the shared meal. St. Justin Martyr (d. 165) describes the Eucharist in terms broadly familiar to us today.His summary description reveals themes familiar from the Didache and from later tradition: praise and glory to the Father of the universe, thanks (“at considerable length”) for our being counted worthy to receive these things at His hands, conclusion by the people’s “Amen”.

28. The so-called Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus demonstrates the emerging common understanding of the early church about the essentials of eucharistic worship. Originally composed in Greek, the Apostolic Tradition was widely read and reused in the east. The Apostolic Tradition is important for its presentation of an anaphora that is nearly complete by later standards. It contains elements we have seen in earlier descriptions of the Eucharist as well as new ones: praise of God for the work of creation and salvation, narrative of the Last Supper, linkage of the present celebration to that event by liturgical remembrance (anamnesis), offering of the eucharistic sacrifice (oblation), invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the offering and upon those who participate in it (epiclesis), petition for strengthening of the faithful and the final doxology and “Amen”.

29. The “West Syrian” tradition generated both Greek and Syriac anaphoras that would have a profound influence throughout the eastern Christian world. An Antiochian “Anaphora of the [Twelve] Apostles”, no longer extant in Greek, was taken by St John Chrysostom to Constantinople ca. 398 and reworked to create the anaphora that still bears his name and has become the primary anaphora of Byzantine Christianity. It was reworked and translated into Syriac to become the Anaphora of the Twelve Apostles, still used in the Syriac Orthodox tradition.The Anaphora of St. Basil, traditionally thought to be Cappadocian, is probably to be associated with Syria instead. It influenced also the formation of the Armenian anaphora tradition. Also within the West Syrian tradition is the Liturgy of St. James, associated primarily with Jerusalem, but having much wider influence because of its Jerusalemite identity. The “East Syrian” tradition centered in Edessa and Nisibis influenced the Maronite Anaphora of the Apostles (or “Third Anaphora of Peter”) commonly known as the Sharar. This liturgical tradition was taken also to south Asia in exchanges with the ancient St. Thomas Christian community.

30. From the fifth century onward, these traditions influenced each other in various and complex ways, creating the collections of liturgical texts used by the various churches even to this day. The Coptic Church still uses the liturgy traditionally attributed to St. Mark the Evangelist, known as the Liturgy of St. Cyril. The Armenian and Ethiopian churches, particularly, manifest this complex exchange in their liturgical history. Armenian liturgy shows a pattern of influences similar to those of Armenian monasticism: Syriac, Cappadocian, and then a strong influence from Jerusalem. In Ethiopia, the early Alexandrian influence was complemented by indigenous hymnody and the composition of numerous anaphoras. The fact that the text of the Apostolic Tradition was preserved in its most complete form in Ge‘ez testifies both to the far-reaching influence of that important text and to the faithful conservation of liturgical traditions by the ancient Christian culture of Ethiopia.

31. In contrast to the abundance of anaphoral texts in the Christian East, in the West there is very little surviving evidence before the seventh century. What remains, however, testifies to the early emergence in Italy of many elements, even actual phrases, that appear in the classic anaphora of Rome, the Canon Missae (or “Roman Canon”).Close study of Canon Missae has revealed clear links to the Alexandrian tradition.

32. No church has a “pure” tradition of eucharistic praying derived solely from local sources. All of the anaphoras and other components of the eucharistic celebration, in all the churches, show the mutual enrichment of other traditions. In this sense the celebration of the Eucharist, so often viewed as the dividing point among churches, is in its very form and central texts the richest manifestation of communion and communication, of unity in diversity, in the life of the early Church.

IV. MARTYRDOM AS AN ELEMENT OF COMMUNION AND COMMUNICATION

33. Following the witness of the Old and the New Testament, martyrdom became a major Christian principle and has been a common mark of all churches since early Christianity. The Martyrs belong to the core of the church. A great cloud of witnesses surrounds us (cf. Hebr 12:1). Martyrdom is a part of the churches’ mission. Mutual celebrations are performed for martyrs in all of the Apostolic Churches. Churches are erected in their names. Their relics are transferred from one part of the Christian world to another as blessings.

34. In the modern era some of the most significant transfers of relics, which were considered to be a means of furthering positive relationships between the See of Rome and Oriental Orthodox Churches, were the transfers of relics of St. Mark from Rome to Alexandria in 1968 and the transfer of relics of the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew to Holy Etchmiadzin in 1970.

35. Martyrdom is an integral part of all dimensions of the Church’s faith, life and mission. The communion of the church draws its life from the communion of the loving self-giving Triune God and is thus completely dedicated to love. This is a communion of witnesses. The Father is presented as witness in both the Old and the New Testaments. He is especially the witness to Jesus Christ. Christ in turn has come into the world in order to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37). He is the “faithful and true witness” (Rev 3:14). The Holy Spirit, the spirit of love, gives testimony of the most intimate mystery of God, and works through the witnesses whom he inspires, especially through the martyrs. By loving until death, the martyrs testify the eternal fidelity and infinite self-giving of God, as Christ said: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:13). Among the people of God the martyrs have been given the task of bearing witness to the covenant that binds God to his people and of testifying in an existential manner to the wonderful truth „God is Love“ (1 Jn 4:8, 16).

36. Jesus Christ, the archetype of all martyrs, unites all who believe in Him through baptism in one body. All members are connected with one another to His suffering. So the suffering of the martyrs affects all members of the Church. The Spirit of Christ which dwells and works in the Head and in the members of His body makes the Church into a temple. In this temple the martyrs have the task of realizing the offering. They sacrifice their bodies for the glory of God. Three fundamental services have been entrusted to the church: the exercise of the prophetic office in martyria, the priestly office of leitourgia, and the kingly office of diakonia.

37. All who believe in Christ are called to receive the light of Christ and to pass it on. The martyrs can and should in the first instance support their fellow believers. From the life and death of the martyrs a light falls on central truths of life and faith. By virtue of the grace of God the martyr once and for all lives and speaks his unbounded “Yes” to the will and deeds of God. Bishop Irenaeus of Sirmium († 304) can rightly declare in the face of his persecutors: “By the good confession I sacrifice to my God, to whom I have always sacrificed”[2].

38. All the members of the Church of Christ should present themselves as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God (cf. Rom 12:1). The martyrs fulfill this duty in an exceptional manner through the testimony of faith sealed with blood, through their hope, full of immortality (cf. Wis 3:4), through the total self-giving which they perfect in their death for the Lord.

39. Martyrdom also involves the Liturgy. In each sacrament Christ unites us with Him and His life, above all with His death and resurrection. Since the martyrs are drawn into the paschal event in a specific way, they have a vital bond to the sacramental dimension of the Church. What is represented in the form of signs in the sacrament becomes concrete reality in their lives. Everything that is granted to believers in baptism can be given to the unbaptized true believer through martyrdom.

40. Since the early days of Christianity, martyrdom has been a unique sign of communion. The entire Church has understood and considered those who were not yet baptized but became martyrs for the name of Christ as great saints. The church in both East and West called it the “baptism of blood“.

41. Not only do the fathers see martyrdom as analogous to baptism, to some it even appears more filled with grace than baptism, as St. Cyprian of Carthage wrote: “Can the power of baptism be greater or of more avail than confession, than suffering, when a person confesses Christ before men and is baptized in his own blood?” (Ep. 72, 21)[3] And further: “they certainly are not deprived of the sacrament of baptism who are baptized with the most glorious and greatest baptism of blood, concerning which, the Lord also said that He ‘had another baptism to be baptized with.’ [Lk 12:50] But the same Lord declares in the Gospel that those who are baptized in their own blood and sanctified by suffering are perfected” (Ep. 72,22)[4].

42. Baptism is unity with Christ in the likeness of His death and burial with Him, according to the question of our Lord Jesus Christ “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” (Mt 20:22)[5] and the words of St. Paul: “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Rm 6: 5).

43. There are manifold connections between the blood sacrifice of the martyrs and the Eucharistic sacrifice. Martyrdom is bound to the Eucharist not least by the fact that it is a sacrifice of thanksgiving in which God is thanked for all his gifts, and they are all given back into his hands. This could be the probable explanation of the early churches practice of celebrating the Eucharist on the tombs of the martyrs. Sacrifice is the quintessence of that which Jesus Christ performs for the glory of the Father and the salvation of humankind. He “loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice for God” (Eph 5:2). Christ wants to draw his followers into this giving of himself. They can and should allow themselves to be gripped by the sacrifice of Christ, to be drawn into his gesture of giving himself to the Father, and thus become a living sacrificial gift through Christ and with him and in him, to the praise of his glory (cf. Eph 1:12.14).

44. Full significance of the Christian understanding of sacrifice lies in the fact that the people of God follow the Lord in his self-giving love and thus draw strength from the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice of praise to enter into the imitation of Christ in their lives. Ultimately martyrdom becomes a matter of realising to the fullest extent the consequences of total self-giving following the model of the total self-giving of Jesus, and in his spirit.

V. MONASTICISM AS AN ELEMENT OF COMMUNION AND COMMUNICATION

45. Monasticism is one of the fundamental expressions of the Christian life shared between the churches of East and West. The roots of Christian monasticism are in the ascetic disciplines of those early Christians who sought to practice the biblical commands of prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and vigilance in a radical way.

46. For centuries, ascetic Christians lived at the heart of the church, within local communities, often externally indistinguishable from other believers. In time, asceticism acquired a higher profile and distinctive forms, as with the “Sons and Daughters of the Covenant” (bnay/bnāt qyāmā) in the Syriac tradition. It was in the context of this ancient and well-established Christian ascetic tradition that „monasticism” arose as an identifiable form of Christian asceticism. This new form of asceticism, demarcated from the ordinary life of village or city church, is what came to be known as „monasticism.”

47. The traditional account of Christian monasticism locates its geographical origin in Egypt and its personal origin in St. Antony the Great, who entered monastic life – according to St. Athanasius of Alexandria – at the age of about twenty. The fame of Antony has obscured the fact that there was also a Syriac monastic emergence in the fourth century, and that the monasticism of Egypt and of Mesopotamia had close ties from the beginning. The first known exemplar of the Syriac tradition was St. Julian Saba (d. 367), who around the year 320 departed for a mountain cave east of Edessa. Early monks were often great travelers, sharing their monastic experiences with each other and bringing the monastic expression of Christianity to new places. The earliest monastic traditions of Ethiopia are rooted in the story of the Nine Saints who arrived in the late fifth century, coming from many parts of the Christian world. From the eighth century there was a flourishing Syriac-speaking monastery in Scetis, the very heart of Egyptian monasticism.

48. In the churches of the Christian East, monasticism typically remains the only form of consecrated religious life, and is linked to the episcopal order in a special way since bishops must usually be in monastic vows. Furthermore, the spirituality of the Eastern churches has been largely shaped by monasticism, and monasteries continue to be major sites of pilgrimage and centers of spiritual renewal.

49. Monasticism in the Western church owes much of its inspiration and forms to the monastic movements of Egypt, Palestine, and Asia Minor. These were transmitted and adapted to the western context above all through the writings of St. John Cassian, who had spent many years in Palestine and Egypt. Later in the fifth century the compilation of texts from the monastic tradition known as the Apophthegmata Patrum (Sayings of the Fathers) came to be the common heritage of all the churches both of the East and of the West. In its various redactions (alphabetic and systematic) and numerous translations (Greek, Coptic, Ge‘ez, Armenian, Arabic, Latin), including the Syriac Paradise of the Fathers, it provides a treasury of monastic wisdom shared by all the churches.

50. As can be seen, one of the remarkable traits of Christian monasticism has been its combination of indigenous expressions and trans-cultural communication. In some locations, monasticism emerged from existing Christian ascetical traditions. In places evangelized at a later period, monasticism often accompanied, or was instrumental, in the process of conversion, or was introduced shortly thereafter.

