The Lutheran ― Orthodox Dialogue
L – O
- Lutheran World Federation
- www.lutheranworld.org
- Inter-Orthodox Commission
- www.patriarchate.org/dialogues
- Latest Update
- July 2023
Chapters
Meetings and Documents
- June 8-16, 1968 – Chambésy/Geneva, Switzerland
- “Fourth Pan-Orthodox conference passed positive judgement and decided to encourage the process of establishing an
Inter-Orthodox commission to prepare an official dialogue which began in 1981”
- “Fourth Pan-Orthodox conference passed positive judgement and decided to encourage the process of establishing an
- March 26-28, 1974 – Liebfrauenberg, France
- Inter-Lutheran consultation organized by the Institute for Ecumenical Research of Strasbourg and by the
Lutheran World Federation on the assumptions of a worldwide Lutheran-Orthodox dialogue
- Inter-Lutheran consultation organized by the Institute for Ecumenical Research of Strasbourg and by the
- Inter-Orthodox Preparatory meetings
- November 4-9, 1978 – Sigtuna, Sweden
- September 16-26, 1979 – Amelungsborn/Hanover, Germany
- September 6-13, 1980 – Skálholt, Iceland
“Discussion on the nature of the Church; action of the Holy Spirit in the Church; unity of faith and limits of the Church;
sacraments; Scripture and Tradition”
- Lutheran Preparatory Committee meeting
- April 30 – May 3, 1978 – Chambésy, Switzerland
March 4-10, 1980 – Chania, Crete, Greece
- April 30 – May 3, 1978 – Chambésy, Switzerland
MEETINGS
- August 27-September 4, 1981 – Espoo, Finland
“Theme of participation in the mystery of the church; establishment of joint sub-commissions to set forth the basic
positions”
March 27-April 3, 1982 – Penteli/Athens, Greece
Sub-commission meeting: “drafted texts on the themes of the Holy Trinity and the church; the church in the history of
salvation; the marks of the church; the way in which the salvation of humanity which Christ wrought is communicated in
and through the church” - May 23-29, 1983 – Limassol, Cyprus
“Methodological question of by what route could the staged goal be approached” - May 24-30, 1985 – Allentown, Pennsylvania USA
“Formulation of agreed statement” – DIVINE REVELATION
August 21-26, 1986 – Bossey/Geneva, Switzerland
Sub-commission meeting: “drafted a text on scripture and tradition to be taken up in plenary session” - May 28-June 2, 1987 – Chania, Crete, Greece
“Worked out differences to finalize an agreed statement” – SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION
October 10-12, 1988 – Venice, Italy
Sub-commission meeting: “the canon and inspiration of Holy Scripture” - September 2-7, 1989 – Bad Segeberg, Germany
“Reformulation and discussion of the draft from Venice leading to a joint statement” – THE CANON AND THE
INSPIRATION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURE
June 26-30, 1990 – Châtenay Malabry/Paris, France
Sub-commission meeting: “studied the first of the sub-themes on authority of the ecumenical councils” - May 31-June 8, 1991 – Moscow, Russia
“Work began on a new theme; authority in and of the church in the light of the ecumenical councils”
June 17-21, 1992 – Geneva, Switzerland
Sub-commission meeting: “authority in and of the Church; ecumenical councils” - July 5-10, 1993 – Sandbjerg, Denmark
“Finalized work on the first sub-theme and issued an agreed statement” – THE AUTHORITY IN AND OF THE
CHURCH
July 5-10, 1994 – Venice, Italy
Sub-commission meeting: “the understanding of salvation in the light of the ecumenical councils” - August 1-8, 1995 – Limassol, Cyprus
“Finalized work on the second sub-theme and issued an agreed statement” – UNDERSTANDING SALVATION IN
THE LIGHT OF THE ECUMENICAL COUNCILS
October 9-11, 1997 – Princeton, New Jersey USA
Sub-commission meeting: “work on draft ‘Salvation: Grace, Justification and Synergy’, present: Lutherans: Lazareth
(Pres.), Aagard, Marshall, Saarinen, Sven Oppegaard; Orthodox: Spiridon (Pres.), Chrysanthos, Gennadios, Pheidas” - July 31-August 8, 1998 – Sigtuna, Sweden
“Examined and studied a draft text on salvation prepared by the sub-commission” – SALVATION: GRACE,
JUSTIFICATION AND SYNERGY
October 9-14, 1999 – Chania, Crete, Greece
Preparatory sub-commission meeting: “Word and sacrament in the life of the Church” - November 3-10, 2000 – Damascus, Syria
“Finalized the theme elaborated by the sub-commission” – WORD AND SACRAMENT (MYSTERIA) IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH
February 19-23, 2002 – St. Petersburg, Russia
Sub-commission meeting: “Sacraments as means of salvation” - October 3-10, 2002 – Oslo, Norway
“Finalized and published agreed statement” – THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH: MYSTERIA/SACRAMENTS AS
MEANS OF SALVATION
October 1-6, 2003: Ierapetra, Creta, Greece
