Peter Hofrichter / Johann Marte (ed.) Documents on

XXXVI Unity in Faith between the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Roman

this clarifi cation. However, in order to at last reach sacramental unity now that unity in faith has been established, the achievements thus impressive. The enthronization of the new Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II and the forthcoming election of a new patriarch for the these interchurch relations. The time is therefore right to review the

PRO ORIENTE XXXVI

DOCUMENTS ON UNITY IN FAITH

BETWEEN THE ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES AND THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Edited by Peter Hofrichter and Johann Marte

TYROLIA VERLAG • INNSBRUCK-WIEN

The cover shows the oldest known byzantine icon of Christ, encaustic on panel, 6th century, Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai. The two different facial expressions on either side are sometimes understood as pointing to Christ's two natures fully God and fully human. The background displays some lines of the Our-Father in the languages Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Ethiopic, Armenian, and English written on ceramic tiles in the Carmelite Convent on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

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2013 © Verlagsanstalt Tyrolia, Innsbruck Umschlaggestaltung: Tyrolia-Verlag Druck und Bindung: Alcione, Lavis (I) ISBN 978-3-7022-3267-2 E-Mail: [email protected] Internet: www.tyrolia-verlag.at

Table of Contence

Address of Christoph Cardinal Schönborn 7 Preface of the Editors 9

Communiqué: Meeting of Old Friends of Pro Oriente 2012 11 Communiqué: First Consultation, 1971 13 Franciscus Cardinal König: Opening Speech 1973 17

Common Declarations and Agreements between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches 1970-2000

Paul VI and Vasken I, 1970 21 Paul VI and Ignatius Yacoub III, 1971 23 Paul VI and Shenuda III, 1973 25 John Paul II and Shenuda III, 1979 29 John Paul II and Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, 1984 35 Shenuda III and Stephanos II Ghattas etc., 1988 39 John Paul II to Shenuda III, 1988 43 Rom. Cath. and Malankara Orth. Syrian Church, 1989/1990 45 Rom. Cath. and Malankara Syrian Orth. Church, 1994 49 John Paul II and Karekin I Sarkissian, 1996 53 John Paul II and Aram I Keshishian, 1997 57 John Paul II and Karekin II Nersessian, 2000 61 Official Dialogue: Agreed Document on Nature, Constitution and Mission of the Church, 2009 65

Other Agreements of Interest

Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches I, 1989 91 Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches II, 1990 97 Mardhinkha and John Paul II, 1994 103

From the Vienna Non-Official Dialogue

Wilhelm de Vries, The Reasons for the Rejection of the by the Oriental Orthodox Churches (1971) 107 Mesrob Krikorian, The Theological Significance of the Results of the Fife Vienna Consultations (1991) 121

The Heads of the Churches from 1970 till to the Present 143

7

KARDINAL DR. CHRISTOPH SCHÖNBORN ERZBISCHOF VON WIEN

Vienna, January 2013

Thankfully, we look back on forty years of growing mutual under- standing und increasing awareness of unity in faith between the Roman Catholic and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. These forty years coincided with the reign of the great Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Pope Shenuda III. who had inaugurated this unexpect- ed development 1971 in Vienna shortly before his elevation to the throne of St. Mark and who was called into God’s glory a few months ago. Certainly it is now the right time to praise the Lord for all graces He has given to our churches during this time till now, and to pray to the Holy Spirit that he may illuminate us how to continue on this way. May the collection of the amazing results of the ecumenical dialogue already existing encourage us to pro- ceed towards what our Lord is waiting for, namely that all should be united. May He teach us the ways and the manner how He wishes this vision to be approached and realized.

Epiphany 2013 + Christoph Card. Schönborn

9 Preface of the Editors

It is true that the ecumenical process among the ancient apostolic Churches have remained without visible progress during the last 15 years. Although unity in faith has been already officially agreed by theologians and solemnly declared by several heads of the Churches the relations between the Churches scarcely have changed. Moreover the results already achieved are going to be forgotten again. Church life continues as always before, and young faithful increasingly are unfortunately no longer interested in at all. They don’t know any more why their Chur- ches have been divided in history nor that the doctrinal reasons of ancient separations do no longer exist.

A small group of friends of PRO ORIENTE in Vienna, some of whom were involved in the unofficial dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches from the beginning, met in March 2012 in Vienna. The participants recom- manded that PRO ORIENTE should publish a booklet with the agreements and common declarations already existing. The col- lection here presented comprises the important official documents on unity of faith issued by the heads of the Churches themselves or in view cases by their representatives. Many of these texts have already been published by PRO ORIENTE more than twenty years ago in the “The Vienna Dialogue, Booklet Nr. 1” and most of them are now accessible also on the internet. Most links are to be found on the home page of PRO ORIENTE: http://www.pro- oriente.at/?site=st20050213122043. But to have the whole collec- tion at hand and on ones book shelf is something different. Much will depend on how it can be brought to pastors and faithfull.