51. While the Christian world became increasingly diverse in language and theological perspectives in the fourth and fifth centuries, monasticism provided a universal element that transcended these differences. This worldwide character of monasticism, combined with the fact that monasteries have traditionally been centers of theological culture, has made monasticism a privileged vehicle for communion and communication among the churches. The same monastic writings have been copied and treasured by those who disagreed in the Christological controversies of the fifth century, and therefore differed in their reception of the Councils of Ephesus (431) or Chalcedon (451). Monasticism thus represents a privileged avenue by which the churches continued to share a common spiritual inheritance across separations caused by doctrinal disagreements.

52. Furthermore, the unique ecclesial position of monasticism has allowed monasteries to be privileged places of hospitality and exchange. Because monasteries have a relationship with their own local church and its bishop, while retaining a certain legitimate autonomy and strong ties with other monastic communities throughout the world, they have played a special role in the relations between the different churches and traditions.

VI. VENERATION OF SAINTS AND PILGRIMAGES

53. The cult of the martyrs and saints, their veneration and fame because of miracles, intercession to them, the cult of relics, the custom of seeking burial near the shrines of saints, etc., grew and spread from at least the second century as a development of popular devotion in the ancient Church with little regulation except on a local level by the local bishop. The lack of control inevitably led to the growth of various legends. It also led eventually to more centralized forms of regulation. A principal means for the spread of the cult of the saints through the various churches was through writing their biography. This produced a new literary genre known as hagiography.

54. We hear of the tombs of apostles and others of the first Christian generation being honored already in the second century. The veneration of the saints from the generation after the apostles, who followed Christ uncompromisingly even to death through persecution, soon followed. The Martyrdom of Polycarp, in the form of a circular letter from the Church of Smyrna to the Church of Philomelium, is the earliest of the acts of the martyrs after the description of the death of Stephen in the Acts of the Apostles.

55. The next step in the development of the veneration of the saints was to invoke them as intercessors in the belief that they enjoyed access (parrhesia) to the presence of God, an idea that is found with increasing frequency from the first half of the third century onward. By the fourth century we find various categories of saints commemorated in the Eucharistic prayers. Many other authors including Gregory Nazianzen, Gregory of Nyssa, Ambrose and Augustine could be cited as witnesses to this common belief in what will eventually be called the “communion of saints“ (communio sanctorum).

56. The development of pilgrimages in the fourth century, especially to the Holy Land, was another means through which devotion to the saints came to be shared by the churches. The theological rationale for the cult of the martyrs and saints was provided in the development by many theologians of the idea of the communion of the saints. The celebration of the anniversaries of the martyrs made it necessary, at least in the larger Christian communities, to fix these in calendars, which eventually develop into the later martyrologies and synaxaries. These were often compilations of various local martyrologies and underwent continuous revision.

57. Devotion to the saints among the different churches spread through writing their lives and through pilgrimages to their shrines. The earliest of these lives of the saints, that of Antony by Athanasius, served to “canonize” him, to use the later terminology. The Life of Antony, suggesting that Antony’s style of life was a continuation of that of the martyrs, produced a model for monks and nuns particularly in regard to progress in the interior life, combat with temptations and prayer. The work was quickly translated into other languages including Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Georgian, and Ge‘ez, and served also as a model for writing the lives of other monastic saints.

58. The Cappadocian fathers, Gregory Nazianzen and Gregory of Nyssa, played an important role in the development of the devotion to the saints through their writings. Gregory of Nazianzen wrote panegyrics in honor of Athanasius and Basil, celebrating their role as champions of orthodoxy. Gregory of Nyssa composed the first life of a woman saint, his sister Macrina. This work placed women’s sanctity on a level equal with that of men and created a role model for women.

59. The fame of Eastern monasticism drew new visitors from the West. Among these was Rufinus of Aquileia, who translated and updated Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, mentioning many of the famous monks of the period and noting the construction of churches at the tombs of martyrs (II, 27). Several other literary works including the Historia monachorum in Aegypto, the Lausiac History of Palladius and the Paradise of the Fathers in Syriac served to spread the monastic ideal of sanctity and the devotion to monastic saints. Christian pilgrimages, especially to the Holy Land, beginning with Constantine’s mother, Helena also served to spread the cult of saints. Egeria, a pilgrim from Spain fifty years after Helena, left an account of her visit to biblical lands including Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia. The fame of shrines such as those of Thecla and Menas as places of healing and a little later the shrines of holy men such as Simeon the Stylite led to increased pilgrimage and this in turn to greater fame.

60. Three more saints in particular illustrate the role of the saints in communion and communication: Cosmas and Damian, and Nicholas. Cosmas and Damian were brothers, both physicians, from the Roman province of Cilicia. According to the tradition, they practiced their profession in the port of Ayas in the province of Syria and were martyred about 287 under Diocletian. As early as the 4th century, churches dedicated to the twin saints were established at Jerusalem, in Egypt and in Syria. Later their fame spread to Rome where a church was dedicated in their honor and they came to be included with many others in the Roman Eucharistic prayer. Saint Nicholas, who was bishop of Myra in Lycia (died 6 December 345 or 352), enjoys even more widespread veneration throughout the Greek, Latin and Slavic Churches.

61. In the Catholic Church, the veneration of martyrs began at least by the second century. With the end of persecutions in the middle of the 4th century, “confessors” were also venerated for having lived exemplary Christian lives. During this period it was primarily the common faithful who recognized martyrs and confessors in a given locality. By the 6th century, the local bishops would begin to play a central role in the recognition of new saints. There was no standard process and occasional abuses, but for over six hundred years local episcopal canonizations were the normal procedure in the Catholic Church. At this time, being in full communion with the bishops of other local churches implied the acceptance of the saints they had recognized.

62. In the Oriental Orthodox Churches by the second half of the second century saints were first venerated as martyrs, who endured torture and suffered death while bearing witness to their Christian faith. Over the course of subsequent centuries, ascetics, Church fathers, virgins and key figures from the Holy Bible were commemorated as Saints. Saints were first proclaimed in local settings by the faithful with whom they shared their lives and deeds, and set an example of holiness for them. Saints gave their lives in witness to their Christian faith and were noted for their holy life, piety and virtue for the development of the Kingdom of God. They were recognized in popular piety, by a local church authority for local commemoration and by a church hierarchy for general commemoration by a given church.

63. Pilgrimages to places of spiritual importance are deeply rooted in human behaviour. The Jewish practise of visiting Jerusalem for major feasts is well documented. Christian pilgrimage was first made to sites connected with the life, death and resurrection of the Lord. The earliest reports date from the 4th century onwards. The developing veneration of martyrs and saints, their tombs and the places, where their relics were preserved, gradually became centres where the faithful flocked. The extensive trade relations between the various countries, especially between Palestine, the Roman Empire, India, Armenia, and Axum, provided avenues by which Christian travellers and traders undertook pilgrimages to the various Christian centres.

64. In the interpretations of the NT by the Church Fathers, the eschatological meaning of Pilgrimage as a journey towards the heavenly city of Jerusalem is a very common element. In this context Christians see themselves as pilgrims and strangers, who are temporary residents of this world, for their home is in heaven (cf. Phil 3:20; 1 Pt 2:11; Heb 11:13) and they live their life as pilgrims on the way towards the Heavenly Jerusalem (cf. Jn 14:6; Mk 8:34).

65. People visited Holy places in expectation that the saints would intercede for them before Christ, and sought the blessings of those who had been martyred as witnesses to the Christian faith. This ever-widening flow of pilgrims thus served to strengthen the communion between the churches in various geographical regions as believers from one church made pilgrimages to the venerated places of the other churches. In addition to these places of veneration, mention must be made of the role of monasteries, as they significantly added to the tide of pilgrims by providing places of hospitality for the visitors.

66. The pilgrimage to the Holy Land was not only a source of blessing, purification, and repentance. Pilgrimages composed of laity, monks, scholars and prominent leaders were also the source of understanding the geographical and historical nature of Jerusalem and the surrounding area and provided a visual image that would inspire theological literature, NT commentaries, poetic composition, iconography, and liturgical texts. Among other things, this also led to the development of pilgrimage prayer books and pilgrimage lectionaries as for example in the Armenian tradition.

67. Pilgrimage is significant, on the one hand, for the spiritual growth of individuals as it is always associated with prayer, supplication, fasting, making vows, veneration of saints and martyrs, liturgical participation, and repentance. On the other hand, it is significant for the community and the propagation of the mission of the church.

68. Pilgrimage has played a significant role in promoting communion and communication among believers of our churches. It can be seen from history that it served as a means on a popular level for understanding Christians of different cultures, languages and traditions. Furthermore, prominent church fathers, monastics and church leaders went from one church to the other to visit various pilgrimage centers. For example, apart from Jerusalem, Syrian Christians made pilgrimages to Egypt, Western Christians to Palestine, and Ethiopian monks have a long tradition of visiting the monasteries of Egypt and Syria.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

69. The dialogue has examined in detail the nature of the relationships that existed among the member churches in the period leading up to the divisions of the 5th century. It shows that the full communion that existed among the churches was expressed in many different ways in a vast web of relationships founded on the common conviction that all of the churches shared the same faith.

70. These expressions of communion were manifested in at least six areas: 1) through the exchange of letters and visits (both formal and informal) extending even beyond the borders of the Roman Empire; 2) through synods and councils held to resolve problems of doctrine and discipline; 3) through prayer and similar liturgical practices; 4) through sharing in the veneration of common martyrs and saints; 5) in the development and spread of monasticism to all the churches; 6) through pilgrimages to the shrines of the various churches.

71. For the most part, in this period these expressions of communion were informal, that is, not carried out within clear structures. They also tended to take place primarily on the regional level; there was no clear central reference point. On the one hand, in Rome there was a growing awareness of a ministry of broader communion and unity, in particular from the end of the 3rd century on. On the other hand, there is no clear evidence that the Oriental Orthodox Churches ever accepted such a ministry.

72. Many of the relationships that existed among the churches in the early centuries have continued to the present day in spite of the divisions, or have been recently revived. The exchange of letters and visits between the heads of the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches has become common. In many places, the faithful of the churches increasingly pray together, learn from one another and share with each other the richness of their respective traditions. This often includes sharing stories of the lives of their saints and martyrs, engaging in common pilgrimages and visiting one another’s sacred shrines. Increasingly there are exchanges among monastic communities that are reminiscent of those that took place in the early centuries. The presence of delegations from one another’s churches at major events such as the enthronements and funerals of heads of churches, and the presence of Oriental Orthodox observers at the Second Vatican Council and subsequent synods of the Catholic Church recall a similar ancient practice.

73. Consequently the members of the commission are able to observe with satisfaction that, to a large extent, in recent years the communication that existed among their churches in the early centuries has been revived. In view of these developments, they will examine in a positive way remaining divergences in doctrine and practice, and determine to what extent those divergences can be accepted as legitimate and not compromising the essence of the faith. This will be a central question to be addressed as they take up the Sacraments of Initiation in the next phase of the dialogue. They will be asking themselves to what extent a restoration of the relationships that existed in the early centuries would be sufficient to restore full sacramental communion today. In time, this will include, among other important issues, a consideration of the place of the Bishop of Rome in that communion, a question that is being broadly re-examined in all the churches.

74. The members prayerfully rely on the healing and reconciling work of the Holy Spirit among them to guide their future steps towards unity.

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[1] Cf. International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, „The Nature, Constitution and Mission of the Church”, in: Pontifical Council For Promoting Christian Unity, Information Service N. 131 (2009/I-II) 14-22.

[2] Cf. “Passio S. Irenaei episcopi Sirmiensis”, in: Acta martyrum selecta. Ed. O. v. Gebhardt. Berlin 1902, p. 162: “Irenaeus respondit: Sacrifico per bonam confessionem deo meo, cui semper sacrificavi.”

[3] Cyprian, Ep. 72 to Jubaianus, engl. trans.: The Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol.5. Ed. A. Roberts and J. Donaldson. Grand Rapids, MI repr. 1990, p .384.

[4] Ibid. p.385.

[5] Biblical citations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible 1989.

