Annual Meeting of the United States Oriental Orthodox-Roman Catholic Consultation

The 2019 annual meeting of the United States Oriental Orthodox-Roman Catholic Consultation took place at the Bishop Molloy Retreat House in Jamaica, New York, on September 4 and 5. Neither of the co-chairs (Howard Hubbard, Bishop Emeritus of Albany, and Syriac Archbishop Dionysius John Kawak) were able to attend. In their place the meeting was presided over by Bishop Gregory Mansour of the Maronite Catholic eparchy of Saint Maron and Bishop Daniel Findikyan, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

The first session was devoted to an examination of the practices of the various churches regarding the sharing of Holy Communion with other Christians. Presentations on this topic were offered by Chorbishop John Faris for the Catholic Church, by Bishop Daniel for the Armenian Apostolic Church, by Father Athanasius Farag for the Coptic Orthodox Church and by Father Saliba Kassis for the Syriac Orthodox Church.  The second session was devoted to an exchange of information regarding major events in the lives of the member churches. And finally, in the third session, Armenian Deacon Eric Vozzy offered reflections on post-modern spirituality and Father Matthew Berrios, CSP, presented a paper on young adult ministry. In the late afternoon of September 4, the members participated in a Vespers service in the Armenian tradition.  

The 2020 meeting was scheduled for late September at the same location.