On behalf of the Roman and Eastern Catholic Bishops serving on the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) co-sponsored Orthodox-Catholic Bishops’ Dialogue, The Most Reverend Richard Grecco (Co-chair), The Most Reverend Michael Mulhall, The Most Reverend Lawrence Huculak, O.S.B.M., and The Most Reverend Thomas Dowd, a letter of congratulations was sent on the occasion of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto being elevated to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew. As a result, His Eminence Archbishop Sotirios’ new episcopal designation is now Archbishop of Canada and Exarch of the Arctic.
Letter of congratulations to His Eminence Archbishop Sotirios
In January 2017, The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) will be releasing joint material to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. The resource is entitled, “Together in Christ — Lutherans and Catholics Commemorating the Reformation“. The resource includes a five-part parish study guide which may be used in individual segments or as a whole series by any Lutheran, Catholic, or ecumenical study session focusing on the Reformation. The resource is designed to bring Catholic and Lutheran parishes together to facilitate discussions touching on some of the historical and theological questions surrounding the Reformation and the advancements in reconciliation which have occurred over the past 50 years. Together in Christ is based on From Conflict to Communion (2013) and the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999) which were developed by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).
Ottawa – The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation recently met in Mississauga, Ontario, 25-27 October 2018. The Consultation, founded in 1965, is sponsored by the Committee for Ecumenical Relations of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB). To date, the Consultation has published numerous papers and responses on a wide variety of theological and pastoral issues affecting Catholic-Orthodox relations. Since 1997, when the CCCB became a sponsoring body to the Consultation, the group’s meetings are hosted in Canada every five years.
In collaboration with the Faculty of Theology of the University of Saint Michael’s College in the University of Toronto, alongside The Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies (MASI), a free public lecture was held the evening of Friday, 26 October to coincide with the meeting of the Consultation. Msgr. Paul McPartlan, S.T.L., D.Phil., Professor of Systematic Theology and Ecumenism at The Catholic University of America and member of both the North American and International Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue, gave a lecture entitled “The Road to Chieti and Beyond: Recent Developments in Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue.” In his lecture, Msgr. McPartlan reviewed some of the major questions related to primacy and synodality and the implication of the Eucharist as the basis for our communion as Churches.
The national Catholic – Evangelical Dialogue met for its semi-annual meeting on 13 December 2017 in Mississauga, Ontario. Dialogue participants discussed questions relating to evangelization, vocation, and mission based on a variety of readings provided by both the Evangelical and Catholic participants.
The 10th annual International Earth Hour will take place on Saturday 25 March 2017 at 8:30 p.m. The Roman Catholic – United Church Dialogue has prepared an ecumenical prayer service to help congregations, parishes, and other groups observe, in prayer and worship, International Earth Hour. The resource is available in French and English and is entitled Earth Hour Vigil. Earth Hour stems from a grassroots movement that began in Sydney, Australia, in 2007. The goal of Earth Hour is to create greater awareness about energy consumption and to encourage communities to consider turning off their non-essential lights for one hour, between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, 25 March. The Earth Hour Vigil is an optional resource, and can be used flexibly on or around 25 March by parish communities and other Catholic groups who wish to engage with local ecumenical partners in organizing an event. The Roman Catholic – United Church of Canada Dialogue is sponsored by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and The United Church of Canada.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) are jointly releasing resources to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017. The resources are entitled Together in Christ — Lutherans and Catholics Commemorating the Reformation. The process of developing these resources has itself involved an ecumenical dialogue and a deepening of relations between the two Churches in Canada. Over the course of two years, a joint CCCB-ELCIC working group has prepared the materials which are intended to encourage the faithful in reflecting prayerfully on the past 500 years; in offering thanksgiving to God for the progress made in the efforts toward reconciliation; and in praying for pardon and peace whenever words or actions have fallen short of what Christ demands of Christians.
The Catholic-Hindu Dialogue of Canada recently published a photo essay which provides an overview of the dialogue meetings, its members, as well as its goals and aims. The dialogue is co-sponsored by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), with the Hindu delegates from the Hindu Federation of Canada, the International Society of Krishna Consciousness and other members likewise of the Hindu community. The CCCB is represented by eight appointees serving on this national dialogue with the Most Reverend Daniel Miehm, Auxiliary Bishop of Hamilton serving as the Catholic Co-Chair. The Catholic-Hindu Dialogue meets twice annually and is scheduled to meet again in March, 2017.
In January 2017, The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) will be releasing joint material to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. The resource is entitled, “Together in Christ — Lutherans and Catholics Commemorating the Reformation“. The resource includes a five-part parish study guide which may be used in individual segments or as a whole series by any Lutheran, Catholic, or ecumenical study session focusing on the Reformation. The resource is designed to bring Catholic and Lutheran parishes together to facilitate discussions touching on some of the historical and theological questions surrounding the Reformation and the advancements in reconciliation which have occurred over the past 50 years. Together in Christ is based on From Conflict to Communion (2013) and the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999) which were developed by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), through its Episcopal Commission for Christian Unity, Religious Relations with the Jews, and Interfaith Dialogue, has published a new resource entitled: Our Evangelical Neighbours – A Catholic Reflection on Evangelical Christianity. The resource provides Catholics in Canada an introduction to Evangelical Christianity by exploring its origins, similarities and differences to Catholicism. The resource was developed in close collaboration with The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), an official dialogue partner of the CCCB, since 2010.