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Thirteenth Meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches held at Cairo,Egypt

February 9, 2016, 5:32 am
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The Members of the Thirteenth Meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches with His Holiness Pope Tawadros II at the new Synod center at the Monastery of Saint Bishoy in the Wadi n'Natrun on January 31, 2016. -- Credit: Facebook page of Roman Catholic- Oriental Orthodox Dialogue
Cairo (Egypt), Monday, 08 February 2016--

The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church participated in the thirteenth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between Roman Catholic and Oriental Orthodox Churches in Cairo, Egypt from January 30­ – February 6, 2016.

His Grace Metropolitan Dr. Gabriel Mar Gregorios, and His Grace Metropolitan Dr. Youhanon Mar Demetrios represented the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in this important meeting hosted by the His Holiness Pope Tawadros II.

Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue began in January 2003 as a joint initiative of the ecclesiastical authorities of the Oriental Orthodox family of churches and the Roman Catholic Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

In the last decade the commission has discussed the pursuit of communion among the member churches, by considering historical studies on the status of communion that existed among the geographically dispersed churches in the earliest centuries of the Christian movement.

His Holiness Moran Mar Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, Catholicos of the East and Primate of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church hosted the eleventh meeting of the Joint Commission in Pampakuda, Kerala, India in January 2014.
Source: catholicate news

Some more snaps from the Alexandrian Holy Father's meeting with the members of the Catholic-Oriental Orthodox dialogue commission -- Facebook page of Roman Catholic- Oriental Orthodox Dialogue / Mark Sheridan

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Report of the Thirteenth Meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches

February 20, 2016, 5:35 am
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Here is the report issued at the conclusion of the Thirteenth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The meeting took place January 30 to February 6, 2016 in Egypt.


INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION FOR THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES

REPORT

Thirteenth Meeting

Cairo, Egypt, January 30 to February 6, 2016

The thirteenth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches took place at the Saint Mark Coptic Center in Cairo, Egypt, from January 31 to February 6, 2016, hosted by the Coptic Orthodox Church. It was chaired jointly by His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and by His Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy of Damiette.

Joining delegates from the Catholic Church were representatives of the following Oriental Orthodox Churches: the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicosate of All Armenians), the Armenian Apostolic Church (Holy See of Cilicia), the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. No representative of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church was able to attend.

In the afternoon of Sunday January 31, the members of the Joint Commission, accompanied by the Apostolic Nuncio, traveled to St. Bishoy Monastery in Wadi Natrun in order to be received by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church. His Holiness received the members very warmly in the new church headquarters that has been built within the monastic compound. In his spontaneous address, he spoke about the present state of the Coptic Orthodox Church and offered his prayerful good wishes for the success of the dialogue. Pope Tawadros then gave the members a tour of the new headquarters, including the new hall that has been constructed for meetings of the Holy Synod. His Holiness announced that he considered the presence there of the members of the Joint Commission to constitute the formal opening of the new Synod hall. The members also visited St. Bishoy monastery itself along with the tomb of Pope Shenouda III before returning to Cairo.

The two delegations met separately on February 1. Plenary sessions were held on February 2, 3, 4 and 5, each of which began with a brief prayer service based on material prepared for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In the evening of Thursday February 4, the members attended a reception in their honor at the Apostolic Nunciature hosted by His Excellency Archbishop Bruno Musarò, Apostolic Nuncio in Egypt and the Arab League.

During the first plenary session, which was also attended by Archbishop Musarò, recent developments in the relations between the two communions were discussed. Among these was the presence of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia at the Holy Eucharist celebrated by His Holiness Pope Francis on Sunday April 12, 2015 in St. Peter’s Basilica to commemorate the Armenian genocide and to proclaim Saint Gregory of Narek as a Doctor of the Catholic Church. On June 18, 2015, Pope Francis received His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East. From 22 to 25 April 2015, Cardinal Koch traveled to Armenia to attend the canonization of Armenian Martyrs and the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian genocide that took place in the Holy See of Etchmiadzin. From 17 to 20 July 2015, Cardinal Koch traveled to Lebanon to attend the celebration of the blessing of the Holy Myron and the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian Martyrs, held in the Holy See of Cilicia (Antelias). During the opening session congratulations were also extended to Fr Shahe Ananyan, a representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicosate of All Armenians), who has been appointed as the Director of the Catholicosate’s Ecumenical Relations Department, replacing His Grace Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, who is now serving as the Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian church in Great Britain and Ireland.

During the course of the meeting, the Sacraments of Initiation in the participating churches stood at the center of a substantial discussion. Papers were presented by Metropolitan Bishoy of Damiette; Rev. Father Mark Sheridan, OSB; Archbishop Theophilos George Saliba; Rev. Father Frans Bouwen, M.Afr.; Bishop Paul Rouhana, OLM.; and Rev. Father Columba Stewart, OSB (read in his absence). Consideration was given to the scriptural and patristic foundation of baptism, the specific developments in the Latin tradition of the Sacraments of Initiation, and the correlation between Church and sacraments. There was general agreement that Baptism is the pathway and key of all sacraments. The members found that a deeper examination of this topic would be beneficial within the Joint Commission’s broader study of the sacraments and their relationship to the Church.

The next meeting of the Joint Commission will take place in Rome, hosted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Members will plan to arrive on January 21, 2017, with family meetings on January 23, followed by plenary meetings January 24, 25, 26, and 27 with departures on January 28.

The members of the Commission are:

Representatives of the Oriental Orthodox Churches (in alphabetical order)

Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church: H.E. Mor Theophilus George Saliba, Archbishop of Mount Lebanon, Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Syrian Orthodox Church, Beirut, Lebanon; H.E. Kuriakose Theophilose, Metropolitan of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Theological Seminary and President of the Ecumenical Secretariat of the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church in India, Ernakulam, India;

Armenian Apostolic Church: Catholicosate of all Armenians: H.E. Khajag Barsamian, Archbishop of the Eastern Diocese of the USA, New York (unable to attend, represented by H.G. Armash Nalbandian, Bishop of the Armenian Orthodox Diocese of Damascus); Rev. Father Shahe Ananyan, Director of the Department of Ecumenical Relations, Etchmiadzin, Armenia (unable to attend);

Armenian Apostolic Church: Holy See of Cilicia: H.E. Archbishop Nareg Alemezian, Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church of Cyprus, Nicosia; H.G. Bishop Magar Ashkarian, Armenian Prelacy, Teheran, Iran (unable to attend);

Coptic Orthodox Church: H.E. Anba Bishoy, Metropolitan of Damiette, Egypt (co-chair); Rev. Fr. Shenouda Maher Ishak, West Henrietta, New York, USA; H.G. Bishop Daniel of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Sydney, Australia (Observer); H.G. Bishop Barnaba El Soryany, Rome, Italy (Observer);

Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church: Rev. Fr. Kaleab Gebreselassie Gebru, Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Patriarchate, Asmara, Eritrea (unable to attend);

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church: Archbishop Gabriel of Sidamo; Rev. Fr. Daniel Seifemichael Feleke of Holy Trinity Theological University College in Addis Ababa;

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church: H.E. Metropolitan Dr. Gabriel Mar Gregorios, President of the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Metropolitan of the Diocese of Trivandrum, India; H.E. Metropolitan Dr. Youhanon Mar Demetrios (co-secretary), Metropolitan of the Diocese of Delhi, India.

Representatives of the Catholic Church

His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (co-chair);

Most Reverend Paul-Werner Scheele, Bishop Emeritus of Würzburg, Germany;

Most Reverend Youhanna Golta, Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop of the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate, Cairo, Egypt;

Most Reverend Archbishop Basilios Georges Casmoussa, Syrian Catholic Patriarchate, Beirut, Lebanon;

Most Reverend Peter Marayati, Armenian Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo, Syria (unable to attend;

Most Reverend Woldetensae Ghebreghiorghis, Apostolic Vicar of Harar, Ethiopia, President of the Ecumenical Commission of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia and Eritrea;

Most Reverend Paul Rouhana, OLM, Bishop of the Patriarchal Maronite Vicariate of Sarba, Jounieh, Lebanon;

Most Reverend Boghos Levon Zekiyan, Armenian Catholic Archbishop of Istanbul and Turkey;

Rev. Fr. Frans Bouwen M.Afr., Sainte-Anne, Jerusalem;

Rev. Fr. Columba Stewart, OSB, Executive Director, Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, Saint John’s Abbey and University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA (unable to attend);

Rev. Fr. Ronald G. Roberson, CSP, Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC, USA;

Rev. Fr. Mark Sheridan, OSB, Pontificio Ateneo S. Anselmo, Rome, and Abu Ghosh, Israel;

Rev. Malpan Fr. Mathew Vellanickal, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Changanacherry, India;

Prof. Dietmar W. Winkler, Consultant to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Salzburg, Austria.

Rev. Monsignor Gabriel Quicke, Official of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Rome (co-secretary).
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Catholicos of the East presides over Chrism Mass Maundy Thursday

March 25, 2016, 7:22 am
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Catholicos H.H. Baselius Mar Thoma Paulose II of the East washing the feet of priests at St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Cathedral, Pazhanji, on the occasion of Maundy Thursday —Photo courtasy: St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Cathedral, Pazhanji

Kottayam, India : Catholicos- Patriarch of the East His Holiness Baselius Mar-Thoma Paulose II presided over the celebration of the Holy Thursday Chrism Mass at St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Cathedral, Pazhanji (Diocese of Kunnamkulam) on 24 March 2016.

Maundy Thursday, commemorating the day when Jesus established the Eucharist and partook of the last supper with his disciples, was observed in all Indian Orthodox churches throughout the world. The main ceremony of the day involved washing the feet of 12 persons chosen to represent the 12 apostles of Christ. His Holiness Baselius Mar Thoma Paulose II washed the feet of priests at the St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral.

The Orthodox Syrian Metropolitan of of the Diocese Kandanad East His Eminence Dr Thomas Mar Athanasius performing the foot-washing ceremony held at St. Thomas Orthodox Syrian Cathedral, Muvattupuzha on Thursday —Photo courtasy: Mizpah Centre

At the St. Thomas Orthodox Syrian Cathedral, Muvattupuzha His Eminence Dr Thomas Mar Athanasius, the Indian Orthodox Metropolitan of the Diocese of Kandanad East, led the ceremonies and washed the feet of the 12 chosen priests.

Click on the Pictures to enlarge it in full size so that you will get it in high resolution.

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Catholicos of All Armenians Offered Washing of the Feet Service in Mother Cathedral

March 26, 2016, 4:49 am
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Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services, 24 March, 2016--

On Holy Thursday, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, presided during the Washing of the Feet service in the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin. His Holiness washed the feet of 12 men. The service commemorates Christ washing the feet of the 12 Apostles following the Last Supper, prior to his arrest and suffering.
The service began with a prayer. Members of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin read scripture passages and the speech “About Love” by Archimandrite Hovhannes Pluz.

His Holiness then blessed the water and oil on the altar, after which, under the singing of hymns, His Holiness following the example of the Lord, kneeled down before twelve men and washed their feet and anointed them with oil.
Among the 12 were members of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin, His Grace Bishop Mushegh Babayan and Rev. Fr. Zakaria Baghumyan; Gevorkian Theological Seminary Graduate Deacon Harutyun Keshishian; soldiers Samvel Minasyan and Hrach Chobanyan; students of the Yerevan State University Theological Faculty Vahagn Grigoryan and Hovhannes Muradian; and children from the Mother See’s Eurnekian Public School, David Sargsyan, Bayandur Harutyunyan, Ruben Tadevosyan, Melik Kondyan and Melik Melikyan.
Following the conclusion of the service, the blessed oil was distributed to the faithful.

Source: The Information Services of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin


Holy Thursday Divine Liturgy Celebrated in the Mother Cathedral


Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services, 24 March, 2016

March 24, Holy Thursday, the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church commemorated the Last Supper our Lord Jesus Christ, and the establishment of the sacrament of Holy Communion.

His Grace Bishop Hovnan Hagopyan, Grand Sacristan of the Mother See, offered the Morning Service and the Karg Apashkharoghats (Service for those who are fasting).

Following Morning Services, a solemn Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Mother Cathedral by Rev. Fr. Aghan Yernjakyan, Staff Bearer of His Holiness.

During the Divine Liturgy the sermon of St. Basil of Caesarea was read.

