Orthodox-Catolic dialog about anthropology

In October 2003 the Johann-Adam-Möhler-Institut für Ökumenik participated in an Orthodox-Catholic conference about the understanding of Christian anthropology which was held by the Viennese foundation PRO ORIENTE and the Russian Orthodox University “St John the Theologian” (a non-public college with ten faculties being associated with the Orthodox Church). In 2002 PRO ORIENTE had started this new sequence of discussions with representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church by a conference in Vienna.

The conference of this year being carried out by both initiators for the first time in cooperation with the Johann-Adam-Möhler-Institut, took place from 23 to 26 October 2003 in Moscow and was centred on the theme “Life of man in view of the death”. Eight representatives from the Orthodox as well as the Catholic side examined the topic in patristic, philosopical, theological and ethical view. From the Russian side, lecturers of the Russian Orthodox University, the Moscow Spiritual Seminary and the Moscow Spiritual Academy took part in the conference. The presentations from the Roman-Catholic side were made by professors from the universities of Vienna and Graz as well as by Dr. Johannes Oeldemann from the Johann-Adam-Möhler-Institut in Paderborn.

As Archimandrit Ioann Ekonomzev, Rector of the host university and Director of the synodical department for religious education and catechesis of the Patriarchate of Moscow, expressed during the opening of this conference, Christian ideas of life and death are equally challenged by secularization and the secularization of life connected hereto as well as the mania of feasibility relying on the progress of natural science in the East and the West. Therefore, he expressed the importance of the collaboration between Orthodox and Catholics in order to encounter the challenges of today. The symposium of Moscow made clear that both traditions realize the ambiguity of human death and, thus, handle this phenomenon in a differenciated manner. The participants from the East and the West agreed that not repression of death, but only the conscious examination of this fact of human existence will help to lead to a conduct of life being calm, honest and able to learn.

At the end of the conference all participants recommended to the responsible bodies to continue the sequence of discussions about Christian anthropology – not only as anthropology is one of the essential questions in the ecumenical dialogue but also since this dialogue practised between Orthodox and Catholic theologians is an important measure to build up confidence in light of the tensions which still exist between the Vatican and the Patriarchate of Moscow.