Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church met at the Moscow Theological Academy

On October 17, 2023, the second round of theological consultations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church took place at the Moscow theological Academy. The meeting took place with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill and the agreements with the Primate of the Coptic Church, His Holiness Patriarch Tawadros II.

As part of work done by the Committee on cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church, in 2020 a special working group was established for the development of theological discussions. The Russian Orthodox Church is represented by Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), a secretary of the Department for External Church Relations for Inter-Christian Relations, , priest Pavel Lizgunov, Vice-rector for educational work of the Moscow Theological Academy, and deacon Sergiy Panteleev, Head of Oriental Studies Cabinet of the Moscow Theological Academy. The Coptic Church working group included Bishop Kyrillos, Vicar of the Los Angeles Metropolis, the rector of the Coptic Theological Academy named after Sts Cyril and Athanasius of Alexandria in the USA, priest Macarius Refela, a cleric of the Los Angeles Diocese and the Vice-rector of the Coptic Theological Academy named after Saints Cyril and Athanasius of Alexandria, as well as the representative of the Coptic Church in Russia, Hieromonk Daoud el-Antoni.

The experts presented at the second round of theological consultations from the Moscow Theological Academy were Associate Professor of the Department of Theology Hegumen Adrian (Pashin) and Senior Lecturer of the Philology Department Hieromonk Theodore (Yulaev). 

At the beginning of the working meeting, priest Pavel Lizgunov read out the welcoming speech from the Bishop of Sergiev Posad and Dmitrov Kirill, Rector of the Moscow Theological Academy and Abbot of the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra:

We are glad to see you at the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra and the Moscow Theological Academy. Our meeting is taking place, on the one hand, at the time of current new conflicts in different parts of the world. On the other hand, it is inspiring time of strengthening contacts between Russia and different parts of the traditional Christian world, especially in Africa countries. That is why we are all glad to greet an official delegation of the Coptic Orthodox Church. At the time of apostasy, which is rapidly and aggressively spreading throughout the world, it is especially important to unite our efforts adhering to traditional values, in order to resist the destructive process of moral degradation and total secularization. Last year, delegations from our Church and our Academy visited Egypt several times. We discussed important issues and established good contacts with the ancient Coptic Church. We have already begun real cooperation in the educational and scientific fields. Communication in the theological field is of particular importance. Unfortunately, the division of our Churches goes deep recently. Our duty to God is to do our best to overcome this division. The first step in this process is to honestly, accurately and deeply understand what divides us; what theological terms, formulas and doctrines unite our Churches, and which ones separate them. The only way to achieve this is an honest, open, friendly and respectful dialogue. Therefore, we are very grateful to you for your visit. Let God's blessing be on our theological discussions. I pray to God that our meeting will take place with the participation and help of the Holy Spirit bringing good fruits.». 

Bishop Kyrillos, Vicar of the Los Angeles Diocese, Rector of the Coptic Theological Academy named after Saints Cyril and Athanasius of Alexandria in the USA, addressed the audience in response:

I would like to thank you again for your cordial invitation to the second meeting. We are also grateful to be in this blessed place, at the center of a theological research and a monastic life in Russia. We bring greetings from His Holiness Coptic Patriarch Tawadros II and His Eminence Metropolitan Serapion of Los Angeles. We confirm once again that we pay great attention to our dialogue. You probably know that for our theological students, as well as for our believers, this question is very important. And I know that through prayer, through mutual study of our traditions, through dialogue, we can achieve a better understanding. I think that since the Council of Chalcedon we have had hundreds of years to try to understand what happened and how to better understand each other. This requires knowledge of languages, many books, many hours of discussion, but I know that with the help of God and the intercession of saints we can achieve greater understanding and continue to seek what is God’s will. Thank you".

Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), a moderator of the meeting, noted that the purpose of the consultations was to openly, honestly and in a fraternal atmosphere raise theological issues and tried to solve them by joint efforts of both parties.

He also reminded the dialogue participants that the first round of theological consultations had taken place from 20 to 24 January 2020 in the Netherlands, Lieveld. And then the working group had been formed. The meeting in the Netherlands had turned out to be very meaningful and constructive, and as a result a joint communiqué had been adopted. It had emphasized that theological consultations were appropriate for a joint scientific research, they did not have the aim to restore the Communion, since such tasks hadn’t been set in a pan-Orthodox format - pre-Chalcedonian dialogue. At the same time, the consultations were intended to facilitate the the work of the joint Committee on theological dialogue between the Orthodox Church and Ancient Eastern Churches.

Hieromonk Stefan also emphasized that for the Russian Orthodox Church, conducting bilateral consultations with the Coptic Church was also the implementation of a number of relevant church-wide decisions, which had been based on the results of the activities of the joint Committee on theological dialogue in 1993: the Bishops’ Council in 1997 and 2000, the Holy Synod and the results of the research of the Synodal Biblical Committee.

The participants in the first round of consultations held in the Netherlands, had considered the task of analyzing the current state of the Orthodox-pre-Chalcedonian dialogue, determining the methodology for bilateral consultations and making a list of priority issues.

It was recognized that the consultations needed to consider the Christological issues mentioned in the Chambesy Agreements in 1991-1993 and in the informal meetings that preceded them 1964-1971, as well as study the documents adopted at the level of local Churches. Issues related to Christological topics in the doctrine of the Sacraments, soteriology, liturgics, hagiology, the tradition of monasticism and its contribution to the development of theological thought also were found relevant for a joint research. 

It is important to take into account that consultations are ongoing between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church - one of the largest and the most authoritative in the modern world. So, we cannot ignore the challenges of our time that are significant for two Churches.

It is also recognized that it is important to be guided exclusively by the official theological documents of the Churches, and not by the private opinions of theologians. 

The expected result of theological consultations is to achieve mutual understanding on each of specific issues..

At the end of the session, the delegation of the Coptic Church was given a sightseeing tour of the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra and the Moscow Theological Academy.

After lunch, the Bishop of Sergiev Posad and Dmitrov Kirill, Rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, took part in a following working session, which related to the understanding of theological terminology in two traditions, Orthodox and pre-Chalcedonian. 

On October 18, the working group will continue the second round of theological consultations. During two sessional meetings, a number of issues on the agenda will be considered and a conclusion will be formulated based on the results of the dialogue. 

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