[Linsinbigler]

Since there is no separate category for this, I suppose that this is the most appropriate "place to place it."

The eleventh meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church took place in Paphos, Cyprus, a city with a rich history, having received three Apostles, Paul, Barnabas and Mark. The meeting took place from 16-23 October 2009, generously and fraternally hosted by the Orthodox Church of Cyprus.

Twenty Catholic members were present; several more were unable to attend. All the Orthodox Churches, with the exception of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria, were represented, namely the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Patriarchate of Antioch, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Patriarchate of Moscow, the Patriarchate of Serbia, the Patriarchate of Romania, the Patriarchate of Georgia, the Church of Cyprus, the Church of Greece, the Church of Poland, the Church of Albania and the Church of Czech Lands and Slovakia.

The Commission worked under the direction of its two co-presidents, Cardinal Walter Kasper and Metropolitan John of Pergamon, helped by the two co-secretaries, Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima (Ecumenical Patriarchate) and Monsignor Eleuterio F. Fortino (Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity).

At the opening session on Saturday, 17 October, the Commission was welcomed very warmly by the host, Metropolitan Georgios of Paphos, who emphasized the importance of holding the meeting in this apostolic city, famous in the history not only of this island but of the whole of Christianity.

On Saturday, 17 October, the Catholic members celebrated the Eucharist in the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Cross, Nicosia, presided over by Cardinal Walter Kasper, in the presence of the Orthodox members. In his homily he expressed the gratitude of the Catholic Delegation to the Church of Cyprus and especially to Metropolitan Georgios of Paphos for his warm hospitality, and stressed that the spirit of humility and love should prevail in the work of our Joint Commission, emphasizing the words of the Lord: (Whoever would be first among you shall make himself slave of all) (Mark 10:44). On Sunday, 18 October, the Orthodox members celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Church of Phaneromeni, Nicosia, presided over by His Beatitude the Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos, in the presence of the Catholic members. In addressing those present, Archbishop Chrysostomos stated: (Together with all the other Orthodox Churches, we underline our firm insistence on the established basic poles of the ecclesiastical conscience of the first thousand years of the historical life of the Church. The Ecumenical Councils and the great Fathers of the first millennium are a guarantee of the authentic theological interpretation of the sacrament of the divine economy in Christ, and of its genuine experience by the faithful in the sacrament of the Church, which, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, extends the continuous and living presence of Jesus Christ in the world, until the end of time.)

Afterwards, the co-presidents, Cardinal Walter Kasper and Metropolitan John of Pergamon, together with Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Metropolitan Vasilios of Constantia-Famagust a and Archbishop Roland Minnerath, were welcomed at the Presidential Palace by the President of Cyprus, His Excellency Dimitris Christofias, who expressed his hope for the continuation of this important dialogue in a world still divided, like Cyprus itself, and expressed his good wishes for progress towards communion between the two Churches in the future.

The members of the Commission visited the Byzantine Museum, and had an official lunch at the Archbishopric, offered by H. B. Archbishop Chrysostomos.

During the afternoon, the members paid a visit to the Metochion of Kykkos Monastery and were welcomed very warmly by the Abbot, Metropolitan Nikiphoros of Kykkos and Tylliria, and by Metropolitan Isaias of Tamassos and Orini. Later in the evening, Metropolitan Vasilios of Constantia-Famagust a hosted an official dinner at his Metropolitanate in Paralimni. During the course of the week, the members also visited the Monastery of St. Neophytos and the archaeological sites of St. Paul in Paphos.

On the first day of the meeting, as is customary, the Roman Catholic and Orthodox members met separately to coordinate their work. The Orthodox meeting discussed among other things the negative reactions to the Dialogue by certain Orthodox circles, and unanimously considered them as totally unfounded and unacceptable, providing false and misleading information. All Orthodox members of the Commission reaffirmed that the Dialogue continues with the decision of all the Orthodox Churches and is pursued with faithfulness to the Truth and the Tradition of the Church. The Catholic meeting considered the draft text as a good basis for our work and confirmed the intention to continue the Dialogue with confidence and reciprocal trust, in obedience to the will of the Lord.

As was decided at the last plenary session in Ravenna, 2007, the Commission studied the theme (The Role of the Bishop of Rome in the Communion of the Church in the First Millennium), on the basis of a draft text prepared by the Joint Coordinating Committee, which met in Elounda, Crete, Greece last year. During this plenary meeting, the Commission carefully considered and amended the draft text of the Joint Coordinating Committee, and decided to complete its work on the text next year, by convening a further meeting of the Joint Commission. No final text has been decided upon, and any text that may be circulated is not valid.

It was decided that the 12th plenary meeting will be hosted by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, in Vienna, Austria, from 20-27 September 2010.

The eleventh plenary session ended with Orthodox Vespers at St. Theodoros Cathedral in Paphos, followed by a reception offered by Metropolitan Georgios.