In order to make this new publication as informative and compre- hensive as possible we decided to include also the agreements between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches and between the Catholic Church and the Church of the East.

10 For better understanding two scolarly papers already existing were added. A short paper read by Prof. Wilhelm de Vries during the first Vienna Consultation may remind the reader of the reasons and of the history of the separation of our Churches one and a half thousand years ago. And a review of the five Vienna Consultations held in the framework of PRO ORIENTE during the 70ies and 80ies of the past century is given by Archbishop K. Mesrob Krikorian who as a pioneer of ecumenism had initiated this non-official project of reconciliation.

We hope that this re-publication of documents will encourage and enforce the Churches concerned to renew their efforts on the way of pastoral cooperation and of giving witness to our common heritage of faith.

Prof. Peter L. Hofrichter Dr. Johann Marte, President

11 Meeting of Old Friends of PRO ORIENTE Vienna 29-30 March 2012

COMMUNIQUÉ

In view of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the 2nd Vatican Council some participants of the first unofficial Consultations and Study Seminars of PRO ORIENTE with theologians of the Roman Catholic and the Oriental Orthodox Churches took the initiative for a small meeting in Vienna. The idea was to discuss how the ecumenical process between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches that had started in Vienna soon after the 2nd Vatican Council with great success but in the meantime slowed down, could gain back its former dynamics. The partici- pants were convinced that the reception and implementation of the agreements of the past 40 years by the churches concerned has to be resumed. The common opinion of the participants of the meeting was that unity in faith among Christians could not wait till all theological questions between Churches would be wholly solved. Unity as a term is loaded with fears and historical memo- ries. One should prefer to speak of cooperation. Our oneness in spirit is already given. Realistic targets could be regular meetings of the local bishops of different Churches, common events and celebrations, and may be even a Round Table of the heads of the different Churches. Concrete proposals were made how PRO ORIENTE and the participants of this meeting could set in move and accelerate some necessary steps for the reception, acceptance and implementation of the agreements already achieved in the past. The participants of the meeting agreed to start a special Study Group on Models of visible Unity in the framework of PRO ORIENTE and to meet again from 9-11 November 2012 in Beirut, Lebanon.

The participants were: President Dr. Hans Marte, Prof. Dr. Peter Hofrichter, Metropolitan Mar Gregorios Jouhanna Ibrahim, Arch- bishop Dr. Mesrob Krikorian, Msgr. Prof. Dr. Philipp Harnon- court, Rev. Prof. Dr. Baby Varghese, Mag. Aho Shemon Kasho.

13 First Non-official Ecumenical Consultation between Theologians of the Oriental Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches organized by the Foundation PRO ORIENTE Vienna, September 7-12, 1971.

COMMUNIQUÉ

The Roman Catholic and the Oriental Orthodox Theologians, gathered together in Vienna from September 7th to 12th, 1971, for an “unofficial Ecumenical Consultation” at the invitation of the Foundation PRO ORIENTE have agreed on the following sta- tement: “We, as Christians, feel united in a spirit of brotherhood in our faith in the one Lord Jesus Christ, God and Saviour, and re- cognise equally the commission and prayer of our Lord that we may all be one in Him in order that we may bear common witness to Him that the world may believe (John 17, 21). We find our common basis in the same Apostolic tradition, particularly as affirmed in the Nicean-Constantinopolitan Creed; we all confess the dogmatic decisions and teachings of Nicea (325), Constantinople (381) and Ephesus (431); we all agree in rejecting both the Nestorian and Eutychian positions about Jesus Christ. We have endeavoured for a deeper understanding of the Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian which have separated us until now. We believe that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is God the Son Incarnate; perfect in his divinity and perfect in his humanity. His divinity was not separated from his huma- nity for a single moment, not for the twinkling of an eye. His humanity is one with his divinity without commixtion, with- out confusion, without division, without separation. We in our common faith in the one Lord Jesus Christ, regard his mys- tery inexhaustible and ineffable and for the human mind never fully comprehensible or expressible. We see that there are still differences in the theological inter- pretation of the mystery of Christ because of our different eccle- siastical and theological traditions; we are convinced, however,