Preparatory sub-commissions: “The mystery of the Church; baptism and chrismation as sacraments of initiation into
the Church” - October 6-15, 2004 – Duràu, Romania
“Finalized and published an agreed statement on Baptism” -THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH: BAPTISM AND
CHRISMATION
October 8-13, 2005 – Erlangen, Germany
Preparatory sub-commission: “The holy eucharist in the life of the Church” - November 2-9, 2006 – Bratislava, Slovakia
“Themes explored included: spirituality of the eucharist and practical implications; Lutheran understanding of the
eucharist; the holy sacrament/mysterion of the eucharist; place of the eucharist in the divine economy of salvation;
metabole or transsubstantiatio” – THE HOLY EUCHARIST IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH
October 3-8, 2007 – Joensuu, Finland
Sub-commission meeting: “work on a draft concerning ecological and social implications of the eucharist” – COMMUNIQUÉ - May 30-June 7, 2008 – Paphos, Cyprus
“Received work of the sub-committee and the themes of: the preparation for participation in and canonical celebration of
the eucharist; eucharist and mission of the Orthodox church; a possible Orthodox eucharistic ecological theology; social
and ethical aspects of the eucharist” – COMMUNIQUÉ and THE HOLY EUCHARIST IN THE LIFE OF THE
CHURCH. PREPARATION, ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
May 4-9, 2009 – Skálholt and Reykjavik, Iceland
Sub-commission meeting: “work on the nature and attributes/properties of the Church” – COMMUNIQUÉ
May 25-31, 2010 – Bethlehem, Palestine
Sub-commission meeting: “work on the mission of the Church” – COMMUNIQUÉ
Inter-Orthodox meeting:May 2-5, 2011 – Penteli/Athens, Greece
“An Orthodox evaluation of the dialogue from its inception 1981 until the present” – COMMUNIQUÉ and AN INTER-ORTHODOX EVALUATION OF THE DIALOGUE - May 31-June 7, 2011 – Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany
“The dialogue began a new phase with the exploration of the themes of ministry, priesthood and ordination” –
COMMUNIQUÉ and THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH: THE NATURE, ATTRIBUTES, AND MISSION OF
THE CHURCH
May 5-10, 2012 – London, England
Sub-commission meeting: “work on the new themes of ministry, priesthood and ordination”
May 24-29, 2013 – Sibiu, Romania
Sub-commission meeting: “work continued on the new themes ; Lutheran understanding of ministry/priesthood
during the period of the Reformation; apostolic succession and ordination from a historical, patristic and canonical point
of view” – COMMUNIQUÉMay 8-13, 2014 – Tallinn, Estonia
Sub-commission meeting: “work continued on the new theme; liturgical texts on rites of ordination in the Orthodox and Lutheran traditions; the understanding of the roe and place of women to the priesthood in the Church and the question of the ordination of women” – COMMUNIQUÉ - April 28-May 5, 2015 – Rhodes, Greece
“The Commission studied papers and reports from the Preparatory Meetings of London, Sibiu and Tallinn, as well as
new papers from both sides with commentaries on the above-mentioned Draft Statements. Intensive discussions revealed
the need for further research especially on the Biblical foundations and early Church teachings and on the Apostolicity of
the Church, concerning the office of Ministry/Priesthood in both traditions. The Plenary Meeting formulated a new
provisional Statement that will be developed further in the forth-coming meetings in the near future” –
COMMUNIQUÉ
December 7-13, 2016 – Nicosia, Cyprus
Sub-commission meeting: “discussions on the overall theme of Ministry/Priesthood in light of the following
sub-themes: a) Biblical foundations of Ordained Ministry/Priesthood in Orthodox and in Lutheran traditions, b) The Ordained Ministry/Priesthood in the Early Church, in the Ecumenical Councils and in the Medieval Church tradition,
c) The Relationship between the Royal Priesthood and the Ordained Ministry/Priesthood and d) Episcopate and
Apostolic Succession” – COMMUNIQUÉ - November 7-14, 2017 – Helsinki, Finland
“Discussions were had on the presented papers; a Joint Drafting Committee was assigned to finalize the Nicosia
Statement in view of the presented papers and the discussions. A modified draft Statement was presented to the
Commission and was amended and approved. This common Statement identified areas where Orthodox and Lutherans
agree and disagree on several topics between the two traditions. In addition, the Commission had a thorough discussion
on the future of the dialogue. It was decided that the main topic for discussions on the next phase will be ‘the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church’” – COMMUNIQUÉ and COMMON STATEMENT: ORDAINED
MINISTRY/PRIESTHOOD
September 24-October 1, 2019 – Tirana, Albania