Source: The Information Services of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin




Holy Thursday - Betrayal Service at the Mother See
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services, 25 March, 2016

March 24 – in the evening of Holy Thursday, in the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; presided over the Betrayal Service in memory of the betrayal and torture of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Source: The Information Services of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

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HOLY FRIDAY Crucifixion Service held in the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin

March 26, 2016, 5:19 am
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Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services, 25 March, 2016

Holy Friday, March 25, marks the Commemoration of the Crucifixion and Burial of Our Lord Jesus Christ . The Crucifixion Service was held in the afternoon, in the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin.

Source: The Information Services of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin



Holy Friday Burial Service
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services, 25 March, 2016

Holy Friday, March 25, marks the Commemoration of the Crucifixion and Burial of Our Lord Jesus Christ . The Burial Service was held in the evening, presided by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. At the end of the service, the symbolic tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ, covered in flowers, was processed around the Cathedral led by His Holiness, members of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin and the faithful.

Source: The Information Services of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

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The news about the conflict in the Syriac Orthodox Church

February 18, 2017, 6:50 am
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February 8, 2017
Six Syrian Orthodox Archbishops denounce Patriarch Mar Ignatius Aphrem II Karim’s authority

On February 8, 2017, a group of six Syrian Orthodox Archbishops issued a joint statement where they totally denounce the supremacy and authority of their Patriarch His Holiness Mar Ignatius Aphrem II Karim. They also refuse to accept his decisions retroactively From the day he was concentrated Patriarch. They accuse him of heresy after his statement that Jesus has no grave because he descended to heaven.

Source: ASSYRIA T.V. 



The group of six archbishops of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch 
(four of whom are members in the Holy Synod and two are not)

His Eminence Mar Eustathius Matta Roham, Metropolitan Archbishop of Jazirah and Euphrates
His Eminence Mar Climis Eugene Kaplan, Metropolitan Archbishop, Patriarchal Vicar of Western USA
His Eminence Mar Severius Malki Murad, Metropolitan Archbishop, Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem and Jordan.
His Eminence Mar Malatius Malki Malki, Metropolitan Archbishop, Patriarchal Vicar of Australia and New Zealand
His Eminence Mar Severios Hazail Soumi, Metropolitan Archbishop, Patriarchal Vicar of Belgium and France
His Eminence Mar Bartholomaus Nathanael, Metropolitan Archbishop, Patriarchal Vicar of United Arab Emirates and Arabian Gulf



Statement Issued by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East

Damascus, February 9, 2017--

The so-called Rev. Yuhanon Aydin is not a priest in the Syriac Orthodox Church and his so-called ordination is invalid because it is not done by the proper ecclesiastical authority.

Based on Article 70 a) of the Constitution of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch: “a Metropolitan shall have no right to interfere in an Archdiocese that does not belong to him. Moreover, he is not allowed to perform church services in it unless permitted by the head of that Archdiocese and with his consent. Also, if he performs any ordinations there, they are considered void, and the matter will be referred to H. H. the Patriarch”. Therefore, the ordination that took place in Brussels – Belgium on the evening of Thursday February 9, 2017 of the so-called Rev. Yuhanon Aydin is void because it was not done by the proper episcopal authority, authorized to perform such an ordination, who is exclusively His Eminence Archbishop Mor George Kourieh, Patriarchal Vicar of the Archdiocese-Patriarchal Vicariate of Belgium, France and Luxemburg, even though the Patriarchate had warned from the consequences of such an illegal and unconstitutional action a day before it took place.
His Holiness the Patriarch directs the members of the Archdiocese-Patriarchal Vicariate of Belgium, France, and Luxemburg, and the faithful throughout the world not to consider or deal with the so-called Rev. Yuhanon Aydin as a priest for he is forbidden from practicing priesthood.

Source: Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate
Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate (facebook)



28 members of the Synod support Patriarch Mar Ignatius Aphrem II Karim of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch

Statement Issued by the Fathers of the Holy Synod of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch

February 10, 2017

A statement was issued by six archbishops of our Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch (four of whom are members in the Holy Synod and two are not) in which they attacked His Holiness our Patriarch, “the Supreme Head of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch, the defender of its faith, doctrine, and apostolic traditions, the symbol of its unity, its representative and spokesman everywhere, the general supervisor of all its affairs, and the spiritual father of all Syrian Orthodox people worldwide.” (Article 7 of the Church Constitution) and questioned, in particular, the faith of His Holiness and his adherence to the Orthodox Christian dogma, and permitted themselves to speak on behalf of the Holy Synod declaring their rebellion against Church leadership and Constitution, considering His Holiness an alien to the rank of Patriarch.
We confirm in this statement that carries our names, the following:
1. Our utter condemnation and absolute rejection of everything that appeared in the referenced statement in the form of accusations against our Patriarch, which are hereby declared totally false and hostile positions that incite discord and sow the seeds of division among our people.
2. Our clear declaration that these six archbishops do not, in any way, represent our Holy Synod nor do they speak for any of us.
3. We consider invalid and illegal every and any action that these archbishops conduct in the form of ordinations and any other episcopal services that, contrary to the Constitution of the Church, are carried out without securing the approval of His Holiness the Patriarch (Article 50 – Section H, which states: “All of his [the Metropolitan] activities are subject to the supervision of H.H the Patriarch”, and Article 56, which states: “The Metropolitan will be vigilant in choosing the best priests whom he ordains, according to church rules and traditions after obtaining approval from H.H. the Patriarch”). By their actions, in disobedience of these laws, they are separating themselves from the Church.
4. Our clear call to these six archbishops to follow the path of repentance and for their return from their deviation, subject to the Church canon law in accordance with the Constitution of our Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch.

The fathers of the Synod confirm their standing by the side of the lawful successor of St. Peter, His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, who was chosen by the Holy Spirit through his election by the Holy Synod in these difficult circumstances that we are currently witnessing. We value his clear fatherly conduct through his constant presence among his people, particularly during at critical times, and we call upon all Church members, clergy and laity, to pray fervently for the sake of the Holy Church and her shepherds and to rally around the their spiritual leadership.

We ask the Lord God to protect His Church from all evil and to bless her people throughout the world; by the prayers of the Virgin St. Mary, St. Peter, the head of the Apostles and all saints and martyrs.

The names of their eminences the metropolitans:
Mor Gregorios Saliba Chamoun, Patriarchal Advisor
Mor Severius Hawa, Metropolitan of Baghdad and Basra
Mor Theophilos George Saliba, Metropolitan of Mount Lebanon and Tripoli
Mor Timotheos Samuel Aktas, Metropolitan of Tur Abdin and Abbot of Mor Gabriel Monastery
Mor Philoxenus Yusuf Cetin, Patriarchal Vicar in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir
Mor Julius Abdelahad Shabo, Metropolitan of Sweden and Scandinavia
Mor Dioscorus Benjamin Atas, Patriarchal Vicar in Sweden
Mor Dionysius Issa Gurbuz, Patriarchal Vicar in Switzerland and Austria
Mor Selwanos Petros Al-Nemeh, Metropolitan of Homs and Hama
Mor Athanasius Elia Bahi, Patriarchal Vicar in Canada
Mor Philoxenus Saliba Ozmen, Metropolitan of Mardin and Diyarbakir
Mor Theethose Yeldo, Metropolitan of the Malankara Archdiocese of North America
Mor Nicolaos Matta Abdelahad, Patriarchal Vicar in Spain
Mor Justinos Paulos Safar, Patriarchal Vicar in Zahla and Bekaa
Mor Timotheos Moussa Al-Shamani, Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Mor Mattai Monastery
Mor Athanasius Touma Dakkama, Patriarchal Vicar in the United Kingdom
Mor Gregorius Malke Urek, Patriarchal Vicar in Adiyaman and its Environs
Mor Philoxenus Mattias Nayis, Patriarchal Vicar in Germany
Mor Julius Hanna Aydin, Head of Foreign Relations in Germany
Mor Clemis Daniel Kourieh, Metropolitan of Beirut
Mor Polycarpus Augin Aydin, Patriarchal Vicar in Holland
Mor Chrysostomos Mikhael Chamoun, Patriarchal Vicar and Director of the Patriarchal Benevolent Institutions in Atchaneh
Mor Dionysius Jean Kawak, Patriarchal Vicar for the Archdiocese of Eastern United States
Mor Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf, Metropolitan of Mosul, Kurdistan and their Environs
Mor Titus Boulos Touza, Apostolic Nuncio to the Evangelical Churches in Brazil
Mor Timotheos Matta Al-Khouri, Patriarchal Vicar for the Patriarchal Archdiocese of Damascus
Mor Chrysostomos Youhanna Ghassaly, Patriarchal Vicar in Argentina
Mor Yacoub Eduardo Aguirre, Patriarchal Vicar in Central America

Also, in support of this statement:

- His Eminence Mor Georges Kourieh, Patriarchal Vicar of Belgium, France and Luxemburg,
- His Grace Bishop Mor Maurice Amsih, Patriarchal Delegate for the Archdiocese of Jazirah and Euphrates.

https://web.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1220393614722647&id=100606280034725


2017/02/13
Archbishop Hazail Saume: The faith of the Patriarch main reason for our statement

In an exclusive interview with Assyria TV during his visit to Sweden, His Eminence Archbishop Mar Severius Hazail Soumi of Belgium explains the reasons behind his recent statement along with five other bishops where they denounce the supremacy of their patriarch.

Bishop Hazail says Patriarch Mar Ignatius Aphrem II Karim has abused the fundamental pillars of the Christian faith when he kissed the Koran “in the contrary to thousands of faithful whom for centuries had sacrificed their lives refusing to kiss the Koran”, he says. Bishop Hazail insists that Patriarch Karim by doing so has made a big mistake against the Christian faith and therefore should apologize to his people.

As to the letter of bishop Augin Kaplan to his congregation two days after the joint statement, bishop Hazail says it was written by all six bishops together “in order to reach a dialogue with the patriarch and accept a meeting with him in accordance with the wish of the congregations to solve the conflict on neutral soil”.

Finally, we asked; in case no solution will be reached and the six of you will be banished by the patriarch or the Synod, what are you going to do then?

Bishop Hazail says in such a case the person who takes such a decision would be hold responsible for the consequences. “If the majority still will stay with the one who denies the faith, then we have same situation as Jesus and Barabbas”, bishop Hazail adds.

Assyria TV has tried to get a comment from the patriarch or, at least from the bishops in Sweden, but they refused.

Source: ASSYRIA T.V.
http://www.assyriatv.org/2017/02/bishop-hazail-faith-patriarch-main-reason-statement/




Archbishop Abdulahad Gallo Shabo: I have not signed the letter from the synod

 Archbishop Abdulahad Gallo Shabo to the Swedish television: ” I say it openly on television. We are all with the Patriarch but we are not With those who lie. It is not okay that they wrote my name there without informing me"

Bishop Abdulahad Gallo Shabo confirmed that he has not signed the letter issued by the Patriarchate.

Tomorrow Swedish television will broadcast a longer interview about this.

Source: ASSYRIA T.V.



Priests’ Sunday – Holy Qurobo

Damascus , February 12, 2017-- His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II celebrated the Holy Qurobo on the occasion of Priests’ Sunday at St. Georges Patriarchal Cathedral in Bab Touma, Damascus.
He was assisted by His Grace Bishop Mor Maurice Amsih, Patriarchal Delegate for the Archdiocese of Al-Jazeerah and Euphrates.
In his sermon, His Holiness spoke about the sacred role of the priests and prayed for the peace in the Church and her unity.
Source: SYRIAC PATRIARCHATE

Homily of His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II

Priests' Sunday – St. Georges Patriarchal Cathedral – Damascus – February 12, 2017
  1, 2, 3



The six rebellious bishops backpedal, ask for forgiveness from patriarch

 VIDEO: Assyria Tv 
VIDEO 

2017/02/15
Why did the bishops backpedal?