14 that these differing formulations on both sides can be understood alone in the lines of the faith of Nicaea and Ephesus. Realizing that there can be different emphases in the theolo- gical and dogmatic elaboration of Christ's mystery, we wish to encourage common efforts for a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of this mystery in harmony with our different ecclesiastical traditions. We have also discussed generally the problem of the Ecume- nical Councils, their authority and reception, and we urge that these problems be extensively studied on both sides. We com- monly submit ourselves to the witness of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament and thus to the Apostolic Kerygma and ex- press our intention not to get tired in the search for a common language of the mystery of salvation in our Lord in a brotherly spirit... ‘until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God’ (Eph 4, 13). We wish to see the mystery of the compassion of God translated into a life of Chris- tian compassion. All of us have experienced how fruitful this Consultation has been and we pray that God who brought us together may bless us and guide our future efforts in such helpful discussions.”

Paticipants

Coptic Orthodox Church: His Grace Bishop Amba Shenouda, Dean of the Coptic Or- thodox Seminary, Abbaseya, Egypt. Rev. Prof. Saleeb Sourial, Prof. of Canon Law at the Coptic Orthodox Seminary, Giza, Egypt.

Syrian Orthodox Church: His Grace Archbishop Mar Severius Zakka Iwas, Baghdad, Iraq (prevented by illness).

Armenian Apostolic Church: His Grace Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan, New York, USA.

15 His Grace Bishop Karekin Sarkissian, Isfahan, Iran (pre- vented). Rev. Vardapet Dr. Mesrob K. Krikorian, Prelate of the Arme- nian Apostolic Church in Austria, Member of the Theological Advisory Council of PRO ORIENTE, Vienna, Austria.

Ethiopian Orthodox Church: Liqe Silttanat Habte Mariam Workneh, Dean of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Chief of Ecclesiastical Affairs in His Im- perial Majesty's Private Cabinet, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Syrian Orthodox Church of India: Rev. Fr. M. V. George, Vice Principal, Orthodox Theological Seminary, Kottayam, India. Rev. Dr. K. C. Joseph, World Council of Churches, Secretary for Scholarships, Geneva. Rev. Prof. V. C. Samuel, Dean of the Theological Faculty of the Haile Selassie University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Rev. Fr. Paul Verghese, Principal of the Orthodox Theolo- gical Seminary, Kottayam, India.

Roman Catholic Church: Rev. Prof. Dr. A. J. van der Aalst A. A., Prof. for Dogmatics, University Of Nijmegen, Netherlands. Rev. Prof. Dr. Dr. Johannes Emminghaus, Member of the Theological Advisory Council of PRO ORIENTE, Prof. for Pastoral Theology, University of Vienna, Austria. Rev. Prof. Dr. Alois Grillmeier SJ., Prof. for Dogmatics at the Theol. College, St. Georgen, Frankfurt/M, Western Germany. Rev. Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Klostermann, Member of the Theo- logical Advisory Council of PRO ORIENTE, Prof. for Pasto- ral Theology, University of Vienna (prevented by illness). Rev. Mons. Otto Mauer, Chairman of the Theological Ad- visory Council of PRO ORIENTE, Vienna, Austria. Rev. Prof. Dr. Karl Rahner SJ., Prof. for Dogmatics, University of Münster, Western Germany (prevented by ill- ness).

16 Rev. Prof. Dr. Helmut Riedlinger, Prof. for Dogmatics, Uni- versity Freiburg L Br., Western Germany. Dr. theol. Lic. bibl. Franz Joseph Schierse, Hausen/Wied, Western Germany. Rey, Prof. Dr. Piet J. A. M. Schoonenberg SJ., Prof. for Dog- matics, Catholic University Nijmegen, Netherlands. Rev. Prof. Dr. Wilhelm de Vries SJ., Scientific Councillor of PRO ORIENTE, Dean of the Orientalistic Faculty and Prof. for Church History at the Institutum Pontificum Orientale, Rome, Italy.

Observer at the Consultation: Rev. Fr. John F. Long SJ., Chief of Department, Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, Instructor for Theology at the Loyola University Chicago Rome Center, Rome.

Sources: Wort und Wahrheit. Revue for Religion and Culture, Supplementary Issue Number 1: Non-official Ecumenical Consultation between Theologians of the Oriental Orthodox Curches and the Roman Catholic Church, Vienna-Lainz, September 7-12, 1971. Papers and Minutes, Vienna 1972, 183 and 7-8. Reprint: The Vienna Dialogue. Cummuniques and Joint Documents. PRO ORIENTE, Booklet Nr. 1, Horn/Austria 1990, 46.44-45.

