Cardinal Koch at the anniversary of Pro Oriente

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Pro Oriente Foundation, which was founded in 1964 by Cardinal Franz Koenig (1905-2004), Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, gave a lecture at a ceremony held March 13 evening at the Archbishop's Palace in Vienna. The ceremony was attended by numerous ecumenical guests, including H.E. Arsenios (Kardamakis), Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Austria, and H.E. Tiran Petrosyan, Armenian Apostolic Bishop and president of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Austria.

The conference followed a Requiem Mass for Cardinal Franz König, whose 20th death anniversary was being celebrated. The liturgy, presided over by Cardinal Koch at Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral, was concelebrated by Bishop Manfred Scheuer of Linz, Auxiliary Bishop Franz Scharl, Maronite Archbishop Emeritus of Beirut Boulos Matar, Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo Antoine Audo and Vicar General for the Eastern Churches Yuriy Kolasa.

On the same day Cardinal Koch also attended the meeting of the Pro Oriente Commission for Ecumenical Encounter between the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church (Commission for Ecumenical Encounter - CEE). Discussions focused on the exchange of information regarding official and unofficial dialogues between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Composed of representatives of the Catholic Church and each of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, as well as observers and consultants, the CEE was established in 2015 to promote an unofficial academic encounter between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

On March 14 and 15, Reverend Fr. Hyacinthe Destivelle, Official of the DPUC, participated in the 'Forum syriacum' meeting promoted by the Pro Oriente Foundation. An informal meeting and exchange platform for the ten Churches of Syriac tradition, the 'Forum Syriacum' is a group of 15 international experts of the Syriac tradition, from Europe, the Middle East, India and the United States, which defines and coordinates various research projects, including the 'Colloquium Syriacum' organized at regular intervals.