14th
plenary session of Joint International Commission for Theological
Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church
The meeting of the 14th
plenary session of Joint International Commission for Theological
Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church is
taking place in Chieti (Italy) from September 15 to 22, 2016. It gathers
two representatives from each of the fourteen Orthodox Autocephalous
Churches, alongside 28 Catholic participants. All the Orthodox
Autocephalous Churches are present, with the exception of the Holy
Church of Bulgaria. The meeting is chaired by its two co-presidents:
Cardinal Kurt Koch from the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of
Christian Unity and Archbishop Job of Telmessos from the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, in replacement of Metropolitan John of Pergamon who has
retired from the dialogue.
The Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between
the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church exists since 1980. The
previous plenary meeting took place in Amman in 2014. The actual
meeting focuses its discussion on a draft document, drawn up at the
previous two sessions, entitled “Towards a common understanding of
Synodality and Primacy in service to the Unity of the Church”, prepared
at a meeting in Rome in 2015.
During the plenary session, participants also shared moments of
prayer together with local Christian communities. On Saturday, September
17, a Roman Catholic Mass was celebrated in the cathedral of San
Giustino in Chieti, presided by Cardinal Kurt Koch who preached. On
Sunday, September 18, an Orthodox Divine Liturgy was served at the
shrine of the Holy Face in Manoppell, presided by Archbishop Job of
Telmessos who delivered the homily.