Bishop Hazail explains the U-turn and the excuse to the Patriarch
Source: AssyriaT.V. /Videos


2017/02/17
”Not enough apology by the bishops”

After the Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church Mar Ignatius Afrem II Karim met with 18 bishops in Lebanon on February 16, 2017, the General Secretariat of the Holy Synod issued a statement on February 17 about the apology of the six rebellious bishops to their patriarch. The statement says that the act of the bishops ”does not reflect true repentance nor does it constitute a clear and explicit apology for all the offenses they committed”.

Source: ASSYRIA T.V.


Source: Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church


CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE


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Jesus Is the Point of Reference for the Journey towards Full Unity

January 27, 2017, 2:28 am
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by Pope Francis

Descriptive Title
Pope Francis Address to the Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches

Description
On January 27, 2017, in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis received in audience the members of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church and gave this address.

Publisher & Date
Vatican, January 27, 2017

Dear Brothers in Christ,

In offering you a joyful welcome, I thank you for your presence and for the kind words that Metropolitan Bishoy addressed to me on your behalf. I also thank you for that beautiful and richly meaningful icon of the Blood of Christ, which shows redemption from the womb of the Mother of God. It is indeed lovely. Through you, I send cordial greetings to the Heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, my venerable brothers.

I am grateful for the work of your Commission, which began in 2003 and is now holding its fourteenth meeting. Last year you began an examination of the nature of the sacraments, especially baptism. It is precisely in baptism that we rediscovered the basis of communion between Christians. As Catholics and Oriental Orthodox, we can repeat the words of the Apostle Paul: “For in the one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body” (1 Cor 12:13). In the course of this week, you have further reflected on historical, theological and ecclesiological aspects of the Holy Eucharist, “the source and summit of the whole Christian life”, which admirably expresses and brings about the unity of God’s people (Lumen Gentium, 11). I encourage you to persevere in your efforts and I trust that your work may point out helpful ways to advance on our journey. It will thus facilitate the path towards that greatly desired day when we will have the grace of celebrating the Lord’s Sacrifice at the same altar, as a sign of fully restored ecclesial communion.

Many of you belong to Churches that witness daily the spread of violence and acts of brutality perpetrated by fundamentalist extremism. We are aware that situations of such tragic suffering more easily take root in the context of great poverty, injustice and social exclusion, due to instability created by partisan interests, often from elsewhere, and by earlier conflicts that have led to situations of dire need, cultural and spiritual deserts where it becomes easy to manipulate and incite people to hatred. Each day your Churches, in drawing near to those who suffer, are called to sow concord and to work patiently to restore hope by offering the consoling peace that comes from the Lord, a peace we are obliged together to bring to a world wounded and in pain.

Saint Paul also writes: “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Cor 12:26). Your sufferings are our sufferings. I join you in praying for an end to the conflict and for God’s closeness to those who have endured so much, especially children, the sick and the elderly. In a particular way, my heart goes out to the bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and the lay faithful who have been cruelly abducted, taken hostage or enslaved.

May the Christian communities be sustained by the intercession and example of our many martyrs and saints who bore courageous witness to Christ and have themselves attained full unity. So what are we waiting for? The martyrs show us the heart of our faith, which does not consist in a generic message of peace and reconciliation but in Jesus himself, crucified and risen. He is our peace and our reconciliation (cf. Eph 2:14; 2 Cor 5:18). As his disciples, we are called to testify everywhere, with Christian fortitude, to his humble love that reconciles men and women in every age. Wherever violence begets more violence and sows death, there our response must be the pure leaven of the Gospel, which, eschewing strategies of power, allows fruits of life to emerge from arid ground and hope to dawn after nights of terror.

The centre of the Christian life, the mystery of Jesus who died and rose out of love, is also the point of reference for our journey towards full unity. Once more the martyrs show us the way. How many times has the sacrifice of their lives led Christians, otherwise divided in so many things, to unity! The martyrs and saints of all ecclesial traditions are already one in Christ (cf. Jn 17:22); their names are written in the one common martyrology of God’s Church. Having sacrificed themselves on earth out of love, they dwell in the one heavenly Jerusalem, gathered around the Lamb who was slain (Rev 7:13-17). Their lives, offered as a gift, call us to communion, to hasten along the path to full unity. Just as in the early Church the blood of the martyrs was the seed of new Christians, so in our own day may the blood of so many martyrs be a seed of unity between believers, a sign and instrument of a future of communion and peace.

Dear brothers, I am grateful for the efforts you make towards attaining this goal. In thanking you for your visit, I invoke upon you and your ministry the blessing of the Lord and the loving protection of the Mother of God.

And now, if you so feel, we can pray together, each in his own language, the Our Father.

[Our Father]

courtesy of CatholicCulture.org
CATHOLIC CULTURE


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International Joint Commission For Theological Dialogue Between The Roman Catholic Church and The Oriental Orthodox Churches Meeting held in Rome

January 30, 2017, 2:40 am
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Pope Francis poses with attendees at a meeting with representatives of the Oriental Orthodox churches at the Vatican Jan. 27. The representatives were in Rome for a meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

ROME — The 14th meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches took place in Rome from January 22 to 27, hosted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity of the Roman Catholic Church.

It was chaired jointly by Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and by Metropolitan Bishoy of Damiette of the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Joining delegates from the Catholic Church were representatives of the following Oriental Orthodox Churches: the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicosate of All Armenians and Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia), the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.
No representative of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church was able to attend.

The two delegations met separately on January 22 and 23.

During the first plenary session, recent developments in the relations between the two communions were discussed. These included: the visit of Abune Mathias I to Rome (26-29 February), when he was received by Pope Francis; the Apostolic Journey of Pope Francis to Armenia (24-26 June); the meeting of the General Assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches in Amman (6-8 September).

The members also discussed the present situation of Christians in the Middle East. Building upon the previous meeting’s focus on the sacraments of Christian Initiation, the members turned in this meeting to the Holy Eucharist. Papers were presented by Metropolitan Bishoy of Damiette; Rev. Father Columba Stewart, OSB; Metropolitan Youhanon Mar Demetrios; Metropolitan Theophilose Kuriakose; Metropolitan Theophilus George Saliba; Metropolitan Gabriel Mar Gregorios (sharing a paper prepared by Dr. B. Varghese); Bishop Paul Rouhana, OLM; Bishop Magar Ashkarian; Rev. Shahe Ananyan; Rev. Frans Bouwen, M.Afr.; Rev. Father Shenouda Maher Ishak; Rev. Father Daniel Seifemichael Feleke.
Papers were presented by the participants from the respective churches on the historical, theological, ecclesiological aspects of the Holy Eucharist as celebrated in the Catholic Church and The Oriental Orthodox Churches. There was also discussion of modern pastoral issues, touching upon communities in diaspora, the challenges of secularism, reaching the young generation, and the possibility of pastoral adaptation of traditional liturgies. The discussion affirmed a common understanding of the doctrine of the Holy Eucharist and agreed that differences on practice in celebration of the Holy Eucharist are not fundamental in matters of doctrine.
On the evening of Tuesday, January 24, many members were able to attend Vespers at the Benedictine Collegio di Sant’Anselmo at the kind invitation of the Right Reverend Gregory Polan, O.S.B., Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation, and to share supper with the community. On Wednesday, January 25, the members remembered at their morning prayer the late Archbishop Mesrob Krikorian of Vienna, a founding member of the Joint Commission, and sent a letter of condolence addressed to Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians. The members attended Vespers Service at the Basilica of St.Paul on the feast of the conversion of St. Paul the Apostle which was presided over by His Holiness Pope Franzis.
At the noon on Friday January 27, Pope Franzis received the Dialogue commission members in private audience at Vatican.
In his address to the commission, Pope Franzis said” I encourage you to persevere in your efforts and I trust that your work may point out helpful ways to advance on our journey. It will thus facilitate the path towards that greatly desired day when we will have the grace of celebrating the Lord’s Supper at the same altar, as a sign fully restored ecclesial communion”. Pope prayed for the Christians who are suffering in the Middle East and added that “.. in a particular way, my heart goes out to the bishops, priests, consecrated men and women and the lay faithful who have been cruelly abducted, taken hostage and enslaved”.


Pope Francis greets representatives of the Oriental Orthodox Churches


Please find below the full text of Pope Francis’s address to the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches

Dear Brothers in Christ,
In offering you a joyful welcome, I thank you for your presence and for the kind words that Metropolitan Bishoy addressed to me on your behalf. Through you, I send cordial greetings to the Heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, my venerable brothers.
I am grateful for the work of your Commission, which began in 2003 and is now holding its fourteenth meeting. Last year you began an examination of the nature of the sacraments, especially baptism. It is precisely in baptism that we rediscovered the basis of communion between Christians. As Catholics and Oriental Orthodox, we can repeat the words of the Apostle Paul: “For in the one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body” (1 Cor 12:13). In the course of this week, you have further reflected on historical, theological and ecclesiological aspects of the Holy Eucharist, “the source and summit of the whole Christian life”, which admirably expresses and brings about the unity of God’s people (Lumen Gentium, 11). I encourage you to persevere in your efforts and I trust that your work may point out helpful ways to advance on our journey. It will thus facilitate the path towards that greatly desired day when we will have the grace of celebrating the Lord’s Sacrifice at the same altar, as a sign of fully restored ecclesial communion.
Many of you belong to Churches that witness daily the spread of violence and acts of brutality perpetrated by fundamentalist extremism. We are aware that situations of such tragic suffering more easily take root in the context of great poverty, injustice and social exclusion, due to instability created by partisan interests, often from elsewhere, and by earlier conflicts that have led to situations of dire need, cultural and spiritual deserts where it becomes easy to manipulate and incite people to hatred. Each day your Churches, in drawing near to those who suffer, are called to sow concord and to work patiently to restore hope by offering the consoling peace that comes from the Lord, a peace we are obliged together to bring to a world wounded and in pain.
Saint Paul also writes: “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Cor 12:26). Your sufferings are our sufferings. I join you in praying for an end to the conflict and for God’s closeness to those who have endured so much, especially children, the sick and the elderly. In a particular way, my heart goes out to the bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and the lay faithful who have been cruelly abducted, taken hostage or enslaved.
May the Christian communities be sustained by the intercession and example of our many martyrs and saints who bore courageous witness to Christ. They show us the heart of our faith, which does not consist in a generic message of peace and reconciliation but in Jesus himself, crucified and risen. He is our peace and our reconciliation (cf. Eph 2:14; 2 Cor 5:18). As his disciples, we are called to testify everywhere, with Christian fortitude, to his humble love that reconciles men and women in every age. Wherever violence begets more violence and sows death, there our response must be the pure leaven of the Gospel, which, eschewing strategies of power, allows fruits of life to emerge from arid ground and hope to dawn after nights of terror.
The centre of the Christian life, the mystery of Jesus who died and rose out of love, is also the point of reference for our journey towards full unity. Once more the martyrs show us the way. How many times has the sacrifice of their lives led Christians, otherwise divided in so many things, to unity! The martyrs and saints of all ecclesial traditions are already one in Christ (cf. Jn 17:22); their names are written in the one common martyrology of God’s Church. Having sacrificed themselves on earth out of love, they dwell in the one heavenly Jerusalem, gathered around the Lamb who was slain (cf. Rev 7:13-17). Their lives, offered as a gift, call us to communion, to hasten along the path to full unity. Just as in the early Church the blood of the martyrs was the seed of new Christians, so in our own day may the blood of so many martyrs be a seed of unity between believers, a sign and instrument of a future of communion and peace.
Dear brothers, I am grateful for the efforts you make towards attaining this goal. In thanking you for your visit, I invoke upon you and your ministry the blessing of the Lord and the loving protection of the Holy Mother of God.



The Roman Catholic & Oriental Orthodox Churches – Conclusion of the 14th Session of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue

ROME, VATICAN - On January 28, the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox concluded their 14th Session.

During the session, the Joint Committee discussed issues relating the historical developments of the Sacrament of Holy Communion within the two church families; liturgical-theological specifications and expressions of church study.

On the 28 January session, after submitting their theological reports on the theme “The Sacrament of Holy Communion and the Church”, the Committee members discussed their next meeting.

With the blessings of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the Committee will convene the next session in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, from January 29 to February 5, 2018.

