Catholics and Orthodox seek consensus over synodality
document
(Vatican Radio) Catholic and
Orthodox theologians are meeting in the Italian town of Chieti for the 14th
plenary session of their international dialogue commission. The meeting
from September 15th to 22nd brings together two representatives from each of
the fourteen Orthodox Churches, alongside 28 Catholic participants, under the
shared presidency of Cardinal Kurt Koch from the Pontifical Council for the
Promotion of Christian Unity and Archbishop Job of Telmessos from the
Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The meeting will focus on
discussion of 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”. Participants will also share moments of prayer together
with local Christian communities, including a Mass in the cathedral of San
Giustino in Chieti on Saturday and a Divine Liturgy at the shrine of the Holy
Face in Manoppello on Sunday.
To find out more about the
meeting, Philippa Hitchen spoke to Mgr Andrea Palmieri, undersecretary of the
Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. He noted that the
issue of synodality and primacy is “one of the most delicate questions” in the
relationship between Catholics and Orthodox. He says participants hope to
arrive at a consensus that will enable them to publish a new document since the
last publication was the Ravenna document which followed the plenary session of
2007.
Listen:
Commenting on the recent
pan-Orthodox Council which took place in Crete, Mgr Palmieri noted that the ten
Churches taking part in that encounter approved a document on Orthodox
relations with other Christians. The consensus among those Orthodox Churches,
he said, opens up new horizons and “demonstrates the will of Orthodox Church to
continue the theological dialogue, not just with the Catholic Church but also
with other Churches and Christian communities”.
Speaking of the encounter in
Cuba last February between Pope Francis and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch
Kirill, Mgr Palmieri said all such meetings and exchanges between Church
leaders provide a positive context within which theologians can advance their
dialogue. He also pointed to the historic encounter last April between Pope
Francis, Patriarch Bartholomew and the Archbishop of Athens Hieronymus on the
Greek island of Lesbos.
The theological dialogues, he
stressed, are not simply academic discussions, separated from the life of the
Church but rather they are concerned with the very heart of the Church’s life.
The themes of synodality and primacy, he said, are at the centre of attention
right now for both Catholics and Orthodox, as they explore what it means to
exercise one in relation to the other. Discussing these themes, he said,
means thinking together about ways in which a reconciled Church can better
serve the mission of the Church to bring the Gospel to all people.
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