Praying for Full Communion, Lifting of Anathemas, and Theological and Pastoral Unity and Growth for the Glory of God and the witness of Christ and His One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church to all the ends of the earth. May the prayer of The Holy Theotokos and all the Saints, and the love, truth, work and humility of Hierarchs, Fathers, Theologians and Laity be with us. Lord Have Mercy and Forgive us our sin. Glory to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One God, forever, from Generation to Generation, to the ages of ages, Amen
For more information on the documents of the Joint Commission: http://orthodoxunity.org/
"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." + Gal5:26-28
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me." + John 17: 20-23
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Other dialogues were held with representatives of the ancient 'Church of the East' and the 'Oriental Orthodox.' A theologians' consensus was reached that in the past both sides had meant to affirm the same truths while differing over words. A joint statement in 1990 declared that the Son united his 'divine uncreated nature with its natural will and energy' to 'human nature, with its natural will and energy', but also that these two natures, wills and energies 'are distinguished in thought alone', so that 'the Son who wills and acts is always the one hypostasis of the Logos incarnate.' Disastrous controversies and schisms could have been avoided had that agreement been reached in say, 490 and it remains to be seen whether it has been reached too late.
From: David L. Edwards "Christianity: the First Two Thousands Years" (London: Cassell [Continuum International Publishing Group] 1997) 148.
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During the past thirty years there have been numerous meetings and conferences of Coptic churchmen with the hierarchs of the Byzantine Orthodox churches. A Coptic delegation was invited to observe at the Pan-Orthodox Conference at Rhodes in September 1961. For the millenial celebrations of the monastic Republic of Haghion Oros, Pope Cyril VI sent Bishop Shenuda to represent the Coptic Church. In October 1972, Shenuda III, now pope, paid a visit to the orthodox patriarchs of Moscow, Constantinople, Bucharest, Tbilisi, and the Armenian catholicus in Yerevan.
Important for the ecumenical dialogue between the Coptic Church and the Byzantine churches were the four unofficial consultations of theologians of the two Orthodox families in Arhus (1964), Bristol (1967), Geneva (1970), and Addis Ababa (1971). The first official Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches took place in Chambesy, near Geneva, December 10-15, 1985. Co-presidents of the commission were Metropolitan Bishoi of Damietta for the Coptic Church and Dr. Chrysostomos Konstantinides, metropolitan of Myra for the ecumenical patriarchate. The second meeting of the Joint Commission took place at the Monastery of Saint Bishoi from June 20 to June 24, 1989. The twenty-three participants came from thirteen countries and represented thirteen churches. The meetings were cochaired by Metropolitan Bishoi and Metropolitan Damaskinos of Switzerland. Agreement was reached on the christological formula of Saint Cyril of Alexandria, the famous “one nature of the incarnate Word.” Moreover, they agreed on the use of the four following adverbs to qualify the mystery of the hypostatic union belonging to a shared faith: without confusion, without change, without separation, and without division. “Those among us who speak of two natures in Christ do not thereby deny their inseparable, indivisable union; those among us who speak of one united divine-human nature in Christ do not thereby deny the continuing dynamic presence in Christ of the divine and the human, without change, without confusion. We are agreed also in our understanding of the Person and Work of God the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father alone, and is always adored with the Father and the Son.”
The third meeting of the Joint Commission of Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches took place September 23 - 28 ,1990 at the Orthodox Center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Geneva. At this meeting a report was received from the Joint Pastoral Subcommittee, which had met at the Monastery of Saint Bishoi from January 31 tofebruary 4, 1990. The declarations were signed by Metropolitan Damaskinos of Switzerland, Metropolitan Bishoi of Damietta, Metropolitan Petros of Axum, Mar Yuhanna Ibrahim of Aleppo, Professor V. Phidas, and Mr. Joseph M. Faltas.
From: Otto F.A. Meinardus, "Two Thousand Year of Coptic Christianity." (Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 1999) 127-129.
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"In doctrinal articulation...an understanding has been reached between bishops and theologians of the anti-Chalcedonian Oriental churches and the pro-Chalcedonian Eastern churches about the unity of divinity and humanity in the person of God's incarnate Son and Word Jesus Christ. This official statement indicates that past christological disagreements and misunderstandings are settled and no theological obstacles remain to full eucharistic communion among these long-separated churches. What remains are the difficult tasks of coordinating liturgical worship, establishing appropriate organizational structures, healing painful memories, and convincing the members of these churches to accept interpretations of the original controversies in the light of the contemporary agreement. Such healing and reconciling efforts, which only come by God's grace and a willingness to refer all judgments about the past to God alone, allow the common understanding regarding the person of Christ to bring separated churches into full ecclesial unity."
From Fr Thomas Hopko. "Speaking the Truth in Love: Education, Mission, and Witness in Contemporary Orthodoxy." (New York: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2004) 123.
