HOLY SEE OF CILICIA TAKES PART IN ECUMENICAL MEETING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The Holy See of Cilicia took part in a meeting of the Oriental Orthodox-Anglican International Commission on Oct. 24-29 in Braintree, UK, represented by V. Rev. Fr. Hrant Tahanian, Ecumenical Officer of the Catholicosate and a member of the commission.

The meeting was hosted by the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of London at the Bethel Centre of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Braintree, Essex, where participating clergy reviewed and finalized a statement on “The Inheritance of Ecumenical Councils in the Church.” The work had begun in Cairo in 2019 but was cut short by the Covid pandemic in 2020-21.

Following a visit at St. Alban’s Abbey, where the commission was received by the dean, the co-chairs of the commission signed statement on Ecumenical Councils was Coptic Orthodox Church Centre and Cathedral of St George at Stevenage.

Delegates also discussed their program on “Bishops and Synods” for the 2023 meeting in Jordan.

The commission is made up of clergy from different countries and represents denominations that are global in their expression and outreach. Members prayed for the Middle East, also remarking on how the world had changed since their last meeting in 2019, including the aggression by Azerbaijan and Turkey against the Armenians of Artsakh.