"Without any doubt, ecclesiology remains in our times the crucial issue for Christian theology in ecumenical perspective." This was one of the conclusions drawn by a week-long consultation in Cyprus at which forty Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox representatives provided a common response to The Nature and Mission of the Church, a 2005 ecumenical text published by the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Ecclesiology, or the theological self-understanding of the church, sets out to define the role of the church, its nature and mission, and in the ecumenical setting to explain issues and difficulties that divide churches from one another.

The inter-Orthodox consultation took place from 2 to 9 March and produced an eleven-page report as well as a communiqué detailing highlights of the discussion. It was held at the invitation of the WCC to facilitate the Orthodox churches' discussion of The Nature and Mission of the Church.

by Sophia Kishkovsky, Ecumenical News International

Diptychs, an arcane liturgical term that describes the order in which Orthodox churches commemorate each other at their services, is one of the tangled issues blocking plans for what could be the first great church council in 1,200 years.

Some Orthodox leaders say the churches need to get together to discuss common issues and speak with one voice on such important topics as bioethics, sexuality and the environment, but differences over arcane church issues such as diptychs and autocephaly (the independent status of Orthodox churches) run deep.

There are about 250 million Orthodox Christians in the world, belonging to 14 or 15 independent Orthodox churches, depending on which church is counting. The Patriarchate of Constantinople, for example, does not recognize the autocephaly (independence) granted by Moscow to the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) in 1970, and does not commemorate the OCA in its diptychs.

Diptychs are not a question of dogma, but they are at the heart of church protocol. A leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church cited its founding in the fifth century in explaining why his church won't back down in its demands for greater recognition.

If the Georgian church agrees to the current ninth place it holds in the diptychs of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, or Ecumenical Patriarchate, and most other Orthodox churches, Metropolitan Theodore of Akhaltsikhe and Tao-Klarjeti told ENInews, "This means that we cross out our entire history. That is why we cannot agree with this under any circumstances."

The Patriarchate of Georgia is sixth in the diptychs of the Russian Orthodox Church, with which it is very close despite overall Georgian-Russian tensions.

Clarification: The major archbishop is the most senior bishop in the Ukrainian Catholic Church worldwide. At times this post has been described as "patriarch" although under current canonical provisions the See of Kyiv-Halych has not been erected as a patriarchate.

[Lviv, Ukraine] Most Reverend Sviatoslav Shevchuk has been elected Major Archbishop at an Electoral Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Lviv/Bruhovitchi 21-24 March 2011, in accord with the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches and the Particular Law of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC).

His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI confirmed and blessed the election of Bishop Sviatoslav according to the decision of the Electoral Synod of Bishops of the UGCC on 23 March.

Since March 2010, Bishop Sviatoslav, 40 years old, has been the Apostolic Administrator of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy (Diocese) of the Protection of the Mother of God in Argentina.

His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the newly elected Head of the UGCC made his profession of faith and promise to carry out faithfully his office in the presence of the bishops of the Electoral Synod.

The ceremonies of the enthronement of His Beatitude Sviatoslav as Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych will take place in Kyiv (Ukraine), on Sunday, 27 March, during the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the patriarchal Sobor of the Holy Resurrection of Christ. This Divine Liturgy beginning at 10:00 AM will bring to completion the Electoral Synod.

Ambassador Raul Estrada Oyuela spoke on the international diplomatic framework on climate change

The accepted axiom is, as the climate changes so the world, too, will change in dramatic and sometimes undesirable ways.

What does this often rapid change mean to Christians whose faith is intertwined with the glory and beauty of God's creation, but challenged when that creation is corrupted and irreversibly altered?

Is the churches' current theological reflection on stewardship and climate change ready for the rapid shifting of winds, weather, and life on earth as we know it and our grandparents knew it?

These questions were enough to prompt a variety of churches in Argentina to explore the "Christian faith and ecology: towards an eco-ecumenical theology" in a recent seminar held 28 - 29 March at the Protestant theological school Instituto Universitario ISEDET in Buenos Aires.

The event was sponsored by ISEDET, the non-governmental Argentina-based Rural Reflection Group and the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) Latin America and Caribbean region and was supported by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the United Church of Canada.

[Anglican.ca] From April 1 to 3, the executive councils of the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) will hold their first joint meeting in Mississauga, Ont. This meeting of the ACC's Council of General Synod and the ELCIC's National Church Council marks an important step in deepening the full communion relationship between the two churches.

Working under the theme "Growing Together," the councils will meet together for Bible study, Eucharists, and several items of business including a proposed joint Anglican-Lutheran office and the joint Anglican-Lutheran national meeting planned for 2013 in Ottawa.

The ACC and ELCIC councils will also meet separately to address committee reports, strategic planning, and pensions, among other matters.

At the end of the joint council meeting, Anglicans and Lutherans will plant a tree on the grounds of the Queen of the Apostles Renewal Centre to symbolize their hope for future cooperation. Members have been encouraged to bring vials of water from their home communities to sprinkle on the tree after it is planted.