17 Franciscus Cardinal König

OPENING SPEECH for the Second Non-official Ecumenical Consultation between Theologians of the Oriental Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches organized by the Foundation PRO ORIENTE Vienna, September 3-9, 1973

An important meeting begins today – it is the Second Non-offici- al Ecumenical Consultative Meeting of a group of leading theolo- gians of the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Roman Catholic Church. As Archbishop of Vienna I consider it an honour and it gives me great pleasure to be able to greet in this city the assem- bled distinguished representatives and guests of the Oriental Or- thodox Churches. I particularly extend a most hearty welcome to the archbishops, bishops, prelates and professors, leading theolo- gians of the Coptic, Syrian, Armenian, Ethiopian and Syro-Indian Churches. I also greet the attending theologians of the Roman Catholic Church and especially the representatives of PRO ORI- ENTE: Minister Piffl-Perćević and Mons. Mauer, who, with the support of Vardapet Krikorian and the Secretary General, Alfred Stirnemann, bore the burden of preparing the meeting. The significance of this conference is further underlined by the presence of Fr. John F. Long S. J., representing the Roman Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity as an observer. The first non-official ecumenical consultative meeting two years ago found a worldwide echo. It was marked particularly by the participation of the present Patriarch of Alexandria, His Holi- ness Shenouda III. During his visit in Rome last May, His Holi- ness Patriarch Shenouda also referred to this first meeting in Vienna. In his discourse held at St. Peter's in the presence of Pope Paul he emphasized the usefulness of the theological consulta- tions in Vienna inasmuch as they had produced “a tentative formula of faith about Christ, which was achieved and approved by both sides”. At the first consultation it proved possible, after 1500 years of separation, to re-examine in a cordial and amicable atmosphere

18 many misunderstandings, which, to a significant extent, were rooted also in longstanding cultural and political antagonisms. Two years ago, then, at the end of the first consultative meeting, the theological assembly succeeded in issuing a communiqu6 which best serves to show the productiveness and promise of progress implicit in such an exchange of views. May I ask you to recall the following parts of that statement: “We have endeavour- ed for a deeper understanding of the Chalcedonian and non- Chalcedonian christologies which have separated us until now. – We believe that our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is God the Son incarnate, perfect in his divinity and perfect in his humanity. His divinity was not separated from his humanity for a single moment, not for the twinkling of an eye. His humanity is one with his divinity without commixtion, without confusion, without division, without separation. We in our common faith in the one Lord Jesus Christ, regard his mystery inexhaustible and ineffable, and for the human mind never fully comprehensible or expres- sible. – We see that there are still differences in the theological interpretation of the mystery of Christ because of our different ecclesiastical and theological traditions; we are convinced, however, that these differing formulations on both sides can be understood along the lines of the faith of Nicaea and Ephesus.” It is my sincerest wish, that, upon this basis, the work be- ginning today may again lead us some steps further, thus clearly documenting the striving for Christian unity. Two matters may well gratify and encourage all participants at this meeting: First, the fact that Cardinal Willebrands, at the general meeting of his Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, on the 8th of February 1972, expressly mentioned the first consultative meeting in Vienna, saying that this meeting had demonstrated that such joint theological talks, when conducted in a friendly spirit, will lead to significant results. A second fact deserves our attention: the christological formula attained at the first meeting two years ago was included verbatim in the com- muniqué issued jointly by Pope Paul and the Patriarch Ignatius Yacoub III. Something very much akin to that may be said of the

19 joint Roman communiqué published by Pope Paul and the Patriarch Shenouda on the 10th of May of this year. If the past theological talks have already shown that the Oriental Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Christians profess the same faith and if it already appears that the separation after the Council of Chalcedon was wrongly effected, that the theological formulations of each party had been mutually misunderstood, then you, the assembled partners in the dialogue of this second ecumenical consultation are assuming a not insignificant respon- sibility before history. What impulses might be provided for the ecumenical movement if your work, as it did two years ago, again succeeds in bringing new and positive advances in reconciliation and mutual understanding! With all my heart I wish that at the conclusion of this meeting you may be able to say: Our theological talks have produced new concrete results, the area of misunderstanding has been further reduced, and we have tried to find a common expression for our shared faith. May God bless your efforts and make your deliberations bear good fruit.

Sources: Wort und Wahrheit. Revue for Religion and Culture, Supplementary Issue Number 1: Non-official Ecumenical Consultation between Theologians of the Oriental Orthodox Curches and the Roman Catholic Church, Vienna-Lainz, September 2-9, 1972. Papers and Minutes, Vienna 1973, 1-2. Reprint: The Vienna Dialogue. Cummuniques and Joint Documents. PRO ORIENTE, Booklet Nr. 1, Horn/Austria 1990, 49.