Conference of European Churches - Office of Communications

Press release No. 07-31/e

2 July 2007

ORTHODOX CHURCHES OFFER REFLECTIONS ON THE WAY TO SIBIU

“To strengthen the existing fraternal links between the Orthodox Churches and to enable them to act and speak in a co-ordinated way and with one voice and one heart during the Third European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA3)”. This was the vision of Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima (Ecumenical Patriarchate) in relation to the meeting of 35 representatives of nearly all the Orthodox Churches which are members of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), gathered in the island of Rhodes, Greece, from 25 to 28 June 2007, within the framework of preparations for the EEA3 in Sibiu (4-9 September 2007). Upon the invitation of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew the meeting was graciously hosted by Metropolitan Kyrillos of Rhodes. One of the concrete aims of this meeting was to write a report to be addressed to all those attending the EEA3 in Sibiu.

Following the introduction of Metropolitan Gennadios, Metropolitan Daniel of Moldova and Bucovina (Romanian Orthodox Church) spoke about the significance of the Assembly in Sibiu for the faith, the life and the mission of the churches in Romania and Europe in general. He emphasised that today, as Europe experiences a deep crisis of faith and passes through the “desert of secularisation”, the duty of European churches is to mobilise themselves for dialogue, reconciliation and co-operation among churches and peoples of the continent.

Following remarks on the overall theme of the EEA3 “The Light of Christ shines upon all. Hope for renewal and unity in Europe”, reflections were formulated on the three sub-themes of the Sibiu assembly: The Light of Christ and the Church, The Light of Christ and Europe and The Light of Christ and the World.

Regarding the quest for Church unity, the report underlines that “The unity of the Church is a gift of God and in the same time a task of the Christians to pray and work for and cannot be separated from its holiness, catholicity and apostolicity. To pray and work towards Christian unity means to rediscover the common apostolic Tradition lived and transmitted through centuries”.

As for the second sub-theme, it was underlined that “Europe is not limited by the framework of Western Europe and the European Union, but it concerns the whole continent. The common basis of Europe is the Christian faith. That is why it is important at the Assembly in Sibiu to stress the Christian roots of Europe”.

With regard to the third sub-theme, the report stressed that “the Churches have to mobilise themselves for the promotion of Christian values such as truth, freedom, human dignity, morality, justice, peace and solidarity, as told by our Lord Jesus Christ. This could be realised through education and formation of new generations. In this respect, the defence of the elementary human rights of migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and all the marginalised persons in our society, is part of the Churches’ diaconal mission in the world”. With this in mind, it was strongly recommended that a visible sign of our concern for the deterioration of the natural environment be given by dedicating, on the basis of the Orthodox tradition of fasting, “nisteia”, the day of Friday, 7 September as an optional fasting day for all the Assembly participants.

Rev. Prof. Viorel Ionita, Director Designate of the Churches in Dialogue Commission of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), considers that “this meeting marked an important stage for the preparation of the Orthodox participants at the EEA3 in Sibiu next September. The Rhodes report offers some substantial theological reflections on the theme and the sub-themes of this Assembly, not only for the Orthodox delegates, but also for many other participants”.

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The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of some 125 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches from all countries of Europe, plus 40 associated organisations. CEC was founded in 1959. It has offices in Geneva, Brussels and Strasbourg.

For more information:
Luca M. Negro
CEC Office of Communications
Phone +41 22 791 64 85 or 791 63 25
Fax +41 22 791 62 27
e-mail: Luca.Negro@cec-kek.org