Conference statement

New Members of the Central Committee of the Conference of European Churches

The last day of the session of the 13th Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) in Lyon, members of the Central Committee, the most important part of the CEC,  were elected by secret voting. Thanks to the effort of our delegation , the SOC got two places in this Committee, where in nest 6 years, will directly decide in bringing decisions of this European organization. His Grace Bishop Grigorije of Zahumlje and Hercegovina and Julija Vidovic, Th.D. in Paris, were elected as the members of the Committee of the CEC.

Furthermore, the SOC delegation managed to explicitly add in the official public document of the Assembly of the CEC an issue of violating human rights of believers of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija, especially in the field of religious freedoms. 

Echoing the hope that God has for Europe

300 delegates representing churches from throughout Europe countries are gathering today in Lyon, France, for the 13th Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (CEC).

Of the 300 delegates, 41 are young people.  170 delegates are male, and 130 are female.  109 are lay people and 191 are ordained.  There are 25 delegates who are black or from a minority ethnic group, or who are representing a migrant church.   

The Trent Agreed Statement on the Family of the First European Catholic-Orthodox Forum

Preamble

By the grace of the Holy Spirit, we, thirty representatives of the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches in Europe, from countries stretching from the Urals to the Atlantic, have gathered together for the First European Catholic-Orthodox Forum. We express our gratitude to all who have worked for the success of this meeting, especially to the Archbishop of Trent who warmly received us and offered hospitality. The meeting has been organised by the Council of European Bishops Conferences (CCEE), in close collaboration with various Orthodox Churches and some of the dicasteries of the Holy See.
We have expressed our deep sorrow at the sudden death of His Holiness, Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and All Russia, who had warmly extended his blessing upon the project of this Forum.

Dialogue between Christianity and Islam

In Athens, in the shadow of protests, today ends a three-day scientific seminar - Dialogue between Christianity and Islam, within an interreligious educational initiative for cooperation, with the theme titled '' The Ability of building interreligious dialogue''. The Patriarchate of Constantinople and the World Islamic Call Society both organized this seminar which lasted from December 11 to 13, 2008 in the capital of Greece.

International Conference on the Restitution of Property to the Church and Religious Communities in Serbia

On the 21st of December, 2007, an International Conference on the Restitution of Property to the Church and Religious Communities was held in AP Vojvodina's Parliament in Novi Sad. The Serbian Orthodox Church was represented by Rt. Rev. Vasilije, Bishop of Srem, Rt. Rev.Irinej, Bishop of Backa, as well as the Legal Advisor of the Patriarchy's Administration Office, Mr. Milan Andric.