Topics for the meeting will be on perceptions about the sacred mystery of Repentance, Ordination and anointing of the sick, with the liturgical-theological specifics of the two church families.

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services







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Report on the Fourteenth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches

February 17, 2017, 4:11 am
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Here is the report issued at the conclusion of the Fourteenth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The meeting took place January 22 to 27, 2017 in Rome.

INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION FOR THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE
BETWEEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
AND THE ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES

REPORT

Fourteenth Meeting

Rome, January 22-27, 2017


The fourteenth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches took place in Rome from January 22 to 27, 2017, hosted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. It was chaired jointly by His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and by His Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy of Damiette.

Joining delegates from the Catholic Church were representatives of the following Oriental Orthodox Churches: the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicosate of All Armenians and Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia), the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. No representative of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church was able to attend.

The two delegations met separately on January 22 and 23. Plenary sessions were held January 22-27, each of which began witha a brief prayer service based on material prepared for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

During the first plenary session, recent developments in the relations between the two communions were discussed. These included: the visit of His Holiness Abune Mathias I to Rome (26-29 February), when he was received by His Holiness Pope Francis; the Apostolic Journey of His Holiness Pope Francis to Armenia (24-26 June); the meeting of the General Assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches in Amman (6-8 September). The members also discussed the present situation of Christians in the Middle East.

Building upon the previous meeting's focus on the sacraments of Christian Initiation, the members turned in this meeting to the Holy Eucharist. Papers were presented by Metropolitan Bishoy of Damiette; Rev. Father Columba Stewart, OSB; Metropolitan Youhanon Mar Demetrios; Metropolitan Theophilose Kuriakose; Metropolitan Theophilus George Saliba; Metropolitan Gabriel Mar Gregorios (sharing a paper prepared by Dr. B. Varghese); Bishop Paul Rouhana, OLM; Bishop Magar Ashkarian; Rev. Father Shahe Ananyan; Rev. Father Frans Bouwen, M.Afr.; Rev. Father Shenouda Maher Ishak; Rev. Father Daniel Seifemichael Feleke.

The papers considered the historical, theological, and ecclesiological aspects of the Holy Eucharist as celebrated in the various Churches. The recognition of a common heritage of early Christian liturgical texts that have shaped later theology and practice of the Holy Eucharist was complemented by descriptions of aspects particular to the different Churches. There was also discussion of modern pastoral issues, touching upon communities in diaspora, the challenges of secularism, reaching the younger generation, and the possibility of pastoral adaptation of traditional liturgies. The discussion affirmed a common understanding of the doctrine of the Holy Eucharist, including agreement that all elements of the anaphora are necessary for eucharistic consecration. The members agreed that differences of practice in celebration of the Holy Eucharist such as the use of various anaphoras, or customary usage of leavened or unleavened bread, are not fundamental disagreements in matters of doctrine.

On the evening of Tuesday, January 24, many members were able to attend Vespers at the Benedectine Collegio di Sant'Anselmo at the kind invitation of the Right Revered Gregory Polan, O.S.B., Abbot Primate of the Benedectine Confederation, and to share supper with the community.

On Wednesday, January 25, the members remembered at their morning prayer the late Archbishop Mesrob Krikorian of Vienna, a founding member of the Joint Commission, and sent a letter of condolence addressed to His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians.

On the evening of Wednesday, January 25, the members attended the Vespers Service at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls on the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle which was presided over by Pope Francis to conclude the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In his homily, in which he extended his best wishes to the dialogue members, Pope Francis asked: "How do we proclaim this Gospel of reconciliation after centuries of division? Paul himself helps us to find the way. He makes clear that reconciliation in Christ requires sacrifice. Jesus gave his life by dying for all. Similarly, ambassadors of reconciliation are called, in his name, to lay down their lives, to live no more for themselves but dor Christ who died and was raised for them (cf. 2 Cor 5:14-15). As Jesus teaches, it is only when we lose our lives dor love of him that we truly save them (cf. Lk 9:24). This was the revolurion wxperienced by Paul, but it is, and always has been, the Christian revolution. We live no longer for ourselves, for our own interests and "image", but in the image of Christ, for him and following him, with his love and in his love". He also observed, "Authentic reconciliation between Christians will only be achieved when we can acknowledge each other's gifts and learn from one another, with humility and docility, without waiting for the others to learn first." At the end of the service the Holy Father paused to greet personally many of the commission members.

On the evening of Thursay January 26, Cardinal Koch kindly hosted a dinner for the members of the Commission at the Casina Pio IV in the Vatican gardens.

At noon on Friday January 27, Pope Francis received the dialogue members in private audience. In his greetings to the Pope, Metropolitan Bishoy reported on the work of the Joint Commission, thanked His Holiness for his hospitality, and then noted, "We appreciate Your Holiness's care and efforts to keep and preserve the Christian presence in the Middle East which has been undergoing serious difficulties in this last decade. We are worries about the forced emigration, displacements, kidnapping of both clergy and people, and the killing of groups of Christian people in this historical area for Christianity. We are sure that Your Holiness will continue your care for bringing peace to the Middle East."

In his response, Pope Francis asked the members of the Joint Commission to persevere in their efforts, to "facilitate the path towards that greatly desired day when we will have the grace of celebrating the Lord's Sacrifice at the same altar, as a sign of fully restored ecclesial communion." Noting Metropolitan Bishoy's concern for the Christians of the Middle East, he continued, "Many of you belong to Churches that witness daily the spread of violence ad acts of brutality perpetrated by fundamentalist extremism.... Saint Paul writes: 'If one member suffers, all suffer together' (1 Cor. 12:26). Your sufferings are our sufferings. I join you in praying for an end to the conflict and for God's closeness to those who have endured so much, especially children, the sick and the elderly. In a particular way, my heart goes out to the bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and the lay faithful who have been cruelly abducted, taken hostage or enslaved.... Just as in the early Church the blood of the martyrs was the seed of new Christians, so in our own day may the blood of so many martyrs be a seed of unity between believers, a sign and instrument of a future of communion and peace."

The next meeting will take place in Holy Etchmiadzin, Armenia, hosted by the Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicosate of All Armenians). The day of arrival will be Monday, 29 January. Separate family meetings will take place on the morning of Tuesday, 30 January, followed by plenary meetings on the afternoon of Tuesday, 30 January, and on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 31 January-3 February. The members will participate in a special ecumenical service on Sunday, 4 February. Deparures will be on Monday, 5 February.



The members of the Commission are:

Representatives of the Oriental Orthodox Churches (in alphabetical order)

Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church: H.E. Mor Theophilus George Saliba, Archbishop of Mount Lebanon, Beirut, Lebanon; H.E. Kuriakose Theophilose, Metropolitan of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Theological Seminary and President of the Ecumenical Secretariat of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church in India, Ernakulam, India;

Armenian Apostolic Church: Catholicosate of all Armenians: H.E. Khajag Barsamian, Archbishop of the Eastern Diocese of the USA, New York; Reverend Father Shahe Ananyan, Director of the Intercultural Relationships Department, Etchmiadzin, Armenia;

Armenian Apostolic Churc: Holy See of Cilicia: H.E. Archbishop Nareg Alemezian, Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church of Cyprus, Nicosia (unable to attend, represented by H.E. Bishop Meghrig Parikian, Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia, Antelias, Lebanon); H.E. Bishop Magar Ashkarian, Proxy of the Armenian Prelacy, Teheran, Iran;

Coptic Orthodox Church: H.E. Anba Bishoy, Metropolitan of Damiette, Egypt (co-chair); Rev. Fr. Shenouda Maher Ishak, West Henrietta, New York, USA; H.G. Bishop Daniel of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Sydney, Australia (Observer); H.G. Bishop Barnaba El Soryany, Rome, Italy (Observer); H.G. Bishop Kyrillos, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles and Dean of the St. Athanasius St. Cyril Coptic Orthodox Theological School (observer);

Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church: no representative was able to attend;

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church: Archbishop Gabriel of Sidamo (unable to attend); Rev. Fr, Daniel Seifemichael Feleke of Holy Trinity Theological University College in Addis Ababa;

Malankara Orhodox Syrian Church: H.E. Metropolitan Dr. Gabriel Mar Gregorios, President of the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Metropolitan of the Diocese of Trivandrum, India; H.E. Metropolitan Dr. Youhanon Mar Demetrios (co-secretary), Metropolitan of the Diocese of Delhi, India.

Representatives of the Catholic Church

His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (co-chair);

Most Reverend Paul-Werner Scheele, Bishop Emeritus of Würzburg, Germany (unable to attend);

Most Reverend Youhanna Golta, Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop of the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate, Cairo, Egypt;

Most Reverend Archbishop Basilios Georges Casmoussa, Syrian Catholic Patriarchate, Beirut, Lebanon;

Most Reverend Peter Marayati, Armenian Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo, Syria;

Most Reverend Woldetensae Ghebreghiorghis, Apostolic Vicar Emeritus of Harar, Ethiopia, President of the Ecumenical Commission of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia;

Most Reverend Paul Rouhana, OLM, Bishop of the Patriarchal Maronite Vicariate of Sarba, Jounieh, Lebanon;

Most Reverend Boghos Levon Zekiyan, Archbishop of Istanbul and Turkey for the Catholic Armenians;

Rev. Fr. Frans Bouwen, M.Afr., Sainte-Anne, Jerusalem;

Rev. Fr. Columba Stewart, OSB, Executive Director, Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, Professor of Theology, Saint John's Abbey and University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA;

Rev. Fr. Ronald G. Roberson, CSP, Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC, USA (unable to attend);

Rev. Fr. Mark Sheridan, OSB, Collegio di S. Anselmo, Rome;

Rev. Malpan Fr. Mathew Vellanickal, Spirituality Center, Manganam, Kottayam, India;

Prof. Dietmar W. Winkler, Consultant to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Salzburg, Austria.

Rev. Monsignor Gabriel Quicke, Official of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Rome (co-secretary).

Rome, January 27, 2017
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Report on the Fifteenth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches

February 15, 2018, 6:13 am
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Here is the report on the Fifteenth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The meeting took place January 29 to February 5, 2018 in Etchmiadzin, Armenia.
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INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION FOR THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE
BETWEEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES

REPORT
Fifteenth Meeting
Etchmiadzin, Armenia, January 29 – February 5, 2018

The fifteenth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches took place in Etchmiadzin, Armenia, from January 29 to February 5, 2018, hosted by the Catholicosate of All Armenians.  It was chaired jointly by His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and by His Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy of Damiette.
Joining delegates from the Catholic Church were representatives of the following Oriental Orthodox Churches: the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicosate of All Armenians and Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia), the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. No representative of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church was able to attend.
The two delegations met separately on the morning of January 30.  The plenary sessions began in the afternoon of the same day and continued until the end of the meeting.  Each day began with a brief prayer service based on material prepared for the 2018 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  
During the first plenary session, recent developments in the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches were discussed.  The members were particularly pleased by the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Egypt on April 28 and 29, 2017, and the Common Declaration that was signed by Pope Francis and His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, during the visit.  Cardinal Koch also informed the members about the recent meeting of the Coordinating Committee of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church on the island of Leros, Greece, in September 2017.   In addition, the Cardinal brought to the attention of the members the Common Statement on “Sacramental Life” that was issued by the Joint Committee for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East on November 24, 2017.
During the plenary meetings, the members continued their consideration of the sacraments with special emphasis on Penance/Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, and Holy Orders. The following papers were presented:  “Penance and Indulgences: Coptic Orthodox Church View,” by Metropolitan Bishoy; “The Sacrament of Reconciliation,” by Reverend Father Mark Sheridan, OSB; “The Sacrament of Reconciliation,” by Reverend Father Boghos Tinkjian; “Sacrament of Confession: Its Historical, Pastoral and Liturgical Dimensions in the West Syrian Tradition,” by Metropolitan Kuriakose Mar Theophilose (read in his absence);  “The Sacrament (Mystery) of the Anointing of the Sick in the Orthodox Syrian Church, by Metropolitan Youhanon Mar Demetrios; “Anointing of the Sick,” by Professor Dietmar Winkler; “The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick in the Armenian Tradition,” by Reverend Father Shahe Ananyan; “Prayer for the Sick and Sacramental Anointing in the Coptic Orthodox Church,” by Reverend Father Shenouda Maher Ishak; “Anointing of the Sick in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (the Sacrament of Quendil),” by Reverend Father Daniel Seifemichael Feleke; “The Sacrament of Holy Orders in the Latin Church: History and Present Understanding,” by Reverend Father Ronald Roberson, CSP; “Holy Ordination or Holy Orders: Armenian Church Tradition,” by Reverend Father Shahe Ananyan; “The Development of the Rites of Ordination in the West Syrian Tradition,” by Metropolitan Gabriel Mar Gregorios; and “Holy Orders: Priestly ranks in the Coptic Orthodox Church,” by Metropolitan Bishoy.
The papers on the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation demonstrated consensus that it is one of the seven sacraments in all our Churches, having developed from the practice of public penance in the early Christian centuries. Through confession and absolution conferred by a priest or bishop, the faithful obtain pardon for sins committed against God and neighbor and are reconciled with the community of the Church expressed by participation in the Holy Eucharist.  While there are other opportunities in the Christian life to express sorrow for sins, such as the formulas found in the eucharistic liturgies, Reconciliation renews the forgiveness initially obtained through Baptism and opens the way to the Eucharist which is full participation in Christ the Savior.  
The papers on the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick considered the biblical and patristic references about healing and anointing identifying Jesus Christ as the True Physician in all our traditions. The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick with holy oil has been used for the restoration of health in a holistic sense. The papers further elaborated the specific developments in the various Churches. There was general agreement that all our churches trace their healing ministry back to the early church. In the course of history, in the Armenian and Latin Churches the anointing of the sick was given as Extreme Unction. While the II Vatican Council restored the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick to its original meaning in the Latin Church, there is consensus in the Armenian Church since the 19th century that the Extreme Unction is implicitly granted to the catechumens during the Christian Initiation rituals. Nevertheless, the canon of the prayer for the sick is considered as part of the sacrament of Extreme Unction.  The members agreed that these different practices in the administration of the sacrament are not fundamental disagreements or dividing issues among our churches.
The papers on the Sacrament of Holy Orders converged in seeing a three-fold ministry, bishop, priest and deacon.  Tracing its antecedents back to biblical and patristic roots, the development of this ministry in major and minor orders in different traditions, e.g. Armenian Syrian and Latin, throughout history was demonstrated.  In the Latin Church, minor orders and the subdiaconate were abolished after the Second Vatican Council and the permanent diaconate was restored.  While minor orders continue in the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Holy Orders consist mainly of the three-fold ministry.  The members agreed that it is the same Sacrament of Holy Orders that exists in all their churches.  
On Friday afternoon, February 2, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, received the members in the patriarchal residence.  After hearing words of greeting and gratitude from Cardinal Koch and Metropolitan Bishoy, he addressed the members.  Excerpts from his speech follow:  “I appreciate greatly the work done by the commission and the input for the mutual understanding and testimony to the world. This type of dialogue reveals the common theological understandings of the churches and the theological and ecclesiological differences as well. […] In order to overcome the difficulties churches are facing now, we need to strengthen cooperation between our churches. This should be especially the case in the Middle East where the churches are constantly collaborating for the sake of the rights of Christian communities and the presence of historical Christian identity. […] All the Christian victims of fundamentalists and terrorists in the Middle East are new martyrs who, along with the martyrs of the undivided church, could help to unite all Christians.”
On the final day of the meeting, the members made a pilgrimage to the ancient Khor Virap monastery where Saint Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned.  
The 16th meeting of the dialogue will take place in Rome, hosted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Arrivals will be on Sunday, January 27, 2019, with plenary sessions from January 28 to February 1. Departures will be on February 2.

The members of the Commission are:
Representatives of the Oriental Orthodox Churches (in alphabetical order)
Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church: H.E. Mar Theophilus George Saliba, Archbishop of Mount Lebanon, Beirut, Lebanon; H.E. Kuriakose Mar Theophilose, Metropolitan of the M.S.O.T.Seminary and President of the Ecumenical Secretariat of the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church in India, Ernakulam, India (unable to attend);
Armenian Apostolic Church: Catholicosate of all Armenians: H.E. Khajag Barsamian, Archbishop of the Eastern Diocese of the USA, New York; Reverend Father Shahe Ananyan, Director of the Intercultural Relationships Department, Etchmiadzin, Armenia;
Armenian Apostolic Church: Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia: H.E. Bishop Magar Ashkarian, Vicar of the Armenian Prelacy, Teheran, Iran; Reverend Father Boghos Tinkjian, Dean of the Armenian Theological Seminary, Antelias, Lebanon;
Coptic Orthodox Church: H.E. Anba Bishoy, Metropolitan of Damiette, Egypt (co-chair); Rev. Fr. Shenouda Maher Ishak, West Henrietta, New York, USA; H.G. Bishop Daniel of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Sydney, Australia (Observer); H.G. Bishop Barnaba El Soryany, Rome, Italy (Observer); H.G. Bishop Kyrillos, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles and Dean of the St. Athanasius St. Cyril Coptic Orthodox Theological School (observer, unable to attend);
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church: no representative was able to attend;
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church: Archbishop Gabriel of Sidamo (unable to attend); Rev. Fr, Daniel Seifemichael Feleke of Holy Trinity Theological University College and Director of Broadcasting Service in Addis Ababa;
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church: H.E. Metropolitan Dr. Gabriel Mar Gregorios of the Diocese of Trivandrum, India; H.E. Metropolitan Dr. Youhanon Mar Demetrios (co-secretary), Metropolitan of the Diocese of Delhi, India.

Representatives of the Catholic Church:
His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (co-chair);
Most Reverend Woldetensae Ghebreghiorghis, Apostolic Vicar Emeritus of Harar, Ethiopia, President of the Ecumenical Commission of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia (unable to attend);
Most Reverend Youhanna Golta, Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop of the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate, Cairo, Egypt (unable to attend);
Most Reverend Peter Marayati, Armenian Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo, Syria;
Most Reverend Paul Rouhana, OLM, Bishop of the Patriarchal Maronite Vicariate of Sarba, Jounieh, Lebanon;
Most Reverend Paul-Werner Scheele, Bishop Emeritus of Würzburg, Germany (unable to attend);
Most Reverend Boghos Levon Zekiyan, Archbishop of Istanbul and Turkey for the Catholic Armenians;
Rev. Fr. Frans Bouwen, M.Afr., Sainte-Anne, Jerusalem;
Rev. Fr. Habib Mrad, Secretary of the Patriarch and Chancellor, Syriac Catholic Patriarchate, Beirut;
Rev. Fr. Ronald G. Roberson, CSP, Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC, USA;
Rev. Fr. Mark Sheridan, OSB, Collegio di S. Anselmo, Rome;
Rev. Fr. Columba Stewart, OSB, Executive Director, Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, Professor of Theology, Saint John's Abbey and University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA;
Rev. Malpan Fr. Mathew Vellanickal, Spirituality Center, Manganam, Kottayam, India;
Prof. Dietmar W. Winkler, Consultant to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Salzburg, Austria.
Rev. Monsignor Gabriel Quicke, Official of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Rome (co-secretary).
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Report on the Sixteenth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches

February 7, 2019, 5:46 am
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The Members of the Sixteenth Meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches with His Holiness Pope Francis of Rome at the Vatican on February 1, 2019.

Here is the report on the Sixteenth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The meeting took place Jan. 27-Feb. 2, 2019 in Rome.
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INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION FOR THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE 
BETWEEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES

REPORT
Sixteenth Meeting
Rome, January 27 - February 2, 2019

The sixteenth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches took place in Rome from January 27 to February 2, 2019, hosted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. It was chaired jointly by His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and by His Grace Bishop Kyrillos, Coptic Orthodox Auxiliary Bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles, California, USA.
Representatives came from the Catholic Church and from the following Oriental Orthodox Churches: the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicosate of All Armenians and Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia), the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. No representative of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church was able to attend.
The two delegations met separately on the morning of January 28 and again in the morning of January 31.  Plenary sessions were held from January 28 to February 1, each day beginning with a brief prayer service based on material prepared for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
The first plenary session began with prayers for His Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy of Damiette, who passed into eternal life on October 2, 2018. He had served as a committed and dedicated Oriental Orthodox Co-Chairman of this dialogue since it began in 2004.  The Oriental Orthodox members nominated Bishop Kyrillos as his successor at their family meeting on January 28.
Cardinal Koch informed the members about ecumenical developments over the past year, including the visit of His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II and His Holiness Catholicos Aram I to the Vatican on April 5; the day of prayer and reflection of Pope Francis and heads of churches in the Middle East in Bari, Italy, on July 7; and  the visit of Catholicos Karekin II to Rome on October 24.
Continuing its focus on the sacraments, this session of the dialogue was entirely devoted to the Sacrament of Marriage.    The Oriental Orthodox papers included a major presentation,  “A Great Mystery: Theology of Marriage in the Oriental Orthodox Churches” by Metropolitan Bishoy (+) and Bishop Kyrillos.  In addition the following papers were presented:  “The Practice of Marriage, Inter-Church Marriages, Divorce and Mixed Marriages in the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church” by Metropolitan Youhanon Mar Demetrios; “Conception of Marriage Sacrament in the Antiochian Syriac Orthodox Church” by Metropolitan Theophilus George Saliba; “Sacrament of Marriage: Armenian Apostolic Perspectives” by Rev. Father Shahe Ananyan; “The Sacrament of Matrimony in the Coptic Orthodox Church” by Rev. Father Shenouda Maher Ishak; and “The Practice of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony (The Sacrament of Crowning) in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church” by Rev. Father Daniel Seifemichael Feleke.
Four papers on marriage were presented by the Catholic members: “The Sacrament of Matrimony in the Latin Tradition of the Catholic Church” by Professor Dietmar Winkler, “Theology and Spirituality of the Sacrament of Marriage” by Bishop Paul Rouhana, “Canonical Aspects of Marriage in the Catholic Church” by Chorbishop John Faris (invited guest), and “Marriages between Catholics and Muslims” by Archbishop Peter Marayati.
The presented papers and discussions made clear that we are in complete agreement that Christian marriage is a sacrament. We accept the same biblical and patristic sources as the grounds for our belief that the Sacrament of Matrimony is a divine institution. The narratives of the Old Testament present marriage and parenthood as a gift from God so that “the two became one flesh” (Gen. 2:24) and respond to God’s commandment “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:28). The teachings of Jesus and Saint Paul in the New Testament emphasize the indissoluble bond of marriage, rooted in the mutual love of husband and wife that is a sacramental participation in the mystery of Christ and his Church (Matt. 19:6, Mark 10:9, Eph. 5:32). Marriage, by its very nature ordered to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring, has been raised by Christ the Lord himself to the dignity of a sacrament.
As the gospel spread in various regions and cultures, Churches in their Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Indian, Syrian and Latin contexts developed different traditions to celebrate the rite of marriage. We regard this inculturation as mutually enriching. While the understanding of the sacramental nature of matrimony is universal, the rites and ceremonies of matrimony have developed distinctive elements and emphases.
The Church is the principal medium of Christ’s grace. Because Christian marriage is an expression of the union of Christ and the Church, marriage begins and finds its life in the heart of the Church. Therefore, a sacramental marriage is possible only between a baptized woman and a baptized man.  In all of our traditions, a sacramental marriage typically requires the free consent of both the man and the woman, the presence of witnesses, and a blessing within the Body of Christ by an ordained representative of the Church. The Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches require the blessing of a priest or bishop, while the Latin church allows even a deacon to confer the blessing.   
Unity and indissolubility are the distinctive aspects of Christian marriage, but the reality of human frailty and sin means that some marriages weaken and fail. All of our Churches have developed various means to help those who have experienced such pain to remain within the ecclesial community. The possibilities of annulment, dissolution, and divorce are handled differently by the Churches, but always with a pastoral emphasis on healing and spiritual accompaniment. The Oriental Orthodox Churches provide for the possibility of divorce and remarriage for those who were sacramentally married, especially in cases of adultery. While the Catholic Church does not admit the possibility of divorce, it recognizes that some marriages have lacked an essential element from the very beginning and therefore can be declared null. All recognize, and generally agree on, the canonical impediments to marriage.
All of our Churches permit the widowed to remarry. The Oriental Orthodox Churches have simplified forms of the rite of matrimony for second or third marriages, whether for the widowed or the divorced, in order to recognize the uniqueness of the first sacramental marriage.
Our Churches have various approaches to marriage between Christians of different Churches. The Catholic Church permits marriage with other baptized persons under certain conditions.   There are different practices among the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Some require that the prospective spouse who is not in communion with their Church formally join it. In certain cases, this requires baptism and/or chrismation. The social and cultural contexts, especially the legal situation of Churches in some countries in which Christians are in the minority, can also affect their view that spouses must belong to the same Church.
For all our churches marriage between Christians and non-Christians cannot in any case be sacramental, as the sacramental nature of marriage requires that both parties be baptized. Such a marriage is seen as problematic by the Catholic Church and unacceptable by the Oriental Orthodox Churches. However, the Catholic Church will offer prayers as a pastoral provision of ecclesial and spiritual support to the Christian spouse, while the Oriental Orthodox Churches consider the celebration of such marriages to be outside of the ministry of the Church.
In the evening of Monday January 28, Cardinal Koch hosted a dinner for the dialogue members in the Casina Pio IV in the Vatican gardens.  On the evening of Wednesday, January 30, the members attended Vespers at the Benedictine Collegio di Sant'Anselmo at the kind invitation of the Right Revered Gregory Polan, O.S.B., Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation, and shared supper with the community.
At 11:00 on Friday morning February 1, His Holiness Pope Francis received the members of the Commission in private audience. In his greetings to the Pope, His Grace Bishop Kyrillos firstly thanked His Holiness for his hospitality, and then reported on the work of the Joint Commission, reflecting in particular that “Marriage was one of the most challenging and important subjects we have discussed. Challenging because of its interdisciplinary nature that touches on the understanding of Holy Scripture, theology, sacramental theology, liturgical history, canon law, and pastoral care. …We deeply appreciate Your Holiness’s efforts to preserve and revive the Christian family in the midst of many attacks and divisions today”.
In his response, Pope Francis stated: “I am certain that your work, carried out in an atmosphere of great harmony, will be to the benefit of the family of God’s children, the Spouse of Christ, who we desire to present to the Lord “without spot or wrinkle” (Eph 5:27), without wounds and without divisions, but in the beauty of full communion”. His Holiness offered participants a copy of his Post–Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia on the theme of love in the family.
The next meeting will take place in Atchaneh, Lebanon, hosted by the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch. Arrivals on January 26 and departures on February 1, 2020.  The main focus of the meeting will be fundamental aspects of sacramental theology.

