The meeting, jointly chaired by Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of PCPCU and by Bishop Kyrillos, Auxiliary Bishop in the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, California, USA, was dedicated to the study of a draft document on the sacraments in the life of the Church, concluding the third phase of the dialogue.

The next meeting of the Joint International Commission will be organised by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, in Rome on 20-24 June 2022. Besides the finalisation of the document on the sacraments, the main theme of the meeting will be “The Virgin Mary in the teaching and life of the Church”.

Founded in 2003, the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches includes representatives of the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch, the Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicossate of All Armenians – See of Echamiadzin and Catholicossate of Cilicia), the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.

The Commission has already published two documents, the first in 2009 on the “Nature, Constitution and Mission of the Church”, and the second in 2015 on “The Exercise of Communion in the Life of the Early Church and its Implications for Our Search for Communion Today”.

The last meeting of the commission was held in Atchaneh, Lebanon, from 26 January to 1 February 2020, hosted by the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch in its patriarchal residence.

Source: http://www.christianunity.va/