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.
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“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).
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Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue Lays Out a Vision of Unity in Unprecedented Document

Representatives of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches have issued two new documents outlining immediate steps they can take to overcome their thousand-year separation.
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Steps Towards a Reunited Church:
A Sketch of an Orthodox-Catholic Vision for the Future
The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation
Georgetown University, Washington, DC
October 2, 2010

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Celebrating Easter/Pascha Together
The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation
Georgetown University, Washington, DC
October 1, 2010

The center of our faith, the center on which all Christians agree, is the kerygma that Jesus is Risen, Jesus is Lord:

Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus, the only Sinless One. We venerate Your Cross, O Christ and we praise and glorify Your Holy Resurrection. You are our God. We know no other than You, and we call upon Your Name. Come, all faithful, let us venerate the holy Resurrection of Christ for behold, through the Cross, joy has come to all the world. (Matins of the Resurrection)

Despite this agreement Catholics and Orthodox in fact celebrate Easter on different days, fracturing the proclamation of this Good News of the Resurrection.
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[Vienna, Austria] The twelfth meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church took place in Vienna, Austria, a city with a long history, a bridge between West and East, with a rich ecumenical life. The meeting, generously and fraternally hosted by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna, from 20-27 September 2010, in the Kardinal König Haus.
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Patriarchal and Synodal Encyclical On the Sunday of Orthodoxy (February 21, 2010)
+ BARTHOLOMEW By God’s Grace Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch
To the Fullness of the Church, Grace and Peace From our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Our most holy Orthodox Church today commemorates its own feast day, and – from this historical and martyric See of the Ecumenical Patriarchate – the Mother Church of Constantinople directs its blessing, love and concern to all of its faithful and dedicated spiritual children throughout the world, inviting them to concelebrate in prayer.
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The Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomeos I, a key leader for the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians, has written a Lenten encyclical that stresses the need for greater unity for churches, and counters accusations from some of his bishops that ecumenism is heresy.
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The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation finalized a joint response to the international dialogue’s 2007 “Ravenna Document” at their 77th meeting, held at Saint Paul’s College in Washington, October 22-24. Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh and Roman Catholic Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans presided over it.

… continued
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In the midst of a protest by a small number of Orthodox monks and faithful, the official Catholic-Orthodox dialogue commission met in Cyprus Oct. 16-23. The meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church focused on a key factor in the ongoing division between Catholic and Orthodox: the role of the pope as bishop of Rome. The protesters — who were arrested Oct. 20, the third day of their demonstration — claimed that the ongoing dialogue between the two churches was aimed at getting the Orthodox to submit to papal authority. According to a statement released by the dialogue commission Oct. 23, the commission’s Orthodox members discussed “the negative reactions to the dialogue by certain Orthodox circles and unanimously considered them as totally unfounded and unacceptable, providing false and misleading information.” The Orthodox delegates “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,” said the statement released in Cyprus and at the Vatican.
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[Paphos, Cyprus • Zenit.org] The International Mixed Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church has progressed in its reflection on the role of the bishop of Rome. The commission issued a joint communiqué reporting on its progress at the end of its 11th plenary session, ended today in Paphos. The
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The International Commission for Anglican-Orthodox Theological Dialogue met in Chania, Crete, from Tuesday, 15th September to Sunday 20th September 2009, as guests of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, at the Metropolis of Kydonia and Apokoronos.

… continued
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Le patriarche œcuménique Bartholomée Ier, “premier parmi ses pairs” dans la hiérarchie de l’Eglise orthodoxe, a appelé de ses vœux la création d’une organisation rassemblant anglicans, orthodoxes, protestants et catholiques romains.
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Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I, a spiritual leader who represents Eastern Orthodox Christianity, has called for the creation of a churches’ umbrella body in Europe to include Roman Catholics alongside Anglicans, Orthodox and Protestants.
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Orthodox-Catholic Consultation Studies Nature of Communion, Authority

[Washington • USCCB] The seventy-sixth meeting of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation took place at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York, June 1 to 3. The session, hosted by the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), was co-chaired by Metropolitan Maximos of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh and Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
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Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev, an Oxford-educated cleric who served as the Moscow Patriarchate’s representative to European organizations in Brussels, has been appointed as head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department of External Church Relations.

