Meeting in Rome of Pro Oriente Steering Committee for Orthodox‒Catholic Dialogue

The Pro Oriente Steering Committee for Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue held its fifth meeting at the Institute for Ecumenical Studies of the Angelicum on 6‒7 November 2022.

The aim of the meeting was to update on three projects of the Steering Committee promoting Orthodox-Catholic rapprochement.

The “Connecting Dialogues” working group presented a new database on documentation on the different dialogues between Catholics and Orthodox. The “Healing of Memories" working group, which deals with the particularly sensitive historical issues relating to the relationship between Orthodox and Catholics, is preparing conferences on specific situations in the Middle East, the Balkans and Eastern Europe. The "Reception and Inspiration" group is preparing various projects aimed at facilitating reception of the results of dialogue in the Church and in wider society.

The meeting of the Steering Committee took place after the “Listening to the East” Conference on Synodality in the Orthodox Churches organized by the Pro Oriente Foundation and the Institute for Ecumenical Studies of the Anglicum.

The last meeting of the Steering Committee took place in November 2021 in Vienna.

The Pro Oriente Steering Committee for Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue is an informal Orthodox-Catholic dialogue of the Pro Oriente Foundation. Established in 2018, it gathers annually 16 Catholic and Orthodox theologians from different countries with a view to presenting initiatives to Pro Oriente to promote Orthodox-Catholic rapprochement.

Reverend Father Hyacinthe Destivelle, OP, Official of the Eastern Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, attended the meeting.