Dialogue Document
A Response to the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church Document “Synodality and Primacy during the First Millennium: Towards a Common Understanding in Service" (2017)
A Response to the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church Document “Synodality and Primacy during the First Millennium: Towards a Common Understanding in Service to the Unity of the Church.
Washington DC, October 28, 2017
This is the North American Orthodox–Catholic Theological Consultation’s official response to the 2016 Chieti Statement of the Joint International Commission, which examined synodality and primacy in the first millennium as a foundation for restoring Catholic–Orthodox unity. While not an official magisterial text of either Church, the response aims to advance reception, deepen theological clarity, and identify next steps toward full communion.
The Consultation welcomes the Chieti Statement warmly, affirming it as:
- A major fruit of the international dialogue since Ravenna (2007)
- A strategic theological “foothold” for progress toward unity
- An example of differentiated consensus: shared fundamental principles with room for legitimate diversity
The Consultation emphasizes that complete uniformity is neither necessary nor historically accurate.
- The Consultation stresses that primacy and synodality must be exercised in service to unity, modeled on Christ’s servanthood.
- Unity is presented not as a technical achievement but as a gift of the Holy Spirit, attained through:
- Holiness
- Prayer
- Fasting
- Sacrifice
- The document poses searching questions:
- Are present disagreements truly sufficient to justify continued division?
- Are we demanding more of each other than when we were in communion?
- Do our current practices prepare the ground for unity or entrench separation?
The statement ends by reaffirming the 2010 vision of a reunited Church, calling Orthodox and Catholics to recognize Christ in one another, so that the Church may once again witness credibly to the unity Christ wills.