… continued
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Le métropolite Kirill de Smolensk et Kaliningrad, qui a été intronisé à Moscou 16e patriarche de l’histoire de l’Eglise orthodoxe russe sous le nom de Kirill Ier, a souligné qu’il est de son devoir d’assurer l’unité au sein de l’Eglise afin de préserver la foi. Cependant, certains observateurs considèrent qu’il a davantage les qualités d’un “leader politique” que son prédécesseur.
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C’est le métropolite Kirill de Smolensk et Kaliningrad qui a été élu à la tête du Patriarcat de Moscou de l’Eglise orthodoxe russe, par une victoire écrasante. Le métropolite Kirill occupait déjà par intérim la fonction laissée vacante par le patriarche Alexis II, décédé en décembre 2008.
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In a letter congratulating Metropolitan Kyrill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad on his election as the new patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia expressed the appreciation of the worldwide ecumenical fellowship for this “outstanding Orthodox theologian, leader and hierarch.”
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Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad has been elected as the new head of the Moscow Patriarchate in the Orthodox Church after serving a period as interim leader and following an election in which he got an overwhelming majority of votes.
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The delegates to the Church Council meeting underway in Moscow have elected Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad the 16th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
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Patriarch Alexei II of the Russian Orthodox Church has died at his residence in Peredelkino, 40 kilometres from central Moscow, the church’s Moscow Patriarchate has announced.

No cause was given for the death on 5 December of the 79-year-old patriarch.

The previous evening Alexei held a church service in one of Moscow’s central cathedrals to mark a major religious holiday, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported. It said the church’s ruling body, the Holy Synod, was to gather for an urgent meeting in Moscow on 6 December following the death of its leader.
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Address of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch BARTHOLOMEW to the XIIth Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church (The Vatican, 18 October 2008)
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Des patriarches, primats et représentants des Eglises orthodoxes (chalcédoniennes) ont réaffirmé leur engagement à surmonter les conflits intra-orthodoxes et à poursuivre les dialogues théologiques avec les chrétiens d’autres confessions lors d’une réunion qui s’est tenue du 10 au 12 octobre à Istanbul, en Turquie. …
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Patriarchs, primates and representatives of Eastern Orthodox churches recommitted themselves to overcome intra-Orthodox conflicts as well as to continue theological dialogues with Christians from other confessions at a 10-12 October meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. …
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The Role of the Bishop of Rome in the Communion of the Church in the First Millennium
Joint Coordinating Committee for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church
Aghios Nikolaos, Crete, Greece, September 27 – October 4, 2008
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The Coordinating Committee of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church met in Elounda, Crete, Greece from 27 September to 4 October 2008.

At the opening session, the two Co-Presidents of the Commission, His Eminence Cardinal Walter Kasper (President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity) and His Eminence Metropolitan John of Pergamon (Ecumenical Patriarchate), expressed their joy and thankfulness to God for the continuation of the theological dialogue between the two Churches. They reaffirmed the goal of the dialogue as stated at its beginning in 1980: “The purpose of the dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church is the re-establishment of full communion between these two churches. This communion, based on unity of faith according to the common experience and tradition of the early Church, will find its expression in the common celebration of the Eucharist.”
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Orthodox women: church participation improved but concerns remain

[WCC News] Over the last decade, Orthodox women reached significant milestones regarding their participation in church life, but many of their concerns have not yet been fully addressed, an international gathering of Orthodox women stated.

A long decade has passed since the last inter-Orthodox women’s consultation took place in Istanbul, Turkey in 1997. In the intervening years, the participation of Orthodox women in the life of the church has improved. Significant milestones range from the recognition of women’s issues by church structures to women’s participation in some church ministries and decision-making processes.

Many of the concerns of women, however, have not yet been fully addressed within the life of the church. A list of them includes: access to and funding for theological studies and subsequent employment opportunities within the church; supporting and equipping women for pastoral care and other church ministries; broader participation in church decision-making processes; taking a new look at prayers and practices associated with women’s biology.

These were amongst the main findings of a five-day long consultation, which brought together some 45 women from Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and North America. Meeting from 8-12 June in Volos, Greece, they discussed the participation, ministry and concerns of Orthodox women in the church and in the ecumenical movement.

Participants at the consultation recommended undertaking a full assessment of the current situation and needs of Orthodox women, given the many changes that have taken place over the last decade, as well as the development of a framework for future action. “We see the need to identify, together with our church leadership, the ways and instruments to implement decisions and recommendations of women’s consultations in our churches”, the participants stated in a report on the deliberations.

The consultation took place at the Volos Academy for Theological Studies and was sponsored by the World Council of Churches Programme for Women in Church and Society and hosted by the Diocese of Dimitrias.