The members of the Commission are:
Representatives of the Oriental Orthodox Churches (in alphabetical order)
Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church: H.E. Mar Theophilus George Saliba, Archbishop of Mount Lebanon, Beirut, Lebanon; H.E. Kuriakose Mar Theophilose, Metropolitan of the M.S.O.T Seminary and President of the Ecumenical Secretariat of the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church in India, Ernakulam, India; H.G. Bishop Mor Polycarpus Aydin (observer);
Armenian Apostolic Church: Catholicosate of all Armenians: H.E. Khajag Barsamian, Pontifical Legate for Western Europe and Official Representative of the Armenian Church to the Vatican; Reverend Father Shahe Ananyan, Director of the Interchurch Relationships Department, Etchmiadzin, Armenia;
Armenian Apostolic Church: Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia: H.E. Bishop Magar Ashkarian, Anatelias, Lebanon; Reverend Father Boghos Tinkjian, Dean of the Armenian Theological Seminary, Antelias, Lebanon;
Coptic Orthodox Church: H.G. Bishop Kyrillos (Co-Chair), Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, Rev. Fr. Shenouda Maher Ishak, West Henrietta, New York, USA; H.G. Bishop Daniel of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Sydney, Australia (Observer); H.G. Bishop Barnaba El Soryany, Rome, Italy (Observer);
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church: no representative was able to attend;
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church: Archbishop Gabriel of Sidamo (unable to attend); Rev. Fr, Daniel Seifemichael Feleke of Holy Trinity Theological University College and Director of Broadcasting Service in Addis Ababa;
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church: H.E. Metropolitan Zachariah Mar Nicholovos, Northeast Diocese of America; H.E. Metropolitan Dr. Youhanon Mar Demetrios (co-secretary), Metropolitan of the Diocese of Delhi, India.

Representatives of the Catholic Church
His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (co-chair);
Most Reverend Woldetensae Ghebreghiorghis, Apostolic Vicar Emeritus of Harar, Ethiopia, President of the Ecumenical Commission of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia;
Most Reverend Youhanna Golta, Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop of the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate, Cairo, Egypt (unable to attend);
Most Reverend Peter Marayati, Armenian Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo, Syria;
Most Reverend Paul Rouhana, OLM, Bishop of the Patriarchal Maronite Vicariate of Sarba, Jounieh, Lebanon;
Most Reverend Paul-Werner Scheele, Bishop Emeritus of Würzburg, Germany (unable to attend);
Most Reverend Boghos Levon Zekiyan, Archbishop of Istanbul and Turkey for the Catholic Armenians;
Rev. Fr. Frans Bouwen, M.Afr., Sainte-Anne, Jerusalem;
Rev. Fr. Habib Mrad, Patriarchal Secretary and Chancellor, Syriac Catholic Patriarchate, Beirut;
Rev. Fr. Ronald G. Roberson, CSP, Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC, USA;
Rev. Fr. Mark Sheridan, OSB, Collegio di S. Anselmo, Rome;
Rev. Fr. Columba Stewart, OSB, Executive Director, Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, Professor of Theology, Saint John's Abbey and University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA;
Rev. Malpan Fr. Mathew Vellanickal, Spirituality Center, Manganam, Kottayam, India;
Prof. Dietmar W. Winkler, Consultant to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Salzburg, Austria.
Rev. Hyacinthe Destivelle, OP, Official of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Rome (co-secretary).

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The Roman Pope thanks God for dialogue with Oriental Orthodox Churches

February 8, 2019, 6:28 am
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Pope Francis of Rome greets the members of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches — Photo courtesy: Vatican Media

Address of His Holiness Pope Francis To The Joint International Commission For Theological Dialogue Between The Catholic Church And The Oriental Orthodox Churches

VATICAN CITY, Feb. 01, 2019 – Here is the address the Roman Pope Francis gave upon receiving in audience members of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Complete text of the Roman Pope Francis’s address, in English:

 Friday, 1st February 2019

Dear Brothers,

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (Ps 133:1). With these words of the Psalm, I offer you my cordial welcome and I thank you for your commitment to walking along the paths of unity, and for doing so in a spirit of fraternity! I am pleased, every second year, to welcome you to Rome on the occasion of your dialogue which last year was held in the See of Holy Etchmiadzin at the invitation of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Through you, I extend my greetings to my venerable and dear Brothers, Heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. I am grateful for the kind words of His Grace Bishop Kyrillos, the new Co-President of the Commission, whom I assure of my prayers and best wishes for his work. With gratitude, I also remember his predecessor, beloved Metropolitan Anba Bishoy, who was the first Co-President and who recently passed away. I join you in praying for him.

At the conclusion of your work this week, the sixteenth session of your Commission, we can together thank the Lord for the fruits already gathered along the way. Your dialogue expresses well how, between the East and the West, the “various theological expressions are to be considered often as mutually complementary rather than conflicting” (Unitatis Redintegratio, 17), as affirmed by the Second Vatican Council, whose sixtieth anniversary of its announcement we celebrated a few days ago. I offer my prayer and encouragement that your current reflection on the Sacraments may help us to continue the journey towards full communion, towards the shared celebration of the Holy Eucharist. You have dedicated this session to reflecting on the Sacrament of Matrimony. I like to recall what the book of Genesis says about this: “God created man in his own image… male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). Man is fully in the image of God not when he is alone, but when he lives in a stable communion of love, because God is a communion of love. I am certain that your work, carried out in an atmosphere of great harmony, will be to the benefit of the family of God’s children, the Spouse of Christ, who we desire to present to the Lord “without spot or wrinkle” (Eph 5:27), without wounds and without divisions, but in the beauty of full communion.

Many of you belong to the Churches of the Middle East which have suffered terribly as a result of war, violence and persecution. As I meet you here, I recall the recent meeting in Bari which brought us together as Heads of Churches for a deeply intense day of prayer and reflection on the situation in the Middle East, an experience, I hope, which may be repeated. I want to assure all the faithful in the Middle East of my closeness, my constant thoughts and my prayers that this land, unique in God’s salvific plan, may, after the long night of conflict, witness the dawn of peace. The Middle East must become a land of peace, it cannot continue to bea land of hostility. May war, the daughter of power and destitution, give way to peace, the daughter of law and justice and may our Christian brothers and sisters be recognized as full citizens enjoying equal rights (cf. Address at the Conclusion of the Dialogue, Bari, 7 July 2018).

The lives of many saints of our Churches are seeds of peace sown in those lands; they are now blossoming in heaven. From there they support us on our journey to full communion, a journey that God desires, a journey that summons us to walk, not according to fleeting convenience, but on the path of openness to the Lord’s will: that “all may be one” (Jn 17:21). He calls us, ever increasingly, to a coherent witness of life and to an authentic pursuit of unity. The seed of this communion, thanks also to your important work, has blossomed and continues to be watered by the blood of the witnesses of unity, by so much blood shed by the martyrs of our time: members of different Churches who, united by the same suffering for the name of Jesus, now share the same glory.

Dear Brothers, as I renew my heartfelt gratitude for your visit, counting on the intercession of these martyrs, I invoke upon you and your ministry the blessing of the Lord. And now, if agreeable to you, we can pray the Our Father, each in our own language.

— Photo courtesy: Vatican Media

Address of H.G. Bishop Kyrillos, the Co-Chairman of the Joint International Commission For Theological Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church And The Oriental Orthodox Churches.


February 1, 2019
Tobe 24, 1735
Martyrdom of St. Timothy the Apostle

YOUR HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS OF ROME,

Apostolic greetings from all Their Holinesses, the Heads of the Oriental Orthodox Family of Churches, whom we are representing in this meeting today: the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch and all the East, the Armenian Orthodox Catholicosate of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Armenian Orthodox Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Malankara Orthodox-Syrian Church. I also convey special greetings from His Holiness Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

I humbly speak before Your Holiness after my brothers graciously elected me as the new cochairman to succeed His Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy, of blessed memory, who after returning from an ecumenical visit this last October, took a quick flight to our Lord and Savior. We feel the loss of his physical presence with us in our meetings, but trust that he is continuing his work through his prayers for us in our journey towards unity.

This is the 16th meeting of our Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the eighth time we meet here in Rome, where we are enjoying the hospitality of Your Holiness together with the hospitality of His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, co-chairman of the Commission. This year’s subject was devoted to the theology and practice of marriage.

Marriage was one of the most challenging and important subjects we have discussed. Challenging because of its interdisciplinary nature that touches on the understanding of Holy Scripture, theology,
sacramental theology, liturgical history, canon law, and pastoral care. Marriage is also relevant for our people and clergy. We know how tirelessly Your Holiness has labored in the past few years to restore
peace and harmony to each family, not only in the synod of bishops, but also in the World Meeting of Families, and in many homilies. We deeply appreciate Your Holiness’s efforts to preserve and revive the Christian family in the midst of many attacks and divisions today.

Our study of the Sacraments was the third major subject the Commission has undertaken since it began its work in 2004. We have realized the need to dedicate next year’s meeting on sacramental theology to help us in preparation of our third common document.

We hope and pray that along this journey together we can discover new ways to preserve the unity within our marriages and churches, as a preparation to restore full unity in the One, Holy, Catholic
and Apostolic Church.

+ Kyrillos
Co-Chairman of the Commission
Auxiliary Bishop in the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles
Dean of St Athanasius and St. Cyril Theological School





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