Study Visit of young priests and monks from the Oriental Orthodox Churches

The annual Study Visit for young priests and monks from the Oriental Orthodox Churches, organised by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, took place from 22 January to 2 February in Rome. The delegation included sixteen young priests and monks from the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicosate of All Armenians and Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia), the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.

During its stay in Rome, accompanied by Fr Hyacinthe Destivelle, the delegation had the opportunity to visit various Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, in particular the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, the Dicastery for Eastern Churches, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Dicastery for Culture and Education, and the Dicastery for Communication, as well as the Secretariat of State and the Secretariat of the Synod.

The group also visited several educational institutions, including the Pontifical Lateran University, the Pontifical Oriental Institute, the Pontifical Biblical Institute, the Pontifical Ethiopian College, the Pontifical College Capranica, the Pontifical Armenian College, and the Pontifical Maronite College.

On 6 February, the delegation was received by Pope Francis in a private audience.

The study visits are an initiative of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. This was the fifth study visit organised in Rome for young priests and monks of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, following those in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Delegations of Catholic priests were invited in 2023 by the Armenian Apostolic Church - See of Etchmiadzin for a study visit to Armenia, and in 2024 by the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church for a study visit to Kerala, India.