
Dialogue partners | Orthodox Churches
High-level visits between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the LWF, and separate deliberations on both sides, began in 1967.
The fourth preparatory meeting of the Pan-Orthodox Conference officially encouraged a global ecumenical dialogue with the LWF as early as 1968. That same year the LWF Executive Committee discussed and approved plans for participation in such a dialogue.
A thorough preparatory process led to decisions by the Orthodox in 1976 and by the Lutherans in 1977 to further develop and implement plans for dialogue by means of separate Orthodox and Lutheran meetings, which took place in 1978, 1979 and 1980.
The Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission met for the first time in Espoo, Finland, in 1981.
Although international dialogue has a unique status and role within Lutheran-Orthodox relations, various regional Lutheran-Orthodox dialogues have developed a significant number of further themes.
The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), which includes Reformed and United churches in its membership, has been especially active in encouraging regional dialogues with Orthodox churches. Intensive Lutheran-Orthodox dialogue has also been carried out in Finland.
Documents agreed upon and produced by regional dialogues since the 1960s include following dialogues:
Further information on most of these dialogues can be found in Risto Saarinen: Faith and Holiness - Lutheran-Orthodox Dialogue 1959-1994. Göttingen, Germany, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1997 and on Risto Saarinen's web page.
Download the Agreed Lutheran–Orthodox Statements, 1985–2017
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