Resources

• Full text of the Report of the Inter-Orthodox Consultation
• WCC Programme for Women in Church and Society
• Diocese of Dimitrias, Church of Greece (in Greek)
• Volos Academy for Theological Studies (partially in Greek)
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Femmes orthodoxes: leur participation dans l’Eglise progresse, mais des préoccupations demeurent

[COE] Au cours des dix dernières années, les femmes orthodoxes ont franchi des étapes importantes dans leur participation à la vie de l’Eglise, mais bon nombre de leurs inquiétudes n’ont pas été totalement apaisées, a-t-il été déclaré lors d’un rassemblement de femmes orthodoxes.

Une longue décennie s’est écoulée depuis que s’est tenu le dernier rassemblement de femmes orthodoxes, à Istanbul, en Turquie, en 1997. Dans cet intervalle, la participation des femmes orthodoxes à la vie de l’Eglise a progressé. Les étapes franchies vont de la reconnaissance des thématiques féminines par les structures de l’Eglise à la participation des femmes à différents ministères de l’Eglise dans le mouvement œcuménique et dans le processus de prise de décisions.

Beaucoup de préoccupations exprimées par les femmes n’ont cependant pas été pleinement entendues. Parmi elles, on peut citer l’accès aux études théologiques – y compris leur financement – et aux possibilités d’emploi qui en découlent au sein de l’Eglise; le soutien apporté aux femmes pour l’accompagnement pastoral et d’autres ministères au sein de l’Eglise; la participation accrue au processus de prise de décisions; et l’adoption d’une nouvelle approche concernant les prières et les pratiques associées à la biologie féminine.

Il s’agit là de quelques-unes des principales conclusions qui ont été présentées à l’issue du rassemblement de cinq jours, qui a réuni plus d’une quarantaine de femmes des Eglises orthodoxes d’Europe, du Moyen-Orient, d’Asie, d’Australie et d’Amérique du Nord. Réunies du 8 au 12 juin à Volos, en Grèce, elles ont évoqué la participation, le ministère et les préoccupations des femmes orthodoxes dans l’Eglise et dans le mouvement œcuménique.

Les participantes à la consultation ont recommandé de réaliser une évaluation complète de la situation actuelle et des besoins des femmes orthodoxes, en prenant en compte les nombreux changements qui sont intervenus au cours des dix dernières années, et d’élaborer un cadre pour l’action. “Nous voyons la nécessité de déterminer, en collaboration avec les dirigeants de nos Eglises, les moyens et les instruments permettant de mettre en œuvre dans nos Eglises les décisions et les recommandations prises lors des rassemblements de femmes”, ont indiqué les participantes dans un rapport sur les délibérations.

Le rassemblement s’est tenu à l’Académie d’études théologiques de Volos. Il a été soutenu par le Programme du Conseil œcuménique des Eglises pour les femmes dans l’Eglise et la société et organisé par le diocèse de Dimitrias.

Ressources :

• Texte intégral du rapport du Rassemblement interorthodoxe (en anglais)
• Programme du COE pour les femmes dans l’Eglise et la société
• Diocèse de Dimitrias, Eglise de Grèce (en grec)
• Académie d’études théologiques de Volos (en grec)
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Made public today was the final document of the plenary assembly of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. The meeting was held in the Italian city of Ravenna from October 8 to 14 under the presidency of Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and His Excellency Ioannis, metropolitan of Pergamo. [Editor’s note: Ioannis of Pergamo is also known to theologians as John Zizioulas]