Sub-commission meeting: “work on new theme: the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church” - May 29-June 4, 2020 – Germany
Postponed because of COVID 19 pandemic
CO-CHAIRMEN
Metropolitan Emilianos of Silyvria (1968-
Archbishop Spyridon Papageorgiou (1995-
Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima (2007-
Dr Georg Kretschmar, Germany (1968-1986)
Bishop Karl-Heinz Stoll, Germany (1987-1989)
Bishop William Lazareth, USA (1990-
Bishop Donald J. McCoid, USA (2007-2009)
Bishop Christoph Klein, Romania (2013-2016)
Archbishop Anders Wejryd, Sweden (2017
CO-SECRETARIES
Patriarchal Deacon Dr. Theodoros Meimaris (2007
Dr. Kathryn L. Johnson (2007-2011)
Rev. Dr. Kaisamari Hintikka (2013
Keep browsing in the archives
A-L
Anglican ― Lutheran International Conversations
A-M
Anglican ― Methodist International Commission
A-O
The Commission for Anglican ― Orthodox Joint Doctrinal Discussions
A-OC
Anglican ― Old Catholic Theological Conferences
A-OO
Anglican ― Oriental Orthodox International Commission
A-R
Anglican ― Reformed International Commission
AC-RC
Mixed Committee for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East
AIC-R
International Theological Dialogue between the Organization of African Instituted Churches and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches
ARC-Marriage
Anglican ― Roman Catholic Commission on the Theology of Marriage and its Application to Mixed Marriages
ARCIC
Anglican ― Roman Catholic International Commission
B-L
Baptist ― Lutheran Joint Commission
B-M
International Dialogue Between the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) and the World Methodist Council (WMC)
B-Mn
Baptist and Mennonite Theological Conversations
B-R
Baptist and Reformed Theological Conversations
B-RC
Baptist ― Roman Catholic International Conversations
D-R
International Disciples of Christ ― Reformed Dialogue Disciples of Christ
D-RC
Disciples of Christ ― Roman Catholic International Commission for Dialogue
CPCE-RC
Communion of Protestant Churches In Europe [Cpce] ― Roman Catholic
CPCE-RC-Prague
Communion of Protestant Churches In Europe [Cpce] ― Roman Catholic
E-RC
Evangelical ― Roman Catholic Dialogue on Mission
Iarccum
International Anglican ― Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission
JWG
The Joint Working Group Between the World Council of Churches and the Catholic Church
L-M
The Lutheran ― Methodist Dialogue
R-M
The Reformed ― Methodist International Consultation
L-Mn
Lutheran ― Mennonite International Dialogue
L-Mn-RC
Lutheran ― Mennonite ― Catholic International Dialogue
L-O
The Lutheran ― Orthodox Dialogue
L-Pe
Lutheran ― Pentecostal Study Group
L-R
The Lutheran ― Reformed Joint Commission
L-R-RC
Joint Lutheran ― Reformed ― Roman Catholic Study Commission on ‘The Theology of Marriage and the Problem of Mixed Marriages’
L-RC
International Catholic ― Lutheran Theological Dialogue
L-SDA
Seventh Day Adventist and Lutheran Bilateral Conversation
M-RC
Joint Commission between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Methodist Council
M-SA
Methodist ― Salvation Army Conversations
Mn-R
Mennonite ― Reformed Dialogue
Mn-RC
Mennonite ― Catholic International Dialogue
Mn-SDA
Mennonite ― Seventh Day Adventist Dialogue
NCC-C
New Charismatic Churches ― Catholic Informal Conversations
O-M
Orthodox ― Methodist Dialogue
O-R
Orthodox ― Reformed Bilateral Conversations
O-RC
The Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church
OC-C
International Roman Catholic ― Old Catholic Dialogue Commission
OC-O
Mixed Old Catholic ― Orthodox Commission
OO-R
International Theological Dialogue between the Oriental Orthodox family of churches and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches
OO-O
Eastern Orthodox ― Oriental Orthodox
OO-RC
International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches
OC-RC
International Roman Catholic ― Old Catholic Dialogue Commission
OO-RC – Copt
International Joint Commission between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church
OO-RC – India
Joint Commission between the Catholic Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (Autocephalous since 1975 under Catholicos Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews II)
OO-RC – Syr-India
Joint Commission between the Catholic Church and the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church (India)
Pe-R
International Pentecostal ― Reformed Dialogue
O-Pe
Orthodox ― Pentecostal Academic Dialogue
Pe-RC
Pentecostal ― Roman Catholic Dialogue
R-RC
International Reformed Catholic Dialogue
SA-C
Conversations Between the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Salvation Army
SDA-C
Seventh Day Adventist ― Catholic Informal Conversations
SDA-R
Seventh Day Adventist and Reformed Theological Dialogue