Orthodox Church seeks impetus to consensus with Greek-Catholic

«The stolen Churches, or bridges to Orthodoxy?» — this was the topic of a ecumenical conference, held on 19-21 July 2019 at the Academy of the diocese Rottenburg-Stuttgart (Germany), which set a goal to find new impulses for dialogue between the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches.

Co-organizers of the conference were Georgetown University (Washington DC) and Volos Greek Theological Academy in collaboration with key theologians from the countries of the European Union, as well as the USA, Canada, Ukraine and Russia. During the two and a half days of the conference, theologians discussed the following topics: ecclesiological models of Church unity, synodality and conciliarity of the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, missionary and sacramental nature of the Church, the role of women in the Church; as well as a number of topics related to the Liturgy and Church law as special components of the identity of the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches.

All conditions to facilitate communication between Orthodox and Greek Catholics were created at the conference. At the same time, majority of participants expressed the idea that one should simply recognize the new ecclesiastical reality and look for new paradigms for its theological-ecclesiastical understanding, especially in the light of the document of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.

In this context, two important reports were presented by archpriest Ihor Shaban, Chairman of the UGCC Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and by the Chairman of the Ecumenical Commission of the Diocese of Paris, fr. Ihor Rantsia who spoke about the current relationship between Churches of the Byzantine tradition and about the concept of canonical territory and the Eastern Catholic Church.

It is interesting, that the overwhelming majority of participants expressed the opinion that Churches should try to recognize the new ecclesiological reality and look for common paradigms for its theological and ecclesiological understanding. In addition, the conference participants came to a consensus that the Eastern Catholic Churches are neither stolen Churches nor bridges to Orthodoxy. Their identity is a complex phenomenon that can be understood in their direct dialogue with the Orthodox Churches in the spirit of mutual acceptance through reconciliation and forgiveness.

Also, the conference program included two liturgies – the Greek Catholic and Orthodox, which was attended by all participants having the opportunity to visually see that they share a common liturgical heritage.

UGCC Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs

08.08.2019, 818 просмотров.