Greetings to the Public Academic Act on the occasion
of the 20th anniversary of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church
and the Oriental Orthodox Churches

23 January 2024, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas

Your Eminences, Your Excellencies, Your Graces,
dear Father Rector, dear Professors, dear students, dear Brothers and Sisters,

Almost exactly 20 years ago in Cairo, on 27 January 2004, was held the first plenary meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. For the first time an official commission brought together representatives of the entire family of the Oriental Orthodox Churches and of the Catholic Church. Since then, the dialogue has met every January during or immediately after the Week of prayer for Christian unity, a week which deeply marks the work and the spirit of this Joint International Commission.

Tonight, our dialogue celebrates its twentieth anniversary. Twenty years are of course not a jubilee, but it is the age of first assessments, as well as the age of dreams, when everything is this possible. As said His Holiness Pope Francis in his address to His Holiness Pope Tawadros last year: “In the ecumenical journey, it is important always to look ahead. Cultivating in the heart a healthy impatience and an ardent desire for unity, we must be, like the apostle Paul, “straining forward to what lies ahead” (cf. Phil 3:13), and continually asking ourselves, “Quanta est nobis via?” — How far do we still have to go? However, it is also necessary to remember, especially in times of discouragement, so as to rejoice in the path already travelled and to draw on the fervour of the pioneers who have gone before us. Looking ahead and remembering. Yet, it is undoubtedly all the more incumbent on us to look up, to thank the Lord for the steps we have taken and to beseech Him to give us the gift of the longed-for unity” (Pope Francis, 11 May 2023).

To look ahead, to remember, and to look up with gratitude to God. This is the purpose of this Academic Act at the Angelicum. This is also the purpose of the book which I am pleased to officially present tonight, a commemorative volume specially published by our Dicastery on this occasion and containing all documents agreed by the Commission, the annual reports and some of the speeches given at the sessions. The reader will appreciate not only the profound ecclesiological insights of the documents, but also the incredible richness of this unique dialogue, in which the Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Malankara, Ethiopian, Eritrean and Latin Church traditions are represented. As our Commission reflected in its second document: communion is closely linked with communication. It is therefore my hope that this book will facilitate the dissemination and the reception of the fruits of our dialogue.

Tonight, after the greetings of His Grace Bishop Kyrillos, Oriental Orthodox Co-chair of the Commission and of His Eminence Cardinal Walter Kasper, first Catholic Co-chair, we will hear two papers harvesting the fruits of the dialogue: the first by His Eminence Khajag Barsamian, and the second by Reverend Father Frans Bouwen, two pillars of our commission during these past years.

May this Academic Act be an occasion to give thanks and praise to God for these twenty years in which we have been able to walk together. May it bear witness to our gratitude to all those who have contributed to this dialogue with their theological expertise and their prayers. May it also renew our conviction that the restoration of full communion between our Churches is not only possible, but is urgently necessary, “so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21)!

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Before we conclude this academic act with a final prayer, I have one more pleasant task to accomplish. On the journey of our Churches towards full communion, some people play a particularly important role through their commitment, work and dedication. It is right to acknowledge their contribution, even discreet, and to thank them not only privately, but also publicly, so that their example may inspire other workers, especially among the new generation, in the field of the sacred cause of Christian unity. This evening, therefore, we would like to thank in particular three members of our Commission, each one have made a special contribution to the rapprochement between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

On behalf of His Holiness Pope Francis, I have the honour to award with the Benemerenti Medal His Eminence Khajag Barsamian, representative to the Holy See of the Armenian Apostolic Church, See of Etchmiadzin, member of this Commission since its foundation, for his outstanding contribution to the relations between the Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church, and more generally with the whole family of Oriental Orthodox Churches.

On behalf of His Holiness Pope Francis, I have the honour to award with the Benemerenti Medal His Grace Bishop Barnaba el-Soryani, who has represented the Coptic Orthodox Church for over thirty years in Rome, for his outstanding contribution to the relations between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church.

On behalf of His Holiness Pope Francis, I have the honour to award with the Medal Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Reverend Father Frans Bouwen, member of this Commission since its foundation, for his outstanding contribution to the relations between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and indeed for his precious contribution to the ecumenical relations of the Catholic Church at various levels.