Message of Cardinal Koch for the XXVII Conference on Orthodox Spirituality held in Bose

On the occasion of the XXVII International Ecumenical Conference on Orthodox Spirituality held in Bose from 4–6 September 2019 on the theme “Called to Life in Christ”, Cardinal Kurt Koch sent a message to Brother Luciano Manicardi, Prior of Bose, and to Brother Enzo Bianchi, founder of Bose and President of the Academic Committee of the Conference. The message highlights in particular the human aspiration for unity: “Humans have a calling for unity, are called to unity with God, to unity with themselves and with others, and to unity with all of humanity”. Recalling that the contemporary movement for unity is known as “ecumenical, which in Greek literally means ‘in all the inhabited earth’, and thus evokes the call to unity of all humanity”, the Cardinal emphasized that this movement “not only promotes ‘the unity of Christians’, but ‘Christian unity’, that is, unity in Christ of all humanity or, rather, of all of creation”.

At the Conference, which gathered numerous metropolitans, bishops, monks and representatives of the Orthodox Churches, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity was represented by Monsignor Andrea Palmieri, Under–Secretary, who read the Cardinal’s message, and by Fathers Hyacinthe Destivelle and Jaromír Zádrapa, Officials of the Eastern Section.

_{Photo : Irina Kuptsova}