Notes from Orthodox-Catholic dialogue in Kyiv

(svots.edu) - On November 3–7, 2009, Dr. Paul Meyendorff, the Father Alexander Schmemann Professor of Liturgical Theology at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, participated in a meeting of the St. Irenaeus Orthodox-Catholic Working Group in Kiev, Ukraine. The group was hosted at the Kievan Monastery of the Caves and the Kiev Theological Academy and was graciously received by Metropolitan Wolodymir of Kiev.

The Working Group, founded in Germany in 2004—a time when the official Orthodox-Catholic international dialogue was at a standstill—is an informal gathering of twenty-four scholars and theologians, equally divided between Roman Catholics and Orthodox. Meeting annually since its inception, the group has recently focused its work on questions related to primacy. This sixth meeting of the group centered on the Vatican I declarations on the infallibility and universal jurisdiction of the Pope, which pose a major stumbling block in the relationship between the two churches.

“A close reading of the conciliar decree in its historical context, however, indicates that the Catholic doctrines regarding infallibility and universal jurisdiction may not be as absolute as they are often understood on both the Catholic and Orthodox sides,” Prof. Meyendorff noted. “A more nuanced re-reading and understanding of these dogmas, therefore, could help to resolve this major obstacle to the rapprochement between Catholics and Orthodox.”
Also while in Kiev, Prof. Meyendorff gave a half-hour interview to the religious TV station "Glas" about Orthodoxy in North America. The next meeting of the group will be held in Magdeburg, Germany, in November 2010.