We also thank God for this brotherly meeting of ours which took place in his name and with the firm intention of obeying his will that his disciples be one John 17:21 |
Due to the schism and separation of east and west religious cultures in 1054, the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic religious denominations prevented further communication due to the conflicts of different beliefs and opinions. For many centuries, no verbal communication occurred until in 1964 when saint Paul VI visited Orthodox patriarchs. This was the first connection that occurred between both denominations with Pope Paul VI meeting Greek patriarch Athenagoras. As a result of the meeting, it created reconciliation between the two churches and a mutual connection was just being created. Below are important years in history that represent the dialogue between both denominations.
1965 As of 1965, communication became greater through "The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation. This was a conference that heavily involved Catholic and Greek Orthodox bishops that communicated about Ecumenical and Interreligious affairs held twice a year. On December 7th 1965, Pope Paul VVI and Patiarch Athenagoras proclaimed the lifting of excommunications in relation to the schism of 1054. This was a point in time that reflected that the schism was to be ‘erased from the memory’ of the church. John Karimiris wrote "Pope Paul VI and his circle of Papist theologians worked out a well-researched and broad program of Rome-centered Ecumenism, in agreement with Latin Ecclesiology”. He acknowledged The Pope and asked him to promote Orthodox union. 1979 The “Joint International commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and Orthodox church” was established during 1979. It stated that Orthodox churches must be recognised and they have valid sacraments in relation to the Christian denomination. This was implemented and represented that all Orthodox churches and Catholic Churches are ‘sister churches’ and implementing that they are all interconnected. “We want the progress in unity to open up new possibilities of dialogue and collaboration with believers of other religions” (The Roman Curia, Joint Declaration). 1980 As time passed greater dialogue occurred between the denominations with greater verbal communication continuing. In 1980 the Joint conference of the Abotts in Mount Athos from April 2-22 noted the issue of the Orthodox church and its beliefs and informing the Roman Catholics are not to be involved in heterodox – (not conforming with accepting or orthodox standards or beliefs). One quote extrapolated from the conference was: “we believe that our holy Orthodox Church is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ, which possesses the fullness of grace and truth and, in consequence thereof, unbroken apostolic succession”. During the same year Vatican City State and Greece established diplomatic relations. 1995 In May 1995, John Paul II wrote an encyclical named Ut Unum Sint meaning ‘that they may be one’. This encyclical recognised that correlation and unity between the two churches were required. “Dialogue has not only been undertaken; it has become an outright necessity, one of the Church's priorities (Ut Unum Sint, 31. 55)”. It physically states in this quote directly from the encyclical that the Pope has attempted to maintain and gain relationship between other Christian denominations. In 1995 Pope John Paul II and Patriarch of Constantinople celebrated the Eucharist together. John Paul the II also reconciled Eastern and Western Christendom and promoted unity between Catholics and Orthodox. 2004 In 2004, Patriarch Bartholomew in Constantinople accepted the apology from Pope John Paul II in his formal apology for the sacking of Constaninople in 1204. |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Common declaration signed in the Vatican by Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Bartholomew I 1999, Eternal world television network, Accessed September 6th 2015, <http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/BARTHDEC.HTM>
Eastern Orthodoxy 2015, Catholic Answers, Accessed September 5th 2015, <http://www.catholic.com/tracts/eastern-orthodoxy> Joint Declaration 2015, The Roman Curia, Accessed September 6th 2015, <http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/ch_orthodox_docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_19791130_jp-ii-dimitrios-i_en.html> Religions of the world 2012, Youtube, Accessed 6th September 2015, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7cUuxh3CYY> The Announcement of the Joint Conference of the Abbots of Mount Athos 2015, Pantokratoros, Accessed August 29th 2015, <http://www.impantokratoros.gr/conference-mountathos.en.aspx> The Great Schism 2015, Theopedia, Accessed September 5th 2015, <http://www.theopedia.com/great-schism> The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation 2015, Assembly of canonical orthodox bishops, Accessed August 30th 2015, <http://assemblyofbishops.org/ministries/dialogue/orthodox-catholic/> Timeline of Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic relations 2015, Wikipedia, Accessed August 29th 2015, <Timeline of Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic relations> Ut Unum Sint 2015, Liberia Editrice Vaticana, Accessed September 5th 2015, <http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25051995_ut-unum-sint.html> |