Διάλογο μεταξύ της Ορθόδοξης Εκκλησίας και των Ανατολικών Ορθοδόξων Εκκλησιών
Κατά τη διάρκεια της 16ης και 17ης Σεπτεμβρίου, η Παπική κατοικία στο μοναστήρι του St Bishoy, Wadi El-Natroun φιλοξένησε μια διάσκεψη εκπροσώπων των Ορθοδόξων Εκκλησιών σε όλο τον κόσμο, μετά από μια παύση περίπου 34 ετών από την τελευταία συνάντηση το 1990 στην ποντίφικα του αείμνηστου HH Πάπα Shenouda III.
Κατά τη διάρκεια του συνεδρίου, οι συμμετέχοντες συζήτησαν μια σειρά από πίστη και κοινωνικά ζητήματα στους τομείς της εκκλησιαστικής φροντίδας και υπηρεσίας με θέμα «Η αγάπη του Χριστού μας αναγκάζει» (Β ‘Κορ. 5:14).
Οι συμμετέχοντες κάθισαν γύρω από ένα στρογγυλό τραπέζι και οι συζητήσεις έγιναν σε κλίμα αγάπης και πλήρους συνεργασίας.
Κάθε Εκκλησία εκπροσωπήθηκε από δύο μέλη που ήταν από την Κωνσταντινούπολη, την Ελλάδα, τη Βουλγαρία, τη Ρωσία, τη Ρουμανία, την Κύπρο (Πανιερώτατος Μητροπολίτης Κωνσταντίας και Αμμοχώστου κ. Βασίλειος και Θεοφιλέστατος Επίσκοπος Καρπασίας κ. Χριστοφόρος), τα Ιεροσόλυμα, τη Συρία, τον Λίβανο, την Αρμενία, την Πολωνία, την Αίγυπτο, την Ερυθραία και την Αλβανία.
Το συνέδριο άνοιξε με χαιρετισμό από τον Κόπτη Πατριάρχη Θεόδωρο τον Β’ και μήνυμα του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη κ.κ. Βαρθολομαίου, το οποίο ανέγνωσε ο εκπρόσωπός του Σεβασμιώτατος Μητροπολίτης Γέρων Χαλκηδόνος κ. Εμμανουήλ.
Οι παρευρισκόμενοι συμφώνησαν να συνεχίσουν τις συναντήσεις και να ανταλλάξουν επισκέψεις το επόμενο διάστημα, για να στηρίξουν την υπηρεσία των Ορθοδόξων Εκκλησιών και να αντιμετωπίσουν τις κοινωνικές προκλήσεις που επηρεάζουν τη χριστιανική οικογένεια σε κάθε μορφή.
Communiqué
In response to His Holiness Pope Tawadros II Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the
See of St Mark’s invitation for a preparatory meeting of the Orthodox Church and the
Oriental Orthodox Churches “For the love of Christ compels us” (II Corinthians 5:14),
dedicated to the unity of the Orthodox Churches, the representatives of these Churches
met at the Logos Papal Center, situated in the Monastery of Saint Bishoy, Wadi El
Natrun, Egypt, on the 16th -17th of September 2024.
Gathered in the name of the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the members of
the meeting attended a prayer, at the Transfiguration Church, led by His Holiness Pope
Tawadros II, who welcomed everyone with sincere joy and emphasized: “building
relations of love in Christ, deepening our understanding of each other, continuous
dialogue, and relentless prayers would […] take us all to the heart of Our Lord Jesus
Christ,” and that ” we need to have one Orthodox voice built on a mutual view of global
social issues that are forming a great concern now for our churches.”
His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, underlined in his message:
“Our concern for and our dedication to the task of Christian unity […] springing from
a sense of responsibility and from the conviction that mutual understanding and
cooperation are of fundamental importance if we never wish to ‘put an obstacle in the
way of the gospel of Christ,’ (I Cor. 9:12) with the common goal being ‘the ultimate
restoration of unity in true faith and love.’ “
The two co-chairmen of the Joint Commission for the Theological dialogue between
the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, HE Elder Metropolitan
Emmanuel of Chalcedon (Ecumenical Patriarchate) and HE Metropolitan Thomas of
Quosia and Mir (Coptic Orthodox Church) made introductions regarding the previous
stages and achievements of the dialogue, and recommendations for future steps. HE
Metropolitan Emmanuel also recalled the blessed memory of Metropolitan Bishoy of
2
Damietta, former co-chairman, who played a predominant and decisive role together
with his late predecessors Metropolitan Damaskinos of Switzerland and Metropolitan
Chrysostomos of Myra, the first co-chairman, for their tireless efforts for having
advanced rapidly the theological dialogue. Moreover, HE Metropolitan Thomas
pointed out the need for an immediate action towards the implementation of the
agreements of the Dialogue and noted that in our days the voice of the Orthodox faith
can bring hope to the people and restore Christianity in the fragile society of today’s
world.
