Draft:Joint Commission Of The Theological Dialogue Between The Orthodox Church And The Oriental Orthodox Churches

• Comment: Cites only primary sources, most (all?) of which appear to be close to the subject. DoubleGrazing (talk) 11:54, 14 December 2022 (UTC)

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The Joint Commission of the Theological Dialogue Between the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church are a series of ecumenical dialogues between the Eastern Orthodox churches and Oriental Orthodox Churches. The division between the churches can be traced to the years following the Council of Chalcedon (451) whose Christological teaching the Oriental Orthodox did not accept. Attempts to mend the schism "were abandoned in the mid-sixth century" and remained dormant until these meetings and dialogues in the mid- to late-20th century.

The Joint Commission believes both Churches share the same Christological beliefs in substance, the differences being semantic in nature, and that the schism can be mended.

History

Council of Chalcedon

Main article: Council of Chalcedon

The Council of Chalcedon (convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia; modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey), was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian and took place from 8 October to 1 November 451. The principal purpose of the council was to re-assert the ecumenical Council of Ephesus' teachings of Christ's nature as simultaneously divine and human, opposing the teachings of Eutyches (of Christ as solely divine: Monophysitism) and Nestorius (of Christ being divine and human separately: Nestorianism).

Christological spectrum during the 5th–7th centuries showing the Monophysite position on the extreme right and the Nestorian position on the extreme left.

The council adopted the confession of Dyophysitism: that Jesus Christ is one person of one substance and one hypostasis, with two distinct but inseparable natures. As well as opposing Monophysitism, this opposed Miaphysitism (divine and human but in one nature). Those who held to Miaphysitism accused the Dyophysites of embracing Nestorianism and broke off from the rest of the church to become what is now the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Ecumenism

In the 20th century, the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, "through the efforts of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches", began entering into ecumenical dialogue to explore the potential of the schism being mended. This began with four unofficial meetings, followed by four official dialogues.

Unofficial Meetings

Four unofficial meetings between clergy and theologians of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches took place.

Aarhus (1964)

The first unofficial meeting took place 1964 in Aarhus, Denmark.

From August 11 to August 15, 1964, consultations were held between representatives of the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches on the sidelines of a meeting of the Faith and Order Commission. At these consultations, it became increasingly clear that the differences between the Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox positions on Christology and the nature of the Incarnation were not irreconcilable in themselves, but the attendant history of anathemas and counter-anathemas would be an obstacle toward true communion between the schismed churches.

On the essence of the Christological dogma we found ourselves in full agreement. Through the different terminologies used by each side, we saw the same truth expressed. Since we agree in rejecting without reservation the teaching of Eutyches as well as of Nestorius, the acceptance or non-acceptance of the Council of Chalcedon does not entail the acceptance of either heresy. Both sides found themselves fundamentally following the Christological teaching of the one undivided Church as expressed by St. Cyril.

These consultations included the following participants

Name	Institution or location	Jurisdiction	Sect
Bishop Emilianos (Timiadis)	World Council of Churches, Geneva, Switzerland	Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople	Chalcedonian
G. Florovsky	Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, U.S.A.	Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople	Chalcedonian
J. S. Romanides	Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Theological School, Brookline, MA, U.S.A.	Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople	Chalcedonian
Vitaly Borovoy	World Council of Churches, Geneva	Russian Orthodox Church	Chalcedonian
J. Meyendorff	St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary, Tuckahoe, NY, U.S.A.	Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of North America	Chalcedonian
J. N. Karmiris	University of Athens, Athens, Greece	Church of Greece	Chalcedonian
G. Konidaris	University of Athens, Athens, Greece	Church of Greece	Chalcedonian
Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan	St. Nersess Armenian Theological School, Evanston IL	Armenian Apostolic Church	Non-Chalcedonian
Bishop Karekin Sarkissian	Armenian Theological Seminary, Antelias, Lebanon	Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicosate of Cilicia	Non-Chalcedonian
Archbishop Mar Severius Zakka Iwas	Mosul, Iraq	Syrian Orthodox Church	Non-Chalcedonian
Metropolitan Mar Thoma Dionysius	Mount Tabor Monastery, Pathanapuram, Kerala, India	Orthodox Syrian Church of the East	Non-Chalcedonian
Father N. J. Thomas	Mount Tabor Monastery, Pathanapuram, Kerala, India	Orthodox Syrian Church of the East	Non-Chalcedonian
Habte Mariam Worqineh	Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	Ethiopian Orthodox Church	Non-Chalcedonian
V.C. Samuel	Theological College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	Orthodox Syrian Church of the East	Non-Chalcedonian
Karam Nazir Khella	Philosophische Fakultat Hamburg; Theological Faculty Cairo	Coptic Orthodox Church	Non-Chalcedonian
Getachew Haile	Haile Selassie I University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	Ethiopian Orthodox Church	Non-Chalcedonian

Bristol (1967)

The second unofficial meeting took place three years later in 1967, in Bristol, England.

Geneva (1970)

A further three years passed until the third unofficial meeting 1970, located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Addis Ababa (1971)

The last of the unofficial meetings was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1971.

Official Dialogues

The unofficial meetings led to a series of four official dialogues between the two Churches.

