Draft:Joint Commission Of The Theological Dialogue Between The Orthodox Church And The Oriental Orthodox Churches

The Joint Commission of the Theological Dialogue Between the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church are a series of ecumenical dialogues between the Eastern Orthodox churches and Oriental Orthodox Churches. The division between the churches can be traced to the years following the Council of Chalcedon (451) whose Christological teaching the Oriental Orthodox did not accept. Attempts to mend the schism "were abandoned in the mid-sixth century" and remained dormant until these meetings and dialogues in the mid- to late-20th century.

The Joint Commission believes both Churches share the same Christological beliefs in substance, the differences being semantic in nature, and that the schism can be mended.

Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon (convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia; modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey), was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian and took place from 8 October to 1 November 451. The principal purpose of the council was to re-assert the ecumenical Council of Ephesus' teachings of Christ's nature as simultaneously divine and human, opposing the teachings of Eutyches (of Christ as solely divine: Monophysitism) and Nestorius (of Christ being divine and human separately: Nestorianism).

The council adopted the confession of Dyophysitism: that Jesus Christ is one person of one substance and one hypostasis, with two distinct but inseparable natures. As well as opposing Monophysitism, this opposed Miaphysitism (divine and human but in one nature). Those who held to Miaphysitism accused the Dyophysites of embracing Nestorianism and broke off from the rest of the church to become what is now the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Ecumenism
In the 20th century, the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, "through the efforts of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches", began entering into ecumenical dialogue to explore the potential of the schism being mended. This began with four unofficial meetings, followed by four official dialogues.

Unofficial Meetings
Four unofficial meetings between clergy and theologians of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches took place.

Aarhus (1964)
The first unofficial meeting took place 1964 in Aarhus, Denmark.

Bristol (1967)
The second unofficial meeting took place three years later in 1967, in Bristol, England.

Geneva (1970)
A further three years passed until the third unofficial meeting 1970, located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Addis Ababa (1971)
The last of the unofficial meetings was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1971.

Official Dialogues
The unofficial meetings led to a series of four official dialogues between the two Churches.

Geneva (1985)
The first official dialogue, taking place on 15 December 1985 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Culminating a joint Communique by Professor Dr. Chrysostomos Konstantinidis (Metropolitan of Myra, Ecumenical Patriarchate) and Bishop Bishoy (Coptic Orthodox Church) : "...For  the  next  meetings,  whose  aim  would  be  to  rediscover  our  common  grounds  in Christology  and  ecclesiology,  the  following  main  theme  and  subsequent  sub-themes were  agreed  upon: Towards  a Common Christology


 * 1) Problems of terminology;
 * 2) Conciliar formulations;
 * 3) Historical factors;
 * 4) Interpretation of Christological dogmas today..."

Egypt (1989)
The second official dialogue was held on 24 June 1989, this time in in Wadi El-Natrun, Egypt.

Published First Agreed Statement.

Geneva (1990)
Returning to Geneva, the third official dialogue was held on 28 September 1990.

Published Second Agreed Statement.

Geneva (1993)
The last of the four official dialogues was held on 6 November 1993, returning again to Geneva.

Publishing Proposals for Lifting Anathemas.

After 1993
The Joint Commission of the two families of Orthodoxy has not convened since 1993, with the churches being left to decide the next steps to be taken. For many years, little has happened, but many sought concrete steps to reach full communion.

On the 10-13 March 2005, the Inter-Orthodox Theological Committee for Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches was held in Chambésy, Geneva. This meeting sought to acknowledge the progress that had been made, and the opportunities and challenges for the ecumenical work going forward.

The International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA) (registered in 2017 as a non-profit organization in Illinois, USA) aims to support pan-Orthodox unity and conciliarity, and maintain constructive relations with the leaders of all Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches. The organization has hosted international conferences since 2019, and facilitates group research projects.

Current Ecumenical Status
The following table lists the positions of the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches regarding the Joint Commission's statements and proposals. Autonomous Churches have been listed when their stances differ from their parent Autocephalous Church.

Eastern Orthodox Churches
==== In Agreement ====


 * Alexandria
 * Antioch
 * Romania
 * Serbia

Participating

 * Constantinople
 * Cyprus
 * Greece
 * Jerusalem
 * Russia

Not Participating

 * Albania
 * Bulgaria
 * Czech Republic & Slovakia
 * Georgia
 * Macedonia
 * Poland

In Opposition

 * Greece
 * Mount Athos

In Agreement

 * Alexandria
 * Antioch
 * Malankara-India

Participating

 * Armenia
 * Cilicia

Not Participating

 * Ethiopia
 * Eritrea

In Opposition
(none)