Communique of Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church of the 11th Plenary Session
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 the Mother of God
(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.
Paphos, Cyprus, 22 October 2009.
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