The meeting of the Joint Commission was marked by a spirit of friendship and trustful collaboration. The members of the Commission greatly appreciated the generous hospitality of the Church of Cyprus, and they strongly commend the continuing work of the dialogue to the prayers of the faithful.

Paphos, Cyprus, 22 October 2009.

[NotFinishedYet]

Father, TY for posting this. Is this an ongoing effort at reconciliation similar to the Lutheran/RCC talks? And does the EO have other dialogues going on with other religious groups? Blessings, Peggy

[Linsinbigler]

Originally Posted by NotFinishedYet

Father, TY for posting this. Is this an ongoing effort at reconciliation similar to the Lutheran/RCC talks? And does the EO have other dialogues going on with other religious groups? Blessings, Peggy

Yes, there are distinct official dialogues between Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, etc. When it comes to other groups (Methodists, Presbys, Baptists etc.), there is unable to be a dialogue, since many other groups will not recognize any of their membership to "speak for them," which is part of the problem.

[Linsinbigler]

Here is another report on the same dialogue:

The commission issued a joint communiqué reporting on its progress at the end of its 11th plenary session, ended today in Paphos. The document in question is titled "The Role of the Bishop of Rome in the Communion of the Church in the First Millennium."

The document is based on a draft prepared by an Orthodox-Catholic committee, which met in Crete last year. At present, the commission is reflecting on the role of the Bishop of Rome in the communion of the Church in the first millennium -- before the Great Schism of 1054.

The current work of the commission responds to the appeal made by Pope John Paul II in his 1995 encyclical "Ut Unum Sint" on the "ecumenical commitment," in which he proposed "finding a way to exercise the primacy that, without giving up in any way what is essential to its mission, opens to a new situation."

This is possible, he added, as "for a millennium Christians were united by the fraternal communion of faith and sacramental life, the See of Rome being, by common consent, the moderator when disagreements arose among them on matters of faith or discipline."

John Paul II himself invited both sides to seek "naturally together, the ways with which this ministry can carry out a service of faith and love recognized by one another."

Still working

"During this plenary meeting, the Commission analyzed with great care and amended the draft of the Mixed Coordination Committee, and decided to complete its work on the text next year, calling a new meeting of the Mixed Commission," the communiqué reported.

The meeting was attended by 20 Catholic members; all Orthodox Churches were represented, with the exception of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria.

The commission worked under the guidance of two co-presidents: the Catholic representative was Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; and the Orthodox representative was Metropolitan Ioannis Zizioulas of Pergamum.

On Saturday, the co-presidents and other participants, among whom was Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, were received in the presidential palace by Demitris Christofias, president of Cyprus, who placed his hope "in this important dialogue for a world still divided."

The president "expressed his best wishes for progress in communion between the two Churches in the future," the communiqué reported.

Protests of radical Orthodox opposed to dialogue with the Catholic Church interrupted the work of the weeklong meeting. The country's police arrested four citizens and two monks of the monastery of Stavrovunio, confirmed Amen.gr.

The Orthodox representatives called the protests "totally unjustifiable and unacceptable, as they present false information which creates confusion," the communiqué stated. "All the Orthodox members of the commission re-affirmed that the dialogue continues with the decision of all the Orthodox Churches and advances with fidelity to the truth and to the Tradition of the Church."

The mixed commission was established by John Paul II and Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I in Istanbul on Nov. 30, 1979, on the feast of St. Andrew (Patron of the Church of Constantinople).

[NotFinishedYet]

Originally Posted by Linsinbigler

Yes, there are distinct official dialogues between Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, etc. When it comes to other groups (Methodists, Presbys, Baptists etc.), there is unable to be a dialogue, since many other groups will not recognize any of their membership to "speak for them," which is part of the problem.

It's too bad that our religious organizations can't break through this and find a way to dialogue with each other. Certainly I understand that the RCC and EO have a different perspective as to "joining back together" and desiring to see the reformers to return to their folds, but I would think it advantageous to all to be able to even sit at the table and begin discussions on what does join us.

[thequestioner]

Originally Posted by NotFinishedYet

It's too bad that our religious organizations can't break through this and find a way to dialogue with each other. Certainly I understand that the RCC and EO have a different perspective as to "joining back together" and desiring to see the reformers to return to their folds, but I would think it advantageous to all to be able to even sit at the table and begin discussions on what does join us.

I agree, my best friend is Atheist but we still hang out all the time and even talk about religion and why he feels as he feels and stuff, I think i'm getting through to him though because it is getting to the point where he doesn't just have an automatic response like he used to but he really thinks about it. It's really awesome. The same story with another friend, He is baptist and I am roman catholic, we still hang out and talk about everything, we run into religion like every other week and we have good conversations about it. He is strong in his belief and I respect him for that. I'm only 16 so if me and my friends who are all under 20 can do this and can be respectful about it then why has it taken so long for all the adults to get to this point? It is really awesome though to hear that there is open dialogue between the different branches of Christianity! Thank you so much for adding the dialogue!