Geneva (1985)

The first official dialogue, taking place on 15 December 1985 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Culminating a joint Communique by Professor Dr. Chrysostomos Konstantinidis (Metropolitan of Myra, Ecumenical Patriarchate) and Bishop Bishoy (Coptic Orthodox Church):

"...For  the  next  meetings,  whose  aim  would  be  to  rediscover  our  common  grounds  in Christology  and  ecclesiology,  the  following  main  theme  and  subsequent  sub-themes were  agreed  upon: Towards  a Common Christology

1. Problems of terminology;
2. Conciliar formulations;
3. Historical factors;
4. Interpretation of Christological dogmas today..."

First Agreed Statement, Egypt (1989)

The second official dialogue was held on 24 June 1989, this time in in Wadi El-Natrun, Egypt. This was the occasion for the signing of the First Agreed Statement, at which participants affirmed the fundamental commonalities between the Dyophysite and Miaphysite positions.

Both sides found common ground in their rejection of the two extremes of the classical Christological debate, i.e., the strict Alexandrine, or Monophysite, position which holds that Christ has only a divine nature, as well as the strict Antiochene position which upholds a radical separation of Christ's divine and human natures. The agreed theological statement therefore explicitly rejects both the Nestorian heresy ("We neither separate nor divide the human nature in Christ from His divine nature") and the Eutychian or Monophysite heresy ("nor do we think that [the human nature] was absorbed in [the divine nature] and thus [the former] ceased to exist"). In this middle ground, the statement asserted that

We neither separate nor divide the human nature in Christ from His divine nature, nor do we think that the former was absorbed in the latter and thus ceased to exist. The four adverbs used to qualify the mystery of the hypostatic union belong to our common tradition – without commingling (or confusion), without change, without separation and without division. Those among us who speak of two natures in Christ do not thereby deny their inseparable, indivisible union; those among us who speak of one united divine-human nature in Christ do not thereby deny the continuing dynamic presence in Christ of the divine and the human, without change, without confusion.

The participants appear to have found this common ground by referring to the writings of Cyril of Alexandria, who is venerated by Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians alike. Since Cyril used the formula "mia physis ton Theou Logon sesarkomene" (the one physis or hypostasis of God’s Word Incarnate), the agreed statement suggests that while monophysitism is beyond the pale of Nicene Christianity, miaphysitism is not.

Second Agreed Statement, Geneva (1990)

Returning to Geneva, the third official dialogue was held on 28 September 1990. This was the occasion for the Second Agreed Statement. This clarified and interpreted the first statement, with particular reference to pastoral matters, anathemas, and the acceptance (or lack thereof) of the last four ecumenical councils.

The second statement also explicitly stated the validity of both the Oriental Orthodox terminology of the Incarnation ("one nature of the incarnate Logos") and the Eastern Orthodox terminology (two natures in Christ that are distinct "in thought alone"). Thus, no changes to the terminology used by either side were proposed, and the participants of the commission stated

we have now clearly understood that both families have always loyally maintained the same authentic Orthodox Christological faith, and the unbroken continuity of the apostolic tradition, though they have used Christological terms in different ways

While both sides agree that the underlying causes of the schism --- ostensibly Christological --- have been thus addressed, the commission did not come to a definitive agreement about the latter four ecumenical councils, which continued to be a stumbling block for the reconciliation of the two sides.

Both families accept the first three Ecumenical Councils, which form our common heritage. In relation to the four later Councils of the Orthodox Church, the Orthodox state that for them the above points [i.e., the points made in the Second Agreed Statement] are the teachings also of the four later Councils of the Orthodox Church, while the Oriental Orthodox consider this statement of the Orthodox as their interpretation. With this understanding, the Oriental Orthodox respond to it positively.

Both sides agreed in principle that they "should" lift all anathemas against Councils and Fathers of the other side, but no concrete steps were taken in this regard:

"The manner in which the anathemas are to be lifted should be decided by the Churches individually... we submit this Agreed Statement and Recommendations to our venerable Churches for their consideration and action"

Geneva (1993)

The last of the four official dialogues was held on 6 November 1993, returning again to Geneva.

Publishing Proposals for Lifting Anathemas.

After 1993

The Joint Commission of the two families of Orthodoxy has not convened since 1993, with the churches being left to decide the next steps to be taken. For many years, little has happened, but many sought concrete steps to reach full communion.

On the 10-13 March 2005, the Inter-Orthodox Theological Committee for Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches was held in Chambésy, Geneva. This meeting sought to acknowledge the progress that had been made, and the opportunities and challenges for the ecumenical work going forward.

The International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA) (registered in 2017 as a non-profit organization in Illinois, USA) aims to support pan-Orthodox unity and conciliarity, and maintain constructive relations with the leaders of all Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches. The organization has hosted international conferences since 2019, and facilitates group research projects.

Current Ecumenical Status

The following table lists the positions of the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches regarding the Joint Commission's statements and proposals. Autonomous Churches have been listed when their stances differ from their parent Autocephalous Church.

Eastern Orthodox Churches

In Agreement

• Alexandria
• Antioch
• Romania
• Serbia

Participating

• Constantinople
• Cyprus
• Greece
• Jerusalem
• Russia

Not Participating

• Albania
• Bulgaria
• Czech Republic & Slovakia
• Georgia
• Macedonia
• Poland

In Opposition

• Greece
  • Mount Athos

Oriental Orthodox Churches

In Agreement

• Alexandria
• Antioch
• Malankara-India

Participating

• Armenia
• Cilicia

Not Participating

• Ethiopia
• Eritrea

In Opposition

(none)

See Also

• Chalcedonian Schism
• Eastern Orthodoxy
• Ecumenism
• Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches
• Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church
• Oriental Orthodoxy