8,921
edits
Changes
→Era of Dialogue: 2001;2006;links;
*1990 The Soviet Union and Holy See established official relations 15 March 1990.
*1993 Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Theological Commission meets in Balamand, Lebanon, issuing common document ''"Uniatism: Method of Union of the Past, and Present. Search for Full Communion"'' (the "[[Balamand document]]").
*1995 Pope [[John Paul II ]] issues ''[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_02051995_orientale-lumen_en.html Orientale Lumen]'' ("Light from the East"), encouraging East-West union.
*1997 Beginning of the annual series of [http://www.olconference.com/ Orientale Lumen Conferences], a grassroots movement among lay persons and clergy providing a common forum for Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholics and Roman Catholics to meet and learn about eachother's traditions; "Orientale Lumen I" is held in Washington D.C.
*2000 Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Theological Commission meets in Baltimore, but is suspended after an acrimonious meeting, in particular due to the issues of [[w:Primacy of the Roman Pontiff|papal primacy]] and the role of [[Eastern Catholic Churches]], with the Commission not resuming again for six years.
*2001 Pope [[John Paul II ]] apologizes to Orthodox for [[Fourth Crusade]], on the first trip to Greece by a Pope since AD 710; a day earlier some 1,000 Orthodox conservatives took to the streets to denounce his visit.
*2002 Patr. [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople]] and Pope [[John Paul II]] co-sign Venice Declaration of Environmental Ethics; problem of Vatican [[proselytism]] is highlighted in its decision to upgrade its four [[w:Apostolic Administrator|Apostolic Administrations]] in Moscow, Saratov, Novosibirsk and Irkutsk to fully fledged Diocese status, and elevate the former Apostolic Administrator, Msgr. [[w:Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz (archbishop)|Tadeusz Kondrusiwicz]], to Metr.-Abp. of Moscow, drawing a storm of protest from Patr. [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] and the Holy Synod of Russia who described the move as "unfriendly" claiming the [[Roman Catholic Church]] saw Russia as a field for missionary activity.<ref>
Greg Watts. ''[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article1019375.ece Russia and Rome Rethink Relations].'' [[w:The Sunday Times|The Sunday Times]]. February 14, 2004.</ref><ref group="note">In his first interview with Western journalists since 2002, Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] reiterated Orthodox complaints against Catholics. "Unfortunately relations are not at their best today because the [[proselytism|proselytising]] activity of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] is being carried out in both Russia and in CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries. Many missionary orders work in Russia today, especially in the shelters and orphanages, where children who have been [[Baptism|baptised]] in Orthodoxy are being converted to Catholicism." Deep wounds have been inflicted by [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Uniate Catholics]] in the western area of Ukraine, he added. (Greg Watts. ''[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article1019375.ece Russia and Rome Rethink Relations].'' [[w:The Sunday Times|The Sunday Times]]. February 14, 2004.)</ref><ref group="note">"Orthodox leaders have always complained bitterly about the various Eastern Rite churches, which follow many Orthodox traditions but are loyal to the Vatican. They are widely perceived as Vatican infiltrators trying [[Proselytism|to lure away Orthodox followers]] and erode Orthodox churches." (Brian Murphy. ''Tale of two Europes: Political unity advances while ancient religious rifts persist.'' [[w:Times-Colonist|Times-Colonist]]. January 25, 2003. p.25.)</ref>
*2004 Return of relics of Ss. [[John Chrysostom]] and [[Gregory the Theologian]] to Constantinople from Rome (after having been stolen by Crusaders); the [http://www.olconference.com/OL_PastConEE1.html Orientale Lumen EuroEast I] conference is held in Istanbul, May 10-13, 2004.<ref group="note">This was the 11th of a series of Orientale Lumen Conferences, since they began in 1997. ''Orientale Lumen EuroEast I'' was jointly announced by the [[Church of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople]], the [[w:Pontifical Oriental Institute|Pontifical Oriental Institute]], the [http://orientale-lumen.blogspot.com/ Catholic and Orthodox Society of St. John Chrysostom], and [http://ecpubs.com/ Eastern Christian Publications]. The thematic focus of the 80 participants of [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3236/is_2_41/ai_n29153469/?tag=content;col1 Orientale Lumen Euro-East I] was ''"Liturgy as the Foundation of Dialogue."'' The meeting transpired over the anniversary of the founding of Constantinople on May 11,330 A.D.</ref>
*2005 Major controversy in Ukraine involving the almost exclusively western Ukraine-based [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Uniate]] Greek Catholic Church moving its administrative centre on from Lviv to Kiev, constructing a large cathedral there, and its plans to establish a patriarchate, criticized by the Orthodox [[Church of Ukraine]] and other Orthodox.
