Third meeting of the Pro Oriente Commission for Ecumenical Encounter between the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church

The third meeting of the Pro Oriente Commission for Ecumenical Encounter between the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church (CEE) was held in Vienna from 24-26 February.

The meeting gathered theologians of the Catholic Church and of the diverse Oriental Orthodox Churches (Syrian Orthodox Church, Armenian Apostolic Church - See of Etchmiadzin, Coptic Orthodox Church, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, with the exception of the Eritrean Orthodox Church). Reverend Hyacinthe Destivelle, Official of the Oriental Section, represented the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity as an observer.

The exchanges focused on information about the official and unofficial dialogues between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, as well as on the preparation of the Second Consultation of the CEE.

The CEE consists of representatives of the Catholic Church and of each of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, as well as observers and consultants. It was established in Vienna in November 2015 to promote unofficial scholarly ecumenical encounter between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. A first Consultation was organized in 2016 in Vienna on the topic “Signs of Communion and Communication after the Division”.