(Washington) March 8, 2004 – Eastern Christian Publications, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the Pontifical Oriental Institute jointly announce the Orientale Lumen EuroEast I Conference that will be held May 10-13, 2004 in Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey. The name of the conference is taken from the 1995 Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II entitled “Light from the East” in which he explains to the universal Church the valuable traditions of the Christian East such as liturgy, spirituality and monasticism.
 

This ecumenical conference is open to the public by pre-registration and will follow the same format as other Orientale Lumen Conferences held in Washington, DC, Birmingham, UK, and Sydney and Melbourne, Australia over the last seven years. Participants are expected to include both Orthodox and Catholics from around the world, including laypersons, clergy, theologians and bishops. Complete conference details, including registration and conference agenda are available at www.olconference.com or by email to info@olconference.com.
 

The theme will be on the topic of Liturgy as it relates to ecumenical dialogue and Church unity and will include several plenary speakers. His All Holiness, Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, will welcome participants at the opening session. Other plenary speakers will include: Patriarch Gregory III (Laham) of the Melkite Greek-Catholic Church of Antioch, Walter Cardinal Kasper of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Archbishop Vsevolod of Scopelos of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia of the Greek Orthodox Church in England, and Archimandrite Robert Taft of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. All plenary events will be conducted in English.

The conference agenda will also include a variety of liturgical services in English, Greek and Slavonic. These will include an Ecumenical Prayer Service to the Holy Spirit, the Akathist to the Mother of God, and both an Orthodox and Catholic Divine Liturgy. Portions of the conference will be held at the Halki School of Theology off the coast of Constantinople.
 

The goal of the conference is to provide an environment for laypersons and clergy, Orthodox and Catholics, interested in Church unity to gather as a “grass roots” form of ecumenism. All participants will be able to learn from Church leaders, theologians and each other about their commonality in faith and diversity in tradition. Open to the public and involving a wide range of Church traditions, the Orientale Lumen Conferences are a unique form of Orthodox-Catholic dialogue working toward Church unity. Pre-registration and advance payment of conference fees is required to attend conference events.

 

Eastern Christian Publications

Eastern Christian Publications (www.ecpubs.com) and the Society of Saint John Chrysostom (www.ssjc.org) regularly sponsor ecumenical conferences for lay men, lay women, religious and clergy entitled Orientale Lumen that focus on the dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
Open to the public, these conferences provide an opportunity for Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Eastern Catholics to gather, discuss and learn about their respective traditions. They include presentations by scholars and theologians, liturgical celebrations of many varieties, and opportunities for everyone to learn from each other and participate in a “dialogue of love and understanding.”

For complete information, contact:
Orientale Lumen Conference Office
PO Box 192, Fairfax, VA, 22030 USA
Phone: 1-703-691-8862; Fax: 1-703-691-0513
Email: info@olconference.com
Website: www.olconference.com

* * * * *