The eleventh meeting of the Joint
International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church
and the Roman Catholic Church took place in Paphos, Cyprus, a city with a rich
history, having received three Apostles, Paul, Barnabas and Mark. The meeting
took place from 16-23 October 2009, generously and fraternally hosted by the
Orthodox Church of Cyprus.
Twenty Catholic members were
present; several more were unable to attend. All the Orthodox Churches, with
the exception of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria, were represented, namely the
Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Patriarchate of
Antioch, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Patriarchate of Moscow, the
Patriarchate of Serbia, the Patriarchate of Romania, the Patriarchate of
Georgia, the Church of Cyprus, the Church of Greece, the Church of Poland, the
Church of Albania and the Church of Czech Lands and Slovakia.
The Commission worked under the
direction of its two co-presidents, Cardinal Walter Kasper and Metropolitan
John of Pergamon, helped by the two co-secretaries, Metropolitan Gennadios of
Sassima (Ecumenical Patriarchate) and Monsignor Eleuterio F. Fortino
(Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity).
At the opening session on Saturday, 17
October, the Commission was welcomed very warmly by the host, Metropolitan
Georgios of Paphos, who emphasized the importance of holding the meeting in
this apostolic city, famous in the history not only of this island but of the
whole of Christianity.
On Saturday, 17 October, the
Catholic members celebrated the Eucharist in the Roman Catholic Church of the
Holy Cross, Nicosia, presided over by Cardinal Walter Kasper, in the presence
of the Orthodox members. In his homily he expressed the gratitude of the
Catholic Delegation to the Church of Cyprus and especially to Metropolitan
Georgios of Paphos for his warm hospitality, and stressed that the spirit of
humility and love should prevail in the work of our Joint Commission,
emphasizing the words of the Lord: (Whoever would be first among you shall make
himself slave of all) (Mark 10:44). On Sunday, 18 October, the Orthodox members
celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Church of Phaneromeni, Nicosia, presided
over by His Beatitude the Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos, in the presence
of the Catholic members. In addressing those present, Archbishop Chrysostomos
stated: (Together with all the other Orthodox Churches, we underline our firm
insistence on the established basic poles of the ecclesiastical conscience of
the first thousand years of the historical life of the Church. The Ecumenical
Councils and the great Fathers of the first millennium are a guarantee of the
authentic theological interpretation of the sacrament of the divine economy in
Christ, and of its genuine experience by the faithful in the sacrament of the
Church, which, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, extends the continuous
and living presence of Jesus Christ in the world, until the end of time.)
Afterwards, the co-presidents, Cardinal
Walter Kasper and Metropolitan John of Pergamon, together with Metropolitan
Gennadios of Sassima, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Metropolitan Vasilios of
Constantia-Famagusta and Archbishop Roland Minnerath, were welcomed at the
Presidential Palace by the President of Cyprus, His Excellency Dimitris
Christofias, who expressed his hope for the continuation of this important
dialogue in a world still divided, like Cyprus itself, and expressed his good
wishes for progress towards communion between the two Churches in the future.
The members of the Commission visited
the Byzantine Museum, and had an official lunch at the Archbishopric, offered
by H. B. Archbishop Chrysostomos.
During the afternoon, the members
paid a visit to the Metochion of Kykkos Monastery and were welcomed very warmly
by the Abbot, Metropolitan Nikiphoros of Kykkos and Tylliria, and by
Metropolitan Isaias of Tamassos and Orini. Later in the evening, Metropolitan
Vasilios of Constantia-Famagusta hosted an official dinner at his
Metropolitanate in Paralimni. During the course of the week, the members also
visited the Monastery of St. Neophytos and the archaeological sites of St. Paul
in Paphos.
On the first day of the meeting,
as is customary, the Roman Catholic and Orthodox members met separately to
coordinate their work. The Orthodox meeting discussed among other things the
negative reactions to the Dialogue by certain Orthodox circles, and unanimously
considered them as totally unfounded and unacceptable, providing false and
misleading information. All Orthodox members of the Commission reaffirmed that
the Dialogue continues with the decision of all the Orthodox Churches and is
pursued with faithfulness to the Truth and the Tradition of the Church. The
Catholic meeting considered the draft text as a good basis for our work and
confirmed the intention to continue the Dialogue with confidence and reciprocal
trust, in obedience to the will of the Lord.
As was decided at the last
plenary session in Ravenna, 2007, the Commission studied the theme (The Role of
the Bishop of Rome in the Communion of the Church in the First Millennium), on
the basis of a draft text prepared by the Joint Coordinating Committee, which
met in Elounda, Crete, Greece last year. During this plenary meeting, the
Commission carefully considered and amended the draft text of the Joint
Coordinating Committee, and decided to complete its work on the text next year,
by convening a further meeting of the Joint Commission. No final text has been
decided upon, and any text that may be circulated is not valid.
It was decided that the 12th plenary
meeting will be hosted by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, in Vienna, Austria,
from 20-27 September 2010.
The eleventh plenary session
ended with Orthodox Vespers at St. Theodoros Cathedral in Paphos, followed by a
reception offered by Metropolitan Georgios.
The meeting of the Joint
Commission was marked by a spirit of friendship and trustful collaboration. The
members of the Commission greatly appreciated the generous hospitality of the
Church of Cyprus, and they strongly commend the continuing work of the dialogue
to the prayers of the faithful.
