Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church joint commission to meet

PAMPAKUDA, January 29 (Oriental Orthodox Church) - The Eleventh meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches begins in Pampakuda near Kochi, Kerala, India, on Tuesday January 28.

All the Oriental Orthodox Churches, with the exception of the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Church, were represented, namely 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.

The Roman Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches delegations met separately on the morning of Tuesday January 28. The Joint Commission begins its four-day plenary session on Wednesday.

The endeavour of this year’s dialogue is to discuss the relevance of the nature and communion of the united and undivided Apostolic Church that existed till the fifth century A.D., in the present day Churches. The dialogue also seeks to emphasise that communion in worship and sacraments is multi-faceted and multi-layered, hence putting the onus on the Churches to realise this aim.

Seminar papers relating to liturgy and pilgrimage will be presented by eminent scholars such as Metropolitan Anba Bishoy, Fr Shenouda Masher Ishak, Metropolitan George Saliba, Fr B Varghese, Metropolitan Yuhanon Demetrius, Archbishop Yeznik Petrosyan, Fr Shahe Ananyan, Fr Daniel Feleke, Fr Columba Stewart and Fr Bagos Louvain.

The meeting was hosted by His Holiness Baselius Mar Thoma Paulose II, Catholicos–Patriarch of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.

The discussions would conclude on February 2.