The title of the final document is: “Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church. Ecclesial Communion, Conciliarity and Authority.”
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Aujourd’hui a été publié le Document final de l’Assemblée plénière de la Commission internationale pour le dialogue théologique catholiques orthodoxes (Ravenne, Italie, 8-14 octobre), qui avait été présidée par le Métropolite Ioannis de Pergame (Patriarcat œcuménique) et le Cardinal Kasper, Président du Conseil pontifical pour l’unité des chrétiens: “Conséquences ecclésiologiques et canoniques de la nature sacramentale de l’Eglise. Communion ecclésiale, conciliarité et autorité”.
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At a time when the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople – today’s Istanbul – is facing growing hardships imposed by decisions of the Turkish judiciary, members of the worldwide ecumenical family have expressed support and solidarity to His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
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Après leur rencontre privée et l’échange de discours, le Pape et don hôte SB Chrysostomos II de Chypre ont signé une Déclaration commune, dans laquelle ils déclarent leur sincère et ferme engagement à obéir à la volonté du Seigneur en intensifiant leur recherche de la pleine unité entre tous les chrétiens. Le Pape et l’Archevêque désirent que les catholiques et les orthodoxes de Chypre vivent fraternellement et solidairement. “Nous voulons en outre soutenir et développer le dialogue théologique qui, par le biais de la Commission internationale s’apprête à traiter des points les plus complexes ayant marqué la division historique” des Eglises. “Nous devons parvenir à un accord substantiel en vue de la communion parfaite dans la foi, dans la vie sacramentelle et l’exercice du ministère pastoral”.
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Following this morning’s private meeting, and their exchange of speeches, the Pope and His Beatitude Chrysostomos II, signed a Joint declaration in the presence of the Catholic and Cypriot Orthodox delegations. In the declaration, Benedict XVI and the archbishop of New Justiniana and All Cyprus declare their “sincere and firm desire, in obedience to the will of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to intensify the search for full unity among all Christians. … We wish the Catholic and Orthodox faithful of Cyprus to live fraternally and in full solidarity. … Furthermore, we wish to support and promote theological dialogue which, through the competent international commission, is preparing to consider the most onerous questions that marked the historical event of division. It is necessary to reach substantial agreement over full communion in the faith, in sacramental life and in the exercise of pastoral ministry.”
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The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) has agreed to reconcile with the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church. The schism developed following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, and has led to the establishment of parallel jurisdictions of Russian Orthodoxy in the diaspora. The talks between ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate began in 2001. The reconciliation between the two church bodies is expected to occur in May 2007 when the Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate adopts the “Act of Canonical Communion” already approved by the ROCOR Synod of Bishops. The two church bodies express the hope that: “The reestablishment of canonical communion will serve, God willing, towards the strengthening of the unity of the Church of Christ, of her witness in the contemporary world, promoting the fulfillment of the will of the Lord to “gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad” (John 11:52).
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[LWI] The participants of the 13th Plenary of the international Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission have affirmed recognition of the “broad areas of agreement” in their respective traditions with a view to the understanding of the Eucharist in the life of the church. They adopted a Common Statement titled, “The Mystery of the Church: The Holy Eucharist in the Life of the Church.” In a communiqué from the 2-9 November meeting of the Joint Commission in Bratislava, Slovak Republic, members of the international dialogue group stated that the “Orthodox and Lutherans both confess that Christ’s body and blood are united with bread and wine, to be consumed by communicants, uniting them with Christ and with each other.”
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Le centre canadien d’œcuménisme est heureux d’annoncer la nomination de Anthony Mansour au poste de directeur exécutif du Centre. M. Mansour possède une vaste expérience d’homme d’affaires. Il tient une licence dans la physique de Bishop’s University dans Lennoxville, Québec ; un MBA de Southeastern University à Washington, C.C ; et un certificat en théologie
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The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism has a new director, effective August 1st. Anthony Mansour, the successful candidate, comes to the CCE from an extensive background in management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Québec; an MBA from Southeastern University in Washington, DC; and a certificate in Orthodox theology from the Université de Sherbrooke in Longueuil, Québec. He has also served for 11 years as a reserve officer with the Canadian Air Force and holds both Canadian and US pilot licenses. He has two children, Brent (12) and Elizabeth (10). A member of the Orthodox Church in America, he serves as sub-deacon at The Sign of the Theotokos, an OCA parish in Montréal. He is fluent in both English and French.
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by Don Retson, Edmonton Journal EDMONTON – David Johnston says he’s been troubled for years over “compromises” on faith and doctrine by the national leadership of the Anglican Church of Canada. Last Saturday, Johnston, a former Anglican priest in Fort Saskatchewan, and seven of his former parishioners, were received as lay members of the Orthodox
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Voici le texte intégral de la Déclaration commune signée par le pape Jean-Paul II et le patriarche œcuménique Bartholomaios Ier au terme de la visite de celui-ci au Vatican.
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Here is a translation of the Joint Declaration signed by John Paul II and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and published today.
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[ACNS 3847] The International Commission of the Anglican-Orthodox Theological Dialogue met in the International Study Centre, Canterbury Cathedral, in the United Kingdom, from Monday, June 21st – Friday, June 25th, 2004. The Commission is composed of representatives of the Orthodox Churches and of the Anglican Communion. The Dialogue began its work by exploring theological and
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Next week Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, is due to travel to Russia to meet the Patriarch in the highest-level visit by Vatican officials in four years. The aim of the five-day trip (due to start on Monday) is to improve relations between Rome and Moscow, which are at their lowest point since before the Second Vatican Council. Two years ago a visit by the cardinal was cancelled by the Moscow Patriarchate, outraged by what it described as aggressive Catholic missionary activity in its “canonical territory”.
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We are gathered here today in the spirit of peace for the good of all human beings and for the care of creation. At this moment in history, at the beginning of the third millennium, we are saddened to see the daily suffering of a great number of people from violence, starvation, poverty and disease. We are also concerned about the negative consequences for humanity and for all creation resulting from the degradation of some basic natural resources such as water, air and land, brought about by an economic and technological progress which does not recognize and take into account its limits.
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Pope John Paul, who celebrated his eighty-first birthday this week, is a man in a hurry. In the twilight days of his long papacy, he is expanding the perspective of his by now traditional pastoral visits around the world and he is laying down markers for the future. These concern the future relations of the Roman Catholic Church both with the separated Orthodox Christian Churches, and with the other monotheistic religions, Islam and Judaism.

