Anglican-Orthodox Theological Dialogue commission issues communiqué

The International Commission for Anglican-Orthodox Theological Dialogue met in Chania, Crete, from Tuesday, September 15 to Sunday, September 20, 2009, as guests of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, at the Metropolis of Kydonia and Apokoronos.

The commission wishes to record its gratitude to His Eminence Metropolitan Damaskinos of Kydonia and Apokoronos (Chania) and his staff for the warmth of their hospitality and for their assistance with many aspects of the meeting. Greetings were received from Metropolitan Damaskinos and from the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the local civil authorities.

The commission consists of representatives of the Orthodox Church and of the Anglican Communion. It began its work in Oxford in 1973. Agreements reached in its first two stages were set out in (1) the Moscow Agreed Statement of 1976, and the Dublin Agreed Statement of 1984, and (2) in the Cyprus Agreed Statement of 2006.

The meeting in Crete was the first plenary meeting of the third stage of the Dialogue. The commission discussed the theological convergences identified in the Moscow, Dublin and Cyprus Statements, and it noted the ways in which these statements were being distributed and discussed on both sides. The main topic for this third stage of the dialogue is theological anthropology, that is, the Christian understanding of the human person as being in the image and likeness of God, and the implications of this for church life and contemporary ethical issues. In the light of the Cyprus Statement The Church of the Triune God papers were written by the Bishop William Gregg, on hopes and possibilities for the Anglican-Orthodox dialogue in the future, and by the Rev. Dr. Timothy Bradshaw on an Anglican view of Christian anthropology. Two further papers were discussed examining Christian anthropology; an Anglican viewpoint by the Rev. Professor John Riches, and an Orthodox perspective by Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia.

The commission will meet again from 31st August to 6th September 2010 in Oxford, England, and will address in greater depth certain aspects of Christian anthropology: 'what is a human being?'; 'the freedom and growth of the human being with particular reference to the understanding of image and likeness'; and 'human responsibility for the creation; a critical overview of recent statements by our churches'.

Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia, Orthodox Co-Chairman
Archbishop Roger Herft, Anglican Co-Chairman

Chania, Saturday, 19th September 2009
Feast of St Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury

Commission members present in Chania were:

Representatives of the Orthodox Church
Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia (Ecumenical Patriarchate) (Co-chairman)
Metropolitan Petros of Aksum (Patriarchate of Alexandria)
The Rev. Fr Alexander Haig (Patriarchate of Antioch)
The Rev. Dr George Dion Dragas (Patriarchate of Jerusalem)
The Rev. Dr Kirill Hovorun (Patriarchate of Moscow)
Dr. Bogdan Lubardic (Patriarchate of Serbia)
Metropolitan Nifon of Târgoviste (Patriarchate of Romania)
Bishop Melkhisedek of Herety (Patriarchate of Georgia)
The Rev. Dr. Giorgi Zviadadze (Patriarchate of Georgia)
Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Kition (Church of Cyprus)
Bishop Ilia of Philomelion (Church of Albania)
The Rev. Dr. Christos B Christakis (Co-Secretary)

Members unable to attend:
Professor Constantine Scouteris (Church of Greece)
The Rev. Fr. Andrzej Minko (Church of Poland)
The Rev. Dr. Vaclav Jezek (Church of Czech Lands and Slovakia)

Representatives of the Anglican Communion
Archbishop Roger Herft (The Anglican Church of Australia) (Co-Chairman)
The Rev. Dr. Timothy Bradshaw (The Church of England) (Co-Secretary)
The Rev. Dr. Thomas Ferguson (The Episcopal Church) [USA]
The Rev. Canon Jonathan Goodall (Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative)
Bishop William Gregg (The Episcopal Church) [USA]
The Rev. Deacon Dr Christine Hall (The Church of England)
The Rev. Canon Philip Hobson OGS (The Anglican Church of Canada)
Natasha Klukach (The Anglican Church of Canada)
Bishop Michael Lewis (The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem & the Middle East)
The Rev. Dr. Duncan Reid (The Anglican Church of Australia)
The Rev. Canon Professor John Riches (Scottish Episcopal Church)
Bishop John Stroyan (The Church of England)
The Rev. Joseph Wandera (The Anglican Church of Kenya)
Neil Vigers (Staff - Anglican Communion Office)

Members unable to attend:
Dr. Paula Gooder (The Church of England)