Fairfax, Virginia – In October 2010, the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation produced a jointly-agreed document entitled “Steps Toward a Reunited Church.” For the first time ever, members of that dialogue will give presentations and discuss the document in a public forum at the Orientale Lumen XVII Conference on June 17-20, 2013 in Washington, DC. In addition to five members of consultation, other plenary speakers will include Metropolitan Tikhon of Washington, primate of the Orthodox Church in America, and Archimandrite Robert Taft, SJ, professor emeritus from the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. The moderator will be Fr. Ron Roberson, CSP, Associate Director of the Ecumenical Affairs office of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. The plenary speakers will include:
Msgr. Paul McPartlan
The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC
Father Thomas FitzGerald
Hellenic College/Holy Cross Seminary, Boston, MA
Father Sidney Griffith
The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC
Father James Dutko
St. Michael Orthodox Church, Binghamton, NY
Sr. Susan Wood, SCL
Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
Starting with an opening session on Monday evening and concluding on Thursday with lunch, the conference agenda will also include prayer services from a variety of Christian traditions including Armenian, Coptic, Syrian and Byzantine. Meals and other social events will offer opportunities for participants to “dialogue” among themselves and have unprecedented access to the plenary speakers.
The Orientale Lumen Conferences have been meeting annually in Washington since 1997, and occasionally in Istanbul, Sydney, Melbourne, San Diego, Detroit and New Jersey. They are organized by lay persons creating an atmosphere of “grass roots” ecumenical dialogue and are open to the public for lay persons and clergy, Catholics and Orthodox.
Information about past conferences, further details for this year, and online registration is available at www.olconference.com, select the Future Conferences button. Select videos of past conferences can also be viewed at www.oltv.tv. The full registration fee is $375 per person, including meals. Overnight accommodations are available for $80/person per night. Space is limited so signup as soon as possible to reserve your place at this exciting event. The final registration deadline is June 10th. Call 703-691-8862 for further information.