The third plenary meeting of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in Europe took place at St. Hripsime Armenian Apostolic Church in Vienna, Austria, from 22 to 24 February 2023. The conference was hosted by His Grace Bishop Tiran Petrosyan, Pontifical Legate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Central Europe and Scandinavia. Representatives came from the Armenian Apostolic Church, Coptic Orthodox Church and Syriac Orthodox Church.
The family of the Oriental Orthodox Churches is rooted in the apostolic origin and witness to a rich heritage of Christian culture and history in its homelands in the Middle East and India, and due to various reasons gradually became fully present in the European Union. Oriental Orthodox Christians number about 60 million world-wide: Most live in Armenia, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Communities can also be found in many other parts of the world, formed through diaspora, conversions and missionary activities.
The first meeting of the Oriental Orthodox hierarchs in Europe took place in the Syriac Orthodox Monastery of Mor Jakob of Serugh in Warburg, Germany on 4th October 2019.
At the Meeting it was agreed to bring together the hierarchs of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in Europe to establish a standing Conference and work together to promote and protect the welfare of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the European Union.
The second meeting was held at St. Mary and St. Mauritius Coptic Orthodox monastery in Höxter-Brenkhausen, Germany on 5th May 2022.
The discussions of the second meeting resulted in the following preliminary mission statement:
a. The Standing Conference of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in Europe is a fellowship of the hierarchs of the Armenian Apostolic, Coptic Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Syriac Orthodox Churches.
b. The mission of the Standing Conference is to proclaim and witness the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as a fellowship of apostolic churches, affirming the unity of the Orthodox Christian faith and demonstrating their collective solidarity.
c. The Standing Conference creates educational forums and opportunities for the faithful of the member churches to discover the common threads of faith and tradition which unites them.
d. The Standing Conference engages in ecumenical activities with other Christian communions with the approval and under the guidance of the heads of the member churches who would cooperate on pastoral and social matters.
e. The Standing Conference engages in inter-religious dialogue on matters of common interest in promoting life and peace in society.
f. The Standing Conference will maintain relations and links with the European Union.
An executive committee was unanimously elected:
President: Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Pontifical Legate of the Armenian Church in Western Europe.
Vice President: Anba Damian, Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in North Germany.
Secretary: Mor Polycarpus Dr Augin Aydin, Archbishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church in The Netherlands.
In order to organise and define the purpose and the tasks of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the European Union it was decided to draft a constitution to work on during the next plenary meeting.
The third plenary meeting took place in a friendly and cordial atmosphere in Vienna. It started with morning prayers according to the Armenian liturgy, including prayers from the Coptic and Syriac traditions. His Grace Tiran Petrosyan welcomed the participants and prayed for the success of the meeting.
His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, the president of OCE opened the meeting with words of greeting and presented the agenda, consisted of studying the drafted constitution, visiting the Foundation of Pro Oriente following by a guided tour in St. Stefan Cathedral, and meeting with His Eminence Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna. The president highlighted the necessity of common work of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. He emphasised the role of the churches in the new homelands to support the faithful to be fully integrated as responsible citizens in the new homeland, but to remain at the same time holistically members in their respected church and tradition. Particularly attention was drawn to the impact of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, Among others the participants reflected also notably on the Egyptian illegal child migrants who drowned off the Libyan coast, among them many Coptic Christians. Prayers were offered to them too.
His Grace Anba Damian presented the first draft of the statute for the constitution of The Standing Conference of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in Europe.
The meeting with PRO ORIENTE’s president Dr. Alfons M. Kloss and his team took place in St. Michaelis Church on Thursday afternoon (23.02.2023). The president welcomed the members of OCE and informed them, together with Prof. Dietmar Winkler, Dr. Viola Raheb and Bernd A. Mussinghoff, about the impressive work and achievements of Pro Oriente in the context of ecumenicism between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, as well as in the field of the Syriac Churches. Archbishop Khajag Barsamian talked about the initiative of OCE in the context of the integration of Oriental Christians in Europe, stating the need to work together as Oriental Christians, but also in an ecumenical spirit with the other churches and with the European Union. President Kloss and Prof. Winkler offered their help and are looking forward to cooperation.
The guided tour through St. Stefan Cathedral inspired the participants. They were informed about the rich history of the cathedral and shown some of the most precious relics that are kept with great care as treasures, such as a splinter from the holy cross.
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn attended evening prayers in St. Hripsime Church, talked to the participants and stayed for supper. The Cardinal commemorated the genocide in talking about Franz Werfen’s novel of “The Forty Days of Musa Dagh”, and the current situation in the Middle East. He blessed the meeting and expressed his best wishes with prayers for the successful work of OCE. Archbishop Khajag Barsamian expressed his thanks to the Cardinal with words of gratitude.
On Thursday evening members from local parishes were invited to St. Hripsime Armenian Church. Their presence led to fruitful discussion, songs and joy, particularly in celebrating the birthday of His Grace Bishop Tiran Petrosyan with delicious traditional food prepared by the members of St. Hripsime church. All the participants and His Grace Bishop Tiran Petrosyan thanked everyone for their efforts in organizing the conference in St. Hripsime Church in Vienna and for the hospitality that was kindly offered to them.
Source։ Pontifical Legation Western Europe https://www.facebook.com/pontificallegation.westerneurope.9
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