The representatives of the two Orthodox families met in an atmosphere of Christian
fraternal love in the round table. They recognized the successful steps of the dialogue
while elaborating the concrete measures needed for the restoration of full communion
by considering a ‘Road Map’ previously prepared by the working group of official
delegates in Athens, 24th-25th November 2014. An intense and fruitful discussion took
place. Separate meetings of the families discussed the issues from the perspective of
each family followed by a series of plenary sessions, addressing: the stance of each
Church on the Agreed Statements; how to implement them, how to proceed, and how
to deal together with contemporary challenges, including social and ethical issues,
facing the Orthodox.
Furthermore, with one voice and in faithfulness to our shared theological, biblical and
patristic tradition, all members raised the issue of the crisis surrounding family matters
and anthropological challenges present in today’s secular society. They expressed the
wish, that all Christians may become ambassadors (cf. II Cor 5:20) of Christ’s message
to the modern society, in order to transfigure the world with the light of truth and
wisdom.
Our Church Families view the indissoluble and loving union between a man and a
woman in holy matrimony as a “great mystery” (Eph 5:32), reflecting the relationship
between Christ and the Church, in contrast to certain contemporary approaches to
marriage. From this union arises the family, which is seen as the sole foundation for the
birth and upbringing of children according to the divine plan. Our Churches, therefore,
consider the family a “small Church” and provide it with appropriate pastoral care and
support.
Our Churches categorically reject the justification of same-sex relations within what is
called “absolute human freedom” which causes harm to humanity. Our Churches, while
affirming their complete belief in human rights and freedom, also confirm that the
freedom of the created is not absolute to the point of transgressing and breaking the
commandments of the Creator.
The participants unanimously agreed that: i) the two Joint Sub-Committees on liturgical
and pastoral issues continue their work; ii) the two co-chairmen of the Commission visit
the Primates of the Orthodox Churches and Oriental Orthodox Churches in order to
communicate the positive outcome of the dialogue and to receive their feedback
regarding the signed Agreed Statements and Proposals; iii) a joint website to be created,
containing all the necessary documents of the previous bilateral dialogue at the disposal
of the new members of the Joint Commission to be appointed by their Churches, to
facilitate the decision making process; iv) the two Orthodox families involve all levels
of the clergy, monastics and lay people in the implementation of the dialogue.
3
As 2025 marks the 1700th anniversary of the first ecumenical council of Nicaea, and
Christians around the world will celebrate Pascha at the same date, the representatives
of the two families expressed their wish that all Christians in the whole world celebrate
Pascha following the canonical tradition of Nicaea and the Orthodox Paschalion.
During the last session all participants expressed their sincere gratitude to our Risen
Lord, Jesus Christ, for granting them the gift of being together after a period of internal
reflection and growing interest on the Dialogue and its fruits in all levels of their local
Churches. The participants were grateful to the Coptic Orthodox Church and His
Holiness Pope Tawadros II for their Abrahamic hospitality and hosting the meeting.
See of St Mark’s invitation for a preparatory meeting of the Orthodox Church and the
Oriental Orthodox Churches “For the love of Christ compels us” (II Corinthians 5:14),
dedicated to the unity of the Orthodox Churches, the representatives of these Churches
met at the Logos Papal Center, situated in the Monastery of Saint Bishoy, Wadi El
Natrun, Egypt, on the 16th -17th of September 2024.
Gathered in the name of the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the members of
the meeting attended a prayer, at the Transfiguration Church, led by His Holiness Pope
Tawadros II, who welcomed everyone with sincere joy and emphasized: “building
relations of love in Christ, deepening our understanding of each other, continuous
dialogue, and relentless prayers would […] take us all to the heart of Our Lord Jesus
Christ,” and that ” we need to have one Orthodox voice built on a mutual view of global
social issues that are forming a great concern now for our churches.”