*2006 Pope Benedict XVI drops title ''Patriarch of the West'';<ref>''"[http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/general-docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20060322_patriarca-occidente_fr.html Communiqué concernant la suppression du titre «Patriarche d’Occident» dans l'Annuaire pontifical 2006]".'' Vatican.va. Retrieved 2010-09-26.</ref><ref group="note">From 1863 until 2005, the ''Annuario Pontificio'' included also the title "Patriarch of the West". This title was first used by [[w:Pope Theodore I|Pope Theodore I]] in 642, and was only used occasionally. Indeed, it did not begin to appear in the pontifical yearbook until 1863. On 22 March 2006, the Vatican released a statement explaining this omission on the grounds of expressing a "historical and theological reality" and of "being useful to ecumenical dialogue". The title Patriarch of the West symbolized the pope's special relationship with, and jurisdiction over, the Latin Church—and the omission of the title neither symbolizes in any way a change in this relationship, nor distorts the relationship between the Holy See and the Eastern Churches, as solemnly proclaimed by the Second Vatican Council.</ref> Abp. [[Christodoulos (Paraskevaides) of Athens]] visits Vatican, the first head of the [[Church of Greece]] to visit the Vatican, reciprocating the Pope's visit to Greece in 2001, and signing a ''[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/2001/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20010504_joint-declaration_en.html Joint Declaration on the importance of the Christian roots of Europe]'' and protecting fundamental human rights; the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox]] and [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] Churches confronted [[w:Secular humanism|Secular Humanism]] at the conference ''"[http://www.pro-oriente.at/?site=ps20060511124020 Giving a Soul to Europe]"'' (Vienna, May 3-5, 2006),<ref group="note">The conference was organized jointly by the [[w:Pontifical Council for Culture|Pontifical Council for Culture]] and the [http://www.mospat.ru/en/department/today/ Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate].</ref> discussing the challenges facing Christianity, specifically materialism, consumerism, agnosticism, secularism and relativism, all based on liberal humanist ideology, constituting a real threat to Christianity today.;<ref group="note">From the perspective of the Church [[w:Secular humanism|Secular Humanism]] is defined as a religious philosophical worldview based on [[atheism]], [[w:Naturalism (philosophy)|naturalism]], [[evolution]], and [[w:Moral relativism|ethical relativism]], attempting to function as a civilized society with the total exclusion of [[God]] and His moral principles. At the conference Bishop [[Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Vienna|Hilarion Alfeyev]] called in most resolute terms for '''an institutionalized Orthodox-Catholic alliance''', without which, he said, it would not be possible to defend traditional values in Europe: ''"What we are witnessing is the final attack of militant secularism on the remains of Christian civilization in Europe."'' Note that at its 50th anniversary World Humanist Congress in 2002, the [[w:International Humanist and Ethical Union|International Humanist and Ethical Union]] (IHEU) published its ''"[[w:Amsterdam Declaration|Amsterdam Declaration]]",'' the defining statement of worldwide secular Humanism, embracing Humanist, atheist, rationalist, secular, skeptic, Ethical Culture, freethought and similar organisations worldwide.</ref> Pope [[Benedict XVI]] met with Greek Orthodox Seminarians from the [[Apostoliki Diakonia]] theology college in Greece who were visiting Rome, urging them to confront the challenges that threaten the faith by working to unify all Christians.
*2007 Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Commission meets in Ravenna, Italy, 10th plenary, led by co-presidents Cardinal [[w:Walter Kasper|Walter Kasper]] and Metr. [[John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon]], agreeing upon a joint document consisting of 46 articles providing an ecclesiastical road map in discussing union ("[http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/ch_orthodox_docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20071013_documento-ravenna_en.html Ravenna Document]");<ref>Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent and Paul Bompard in Rome. ''[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2880038.ece Vatican joins historic talks to end 950-year rift with Orthodox church].'' [[w:The Sunday Times|The Sunday Times]]. November 16, 2007.</ref><ref>Ian Fisher. ''[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/world/europe/15briefs-orthodox.html Vatican City: Catholic-Orthodox Accord on Papal Primacy].'' [[w:The New York Times|NY Times]]. November 15, 2007. A10.</ref> Russian delegation walks out of Ravenna talks in protest of presence of Estonian delegation ([[Church of Constantinople|EP]]); the Vatican issued a 16-page document prepared by the ''[[w:Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith|Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]]'', restating its belief that the Catholic Church is the only true church of Jesus Christ, also stating that although Orthodox churches are true churches, they are defective because they do not recognize the [[w:Papal supremacy|primacy of the Pope]];<ref>''[http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/07/10/vatican-church.html Catholic Church only true church, Vatican says].'' CBC News. Tuesday, July 10, 2007.</ref> [http://www.olconference.com/OL_PastCon_EE_II.html Orientale Lumen EuroEast II] conference, May, 2007 in Istanbul.
*2009 Led by three senior archbishops, a group of Orthodox clergy in Greece published a manifesto, ''[http://www.impantokratoros.gr/FA9AF77F.en.aspx A Confession of Faith Against Ecumenism],'' pledging to resist all ecumenical ties with Roman Catholics and Protestants, amongst its signatories including six metropolitans, as well as 49 archimandrites, 22 hieromonks, and 30 nuns and abbesses, as well as many other priests and church elders; Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Commission meets in Paphos, Cyprus, 11th plenary, studying the theme ''"The Role of the Bishop of Rome in the Communion of the Church in the First Millennium;"'' first-ever Russian Orthodox church is consecrated in Rome; Russia and the Holy See upgraded their diplomatic relations to full ambassadorial relations in 2009, following improvements in the working relationship between the Holy See and the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow.<ref>''[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8394079.stm Russia and the Vatican establish full diplomatic ties].'' BBC News. 20:59 GMT, Thursday, 3 December 2009.</ref>