[SolaVerbumDei]

Originally Posted by Linsinbigler

Here is another report on the same dialogue:

The commission issued a joint communiqué reporting on its progress at the end of its 11th plenary session, ended today in Paphos. The document in question is titled "The Role of the Bishop of Rome in the Communion of the Church in the First Millennium."

The document is based on a draft prepared by an Orthodox-Catholic committee, which met in Crete last year. At present, the commission is reflecting on the role of the Bishop of Rome in the communion of the Church in the first millennium -- before the Great Schism of 1054.

The current work of the commission responds to the appeal made by Pope John Paul II in his 1995 encyclical "Ut Unum Sint" on the "ecumenical commitment," in which he proposed "finding a way to exercise the primacy that, without giving up in any way what is essential to its mission, opens to a new situation."

This is possible, he added, as "for a millennium Christians were united by the fraternal communion of faith and sacramental life, the See of Rome being, by common consent, the moderator when disagreements arose among them on matters of faith or discipline."

John Paul II himself invited both sides to seek "naturally together, the ways with which this ministry can carry out a service of faith and love recognized by one another."

Still working

"During this plenary meeting, the Commission analyzed with great care and amended the draft of the Mixed Coordination Committee, and decided to complete its work on the text next year, calling a new meeting of the Mixed Commission," the communiqué reported.

The meeting was attended by 20 Catholic members; all Orthodox Churches were represented, with the exception of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria.

The commission worked under the guidance of two co-presidents: the Catholic representative was Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; and the Orthodox representative was Metropolitan Ioannis Zizioulas of Pergamum.

On Saturday, the co-presidents and other participants, among whom was Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, were received in the presidential palace by Demitris Christofias, president of Cyprus, who placed his hope "in this important dialogue for a world still divided."

The president "expressed his best wishes for progress in communion between the two Churches in the future," the communiqué reported.

Protests of radical Orthodox opposed to dialogue with the Catholic Church interrupted the work of the weeklong meeting. The country's police arrested four citizens and two monks of the monastery of Stavrovunio, confirmed Amen.gr.

The Orthodox representatives called the protests "totally unjustifiable and unacceptable, as they present false information which creates confusion," the communiqué stated. "All the Orthodox members of the commission re-affirmed that the dialogue continues with the decision of all the Orthodox Churches and advances with fidelity to the truth and to the Tradition of the Church."

The mixed commission was established by John Paul II and Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I in Istanbul on Nov. 30, 1979, on the feast of St. Andrew (Patron of the Church of Constantinople).

May God continue to bless these official dialogues and restore the unity of the Church as I am sure we all desire.

[Olsen]

Father Harry and SolaVerbumDei,

Here's a thought: the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope should jointly convene an ecumenical council whose ultimate utterance will be jointly endorsed on a wide variety of dogmatic issues with the intent of reunifying those two great segments of the Body of Christ. The Pope in anticipation of such a council would agree to take no unilateral action and the Patriarch of Constantinople would do precisely the same thing. Merely agreeing to withhold the exercise of a prerogative would sacrifice nothing regarding its legitimacy i.e. the Papal position that unilateral action could be taken. My previous dialogues with Sola, regarding magistrium would in no way impede implementing the idea. Your thoughts?

[SolaVerbumDei]

Originally Posted by Olsen

Father Harry and SolaVerbumDei,

Here's a thought: the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope should jointly convene an ecumenical council whose ultimate utterance will be jointly endorsed on a wide variety of dogmatic issues with the intent of reunifying those two great segments of the Body of Christ. The Pope in anticipation of such a council would agree to take no unilateral action and the Patriarch of Constantinople would do precisely the same thing. Merely agreeing to withhold the exercise of a prerogative would sacrifice nothing regarding its legitimacy i.e. the Papal position that unilateral action could be taken. My previous dialogues with Sola, regarding magistrium would in no way impede implementing the idea. Your thoughts?

I need to think about that very carefully. I am not initially opposed to this at all. However, the last thing you want is to convene an ecumenical council and it arrives to no decision at all, ends up in bickering or offers meaningless declarations.

Similarly, the Patriarch, I think, cannot anyway decide for the varied Orthodox patriarchates but only for his own; I may be incorrect on that. Thus, in effect, the Orthodox would not be conceding much if that is the case!

But you may be right. Maybe a bold move can help.I'll think more about this.

[BayouRat]

Originally Posted by SolaVerbumDei

Similarly, the Patriarch, I think, cannot anyway decide for the varied Orthodox patriarchates but only for his own; I may be incorrect on that. Thus, in effect, the Orthodox would not be conceding much if that is the case!
.

I think this is the case. The Patriarch of Constantinople holds the position of First among Equals, not supremacy, as held by the early church fathers. He alone can't decide. I think any decisions such of these has to be of all Patriarchs as they provide witness of each see. While it is ultimately the sole decision of the Pope of Rome, it's not the case in the Orthodox Church. That is my understanding, Fr. Linsinbigler can surely confirm or correct me.

In Christ.