Developed by the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation during a three-day meeting at Georgetown University in Washington, two “unprecedented” statements released on Oct. 7 offer a vision of what the unity of the two churches might look like. Steps Toward a Reunited Church offers a vision of the possible shape of a reunited church resulting from the re-establishment of full communion. The second statement, Celebrating Easter/Pascha Together, focuses on the importance of a unified celebration of Christ’s resurrection. The statements identify areas where the churches diverge in leadership and other practices, such as the role of the pope, that must be reconciled before the nearly 1,000-year separation between the churches can end. Ronald Roberson, a Paulist priest who is the associate director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, said the divided churches now “dimly perceive” what a united church would look like. “Obviously for that to happen,” he said, “Catholics would have to adjust and Orthodox would have to adjust.”
A Vision of Unity
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
A Homily for Pentecost Sunday, by Father Terrance Klein
For a true Eucharistic revival in our nation, we need to take seriously the command of Christ and the “General Instruction” of the Roman Missal to increase our efforts to give everyone a complete sign of reception of holy Communion.
Pope Leo and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke together by phone today, June 4, for the first time, the Kremlin said.
Although Pope Francis already set Aug. 3 as the date to declare the sainthood of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Pope Leo XIV will hold a meeting with cardinals to approve his canonization and that of seven other people.