Hence the first-ever visit this month by a pope to a mosque, the impressive Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Twenty years ago it would have been inconceivable that a pope from Rome should remove his shoes, put on white slippers and traverse one of the great Holy Places of Islam for a meeting with the Grand Mufti and other clerics in the courtyard of the mosque.
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Pope John Paul is to make a brief visit to Athens in May. Many of the Greek Orthodox clergy and the monks of Athos are up in arms. Could this nevertheless turn out to be a breaking of the ice which has lasted since the Western and Eastern Church split in 1054? An Assumptionist priest who was formerly stationed in Athens looks at the tensions.
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On 7 January, Russia’s Orthodox Church celebrated the two-thousandth anniversary of the birth of Christ. Thousands attended the Christmas liturgy in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, triumphantly, and, many have averred, tastelessly, restored to the city’s skyline more than 60 years after Stalin ordered its obliteration from it. Live coverage of the event was marred, however, when Patriarch Alexis II arrived more than an hour late, delayed by his participation in the day’s informal meetings between President Putin and the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder.

As the television cameras panned in on the massed faithful awaiting their Patriarch, they picked out the emerald robes of seemingly the most senior cleric in attendance — Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin, head of Russia’s Central Spiritual Directorate of Muslims. For the third year running, the chief representative of Russia’s Roman Catholics, Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, had not been invited.
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Pope John Paul II has never made it a secret: As the first Slavic pope, as a church leader from eastern Europe, he dreamed of being God’s instrument to bridge the millennium-old schism between East and West.

Over the years, out of sensitivity to the Orthodox patriarch of Moscow, he has declined repeated invitations from the eastern Catholics in Ukraine and from the Ukrainian government to visit them.

The pope is aging quickly and the rhetoric between the Orthodox and Rome is heating up rather than calming down — the Orthodox have moved beyond complaints of proselytizing; they now speak of outright “persecution” of their people by the Latin Church. All this has led the pope to change his mind and visit the millions of Eastern-rite Christians who have paid a martyr’s price for their loyalty to the Chair of Peter.

John Paul recognizes that this is a dangerous move in terms of his long-term dream of reuniting Constantinople/Moscow and Rome. To offset, as much as possible, any ecumenically negative consequences, the Vatican is continually talking about this visit as a reaching out to full brothers and sisters (see page 4).

The Slavic pope has even made a substantial donation ($150,000) toward the building of a new Orthodox cathedral in Bucharest. His generosity, however, is not limited to this sensitive trip to the East. Back in January 1995, the pope helped build the Orthodox cathedral in Ulyanovsk, the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin.

The people of Ulyanovsk, who were sorely strapped for funds, could not have been more gracious in accepting the gift: they named the pope “an honorary member of their communion in Christ.”
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‘Bitter differences’ lead to dead-end, Polish ecumenist says by Jonathan Luxmoore, Ecumenical News International [WARSAW] High-level talks between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches which ended in the United States recently were marred by “methodological deficiencies” and a “polemical atmosphere,” leaving relations between the two Christian communions at a dead-end, according to an expert on
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Windows To The East, an annual public lecture series on Eastern Christianity, will take place Thursday and Friday at St. Thomas More College. Dr. Myroslaw Tataryn, associate professor of religious studies at University of Saskatchewan, is one of the organizers. As he explains, Windows To The East is part of an on-going lecture series that
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