Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches

Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches

The division between the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church can be traced to the years following the Council of Chalcedon (451) whose Christological teaching the Oriental Orthodox did not accept. Attempts were made to reconcile with some of the Oriental Orthodox Churches at the Council of Florence (1438-1445), but none of these provided a lasting solution. Relations began to improve dramatically, however, after the Catholic Church's Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). There were several important exchanges of visits between Popes and heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and semi-official theological conversations sponsored by the Pro Oriente Foundation in Vienna. This process of reconciliation led to the establishment of an official dialogue between the Catholic and Oriental Orthodox Churches in 2003.

Contents

Setting up the Dialogue

In 2003 a joint committee to prepare for the establishment of an international dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches was set up and met in Rome. At this meeting it was announced that the Co-Chairmen of the new International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches would be Metropolitan Bishoy of Damiette, General Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The Preparatory Committee also established rules of membership in the dialogue, a work plan and procedures, as well as a timetable for the Joint Commission’s work. Altogether seven Oriental Orthodox Churches are participating in the dialogue. These are the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Catholicossate of Etchmiadzin, the Armenian Catholicossate of Cilicia, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the Eritrean Orthodox Church, and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. In 2010 Cardinal Kurt Koch succeeded Cardinal Walter Kasper as Catholic Co-Chairman of the dialogue.

Progress of the Dialogue

The first plenary meeting of the Joint Commission took place in Cairo in January 2004, and it has been meeting annually since that time. In January 2009, at its sixth meeting, the Commission finalized its first agreed statement, entitled “Nature, Constitution, and Mission of the Church.” It treats some fundamental themes in ecclesiology such as the relationship between the Trinity and the Church, attributes of the Church, Bishops in Apostolic Succession, synodality and primacies in the Church, and the Church’s mission. The text also outlines a number of areas that need further study, and will be considered at a future stage of the dialogue. At its seventh meeting in January 2010, the commission focused on the ways in which the full communion that existed between the Catholic and Oriental Orthodox churches up to the mid-fifth century was expressed. This study continued at the eighth meeting of the commission, which took place in Rome January 25 to 28, 2011.

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