8,921
edits
Changes
→Era of Dialogue: 2010
*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> the [[North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation]] issues ''"[http://www.usccb.org/seia/RavennaResponse.pdf A Common Response]"'' to the Ravenna Document of 2007, identifying a number of criticisms.
*2010 Patr. [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew]] firmly addressed the opponents of the Orthodox theological dialogues in the ''[http://www.ec-patr.org/docdisplay.php?lang=gr&id=1168&tla=en Patriarchal and Synodal Encyclical on the Sunday of Orthodoxy],'' signed by 12 Bishops in addition to the Ecumenical Patriarch;<ref group="note">"...These dialogues, together with every effort for peaceful and fraternal relations of the Orthodox Church with other Christians, are unfortunately challenged today in an unacceptably fanatical way – at least by the standards of a genuinely Orthodox ethos – by certain circles that exclusively claim for themselves the title of zealot and defender of Orthodoxy. As if all the Patriarchs and Sacred Synods of the Orthodox Churches throughout the world, who unanimously decided on and continue to support these dialogues, were not Orthodox. Yet, these opponents of every effort for the restoration of unity among Christians raise themselves above Episcopal Synods of the Church to the dangerous point of creating schisms within the Church...moreover, union is not decided by theological commissions but by Church Synods...Beloved children in the Lord, Orthodoxy has no need of either fanaticism or bigotry to protect itself. Whoever believes that Orthodoxy has the truth does not fear dialogue, because truth has never been endangered by dialogue..." (''[http://www.ec-patr.org/docdisplay.php?lang=gr&id=1168&tla=en Patriarchal and Synodal Encyclical on the Sunday of Orthodoxy],'' February 21, 2010.)</ref> first ever visit by a pope to Cyprus, as Pope Benedict went on a sensitive three-day day visit to the divided island; Cardinal Walter Kasper stated that there can be no full integration of eastern and western Europe without ecumenical dialogue and the contribution of the eastern European Orthodox churches; at the ''“[http://www.fordham.edu/mvst/conference10/orthodox/index.html Orthodox Constructions of the West]”'' conference at Fordham University (June 28-30), keynote speaker Fr. Robert F. Taft, (S.J) delivered the address ''"Perceptions and Realities in Orthodox-Catholic Relations Today,"'' calling on Catholic and Orthodox Churches to Restore Communion;<ref group="note">Eastern-rite Jesuit scholar Rev. Robert Taft made a similar appeal for union when he delivered the annual Kelly Lecture at the University of Toronto's St. Michael's College in 2000. (''Jesuit slams Catholic-Orthodox rift.'' [[w:Times-Colonist|Victoria Times Colonist]]. December 16, 2000. A12.)</ref> Pope [[Benedict XVI]] proclaims the [[w:Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation|Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation]]; [http://www.olconference.com/OL_FutCon_EuroEast_III Orientale Lumen EuroEast III] conference, July 5-8, 2010 in Istanbul; Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Commission meets in Vienna, Austria, 12th plenary, studying the theme ''"The Role of the Bishop of Rome in the Communion of the Church in the First Millennium;"'' [[North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation]] meets in Washington DC, issuing two statements: ''[http://www.scoba.us/articles/2855.html Steps Towards A Reunited Church: A Sketch Of An Orthodox-Catholic Vision For The Future].,''<ref>The [[North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation]]. ''[http://www.scoba.us/articles/2855.html Steps Towards A Reunited Church: A Sketch Of An Orthodox-Catholic Vision For The Future].'' Georgetown University, Washington, DC. October 2, 2010.</ref> and ''[http://www.scoba.us/articles/2856.html Celebrating Easter/Pascha Together].''<ref>The [[North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation]]. ''[http://www.scoba.us/articles/2856.html Celebrating Easter/Pascha Together].'' Georgetown University, Washington, DC. October 1, 2010.</ref> Croatian Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zadar gives cherished relic of St. [[Simeon the God-receiver|Simeon]] to the [[Church of Jerusalem|Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem]].<ref group="note">The mummified body of St. [[Simeon the God-receiver|Simeon]] was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople in the 13th century, and was apparently destined for Venice when a storm on the Adriatic Sea forced the ship off course toward what is now Croatia. The saint’s remains have been venerated in Zadar since that time. In 2007, during a pilgrimage to the [[Holy Land]], Archbishop Ivan Prendja of Zadar met with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch [[Theophilus III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem|Theophilus III of Jerusalem]], and agreed to provide a relic of St. Simeon to be venerated in an Orthodox monastery dedicated to the saint. Archbishop Prendja died in January of this year, but his successor, Archbishop Zelimir Puljic, carried out his promise in a ceremony in Zadak, turning over the relic to representatives of the Orthodox patriarchate. (''[http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=7917 Croatian archdiocese gives cherished relic to Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem].'' CatholicCulture.org. October 13, 2010).</ref>
==See also==
