"Grass Roots" Ecumenical Conferences Planned

Sunday, 18 April 2010 13:12

Fairfax, Virginia. April 16, 2010. Three Orientale Lumen Conferences are planned in 2010 for lay persons and clergy from the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and Oriental Orthodox Churches.  One of the few ecumenical dialogue meetings that are open to the public, this year's conferences will focus presentations on "The Councils of the Church".  Held annually since 1997, the Orientale Lumen conferences provide a "grass roots" form of ecumenical dialogue where all persons learn from each other's traditions. This year's conferences will be held in New Jersey, Washington, DC, and Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey. [ Brochure ]

The first conference will be held June 7-10 at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ and is co-sponsored by the Center for Catholic Studies.  The speakers will include:

• Archbishop Cyril Vasil', SJ, Secretary of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, The Vatican
• Archimandrite Cyril Hovorun, Director of Religious Education, Moscow
• Archimandrite Robert Taft, SJ, Professor Emeritus of the Pontifical Oriental Institute, The Vatican
• Father John Behr, St. Vladimir's Seminary, New York, NY
• Father George Gallaro, SS Cyril & Methodius Byzantine Catholic Seminary, Pittsburgh, PA
• Mr. Elias Damianakis, Lecturer and Iconographer, Tampa, FL

The second conference will be held June 21-24 at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, DC.  The speakers will be:

• Metropolitan Jonah, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America
• Archbishop Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, DC
• Archimandrite Robert Taft, SJ, Professor Emeritus of the Pontifical Oriental Institute, The Vatican
• Archpriest Peter Galadza, Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky Institute, Ottawa, Canada
• Father Thomas FitzGerald, Holy Cross Theological School Boston, MA
• Mr. Elias Damianakis, Lecturer and Iconographer, Tampa, FL

The third conference will be held July 5-8 in Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey with His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew giving the Welcoming Address.  Plenary speakers will include:

• Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia, Retired Lecturer of Eastern Orthodox Studies of Oxford University, England
• Archbishop Cyril Vasil', SJ, Secretary of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, The Vatican
• Archimandrite Robert Taft, SJ, Professor Emeritus of the Pontifical Oriental Institute, The Vatican
• Archimandrite Job Getcha, Institute of Orthodox Theology, Chambésy, Switzerland and the Catholic Institute of Paris, France
• Sister Vassa Larin, University of Vienna, Austria
• Professor Richard Schneider, St. Vladimir's Seminary, New York, NY
• Moderator - Bishop John Michael Botean, Romanian Greek Catholic Eparchy of St. George, Canton, OH

Each conference agenda will include plenary sessions by the speakers, ecumenical prayer services, and opportunities for fellowship among the participants.  Additional tours to Ephesus and Patmos are planned in Turkey.

For further details, call the conference office at 703-691-8862, or use our website (www.olconference.com) to download color brochures or register online.  Videos from previous conferences are available to view at www.oltv.tv.