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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Catholicos of the East presides over Chrism Mass Maundy Thursday

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 courtesy: 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.

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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

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).

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

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