His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, underlined in his message:
“Our concern for and our dedication to the task of Christian unity […] springing from
a sense of responsibility and from the conviction that mutual understanding and
cooperation are of fundamental importance if we never wish to ‘put an obstacle in the
way of the gospel of Christ,’ (I Cor. 9:12) with the common goal being ‘the ultimate
restoration of unity in true faith and love.’ “
The two co-chairmen of the Joint Commission for the Theological dialogue between
the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, HE Elder Metropolitan
Emmanuel of Chalcedon (Ecumenical Patriarchate) and HE Metropolitan Thomas of
Quosia and Mir (Coptic Orthodox Church) made introductions regarding the previous
stages and achievements of the dialogue, and recommendations for future steps. HE
Metropolitan Emmanuel also recalled the blessed memory of Metropolitan Bishoy of
2
Damietta, former co-chairman, who played a predominant and decisive role together
with his late predecessors Metropolitan Damaskinos of Switzerland and Metropolitan
Chrysostomos of Myra, the first co-chairman, for their tireless efforts for having
advanced rapidly the theological dialogue. Moreover, HE Metropolitan Thomas
pointed out the need for an immediate action towards the implementation of the
agreements of the Dialogue and noted that in our days the voice of the Orthodox faith
can bring hope to the people and restore Christianity in the fragile society of today’s
world.
The representatives of the two Orthodox families met in an atmosphere of Christian
fraternal love in the round table. They recognized the successful steps of the dialogue
while elaborating the concrete measures needed for the restoration of full communion
by considering a ‘Road Map’ previously prepared by the working group of official
delegates in Athens, 24th-25th November 2014. An intense and fruitful discussion took
place. Separate meetings of the families discussed the issues from the perspective of
each family followed by a series of plenary sessions, addressing: the stance of each
Church on the Agreed Statements; how to implement them, how to proceed, and how
to deal together with contemporary challenges, including social and ethical issues,
facing the Orthodox.
Furthermore, with one voice and in faithfulness to our shared theological, biblical and
patristic tradition, all members raised the issue of the crisis surrounding family matters
and anthropological challenges present in today’s secular society. They expressed the
wish, that all Christians may become ambassadors (cf. II Cor 5:20) of Christ’s message
to the modern society, in order to transfigure the world with the light of truth and
wisdom.
Our Church Families view the indissoluble and loving union between a man and a
woman in holy matrimony as a “great mystery” (Eph 5:32), reflecting the relationship
between Christ and the Church, in contrast to certain contemporary approaches to
marriage. From this union arises the family, which is seen as the sole foundation for the
birth and upbringing of children according to the divine plan. Our Churches, therefore,
consider the family a “small Church” and provide it with appropriate pastoral care and
support.
Our Churches categorically reject the justification of same-sex relations within what is
called “absolute human freedom” which causes harm to humanity. Our Churches, while
affirming their complete belief in human rights and freedom, also confirm that the
freedom of the created is not absolute to the point of transgressing and breaking the
commandments of the Creator.
The participants unanimously agreed that: i) the two Joint Sub-Committees on liturgical
and pastoral issues continue their work; ii) the two co-chairmen of the Commission visit
the Primates of the Orthodox Churches and Oriental Orthodox Churches in order to
communicate the positive outcome of the dialogue and to receive their feedback
regarding the signed Agreed Statements and Proposals; iii) a joint website to be created,
containing all the necessary documents of the previous bilateral dialogue at the disposal
of the new members of the Joint Commission to be appointed by their Churches, to
facilitate the decision making process; iv) the two Orthodox families involve all levels
of the clergy, monastics and lay people in the implementation of the dialogue.
3
As 2025 marks the 1700th anniversary of the first ecumenical council of Nicaea, and
Christians around the world will celebrate Pascha at the same date, the representatives
of the two families expressed their wish that all Christians in the whole world celebrate
Pascha following the canonical tradition of Nicaea and the Orthodox Paschalion.
During the last session all participants expressed their sincere gratitude to our Risen
Lord, Jesus Christ, for granting them the gift of being together after a period of internal
reflection and growing interest on the Dialogue and its fruits in all levels of their local
Churches. The participants were grateful to the Coptic Orthodox Church and His
Holiness Pope Tawadros II for their Abrahamic hospitality and hosting the meeting.