Coptic Church & Ecumenical Movement - Saint Mina Coptic ...

CHAPTER 9
CONSTRUCTING BRIDGES
OF LOVE
Fostering amicable relations with other churches has been of great significance to the
Coptic Church’s ecumenical endeavors. The Coptic Orthodox Church has taken
every opportunity of hosting and attending meetings to further steps towards visible
unity. In so doing, the church constructs bridges of love to overcome walls of
divisions, suspicions and fears, which have accumulated for centuries.
Oriental Orthodox Churches Conference- January 1965
The conference was held at the initiative and at the invitation of the Emperor Haile
Selassie. It was the first meeting of Oriental heads of churches since 431 AD. The
conference held on 15 th -21 st January 1965, was preceded by a period of consultation
(9 th -14 th January). The conference adopted decisions embodied in three resolutions
and a long declaration, comprising a preamble and six chapters:
• The Modern World and the Churches
• Co-operation on Church Education
• Co-operation on Evangelism
• Relations with other Churches
• Machinery for the Maintenance of Permanent Relations among the Churches
• Statement on Peace and Justice in the World
A standing committee with an interim secretariat was appointed by the conference and
held several meetings in the following years. The conference concluded with a
statement affirming the commitment of the Oriental Orthodox Churches to seek the
restoration of communion with the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Part of the statement
read as follows:
Though in our concern for the reunion of Christendom we have in our minds the
reunion of all churches, from the point of view of closer affinity in faith and spiritual
kinship with us we need to develop different approaches in our relationship with
them. This consideration leads us to take up the question of our relation with the
Eastern Orthodox Churches as a first step. We shared the same faith and communion
until the Council of Chalcedon in 451, and then the division took place.
Concerning the Christological controversy that caused the division, we hope that
common studies in a spirit of mutual understanding can shed light on our
understanding of each other’s positions. So we have decided that we should institute
formally a fresh study of the Christological doctrine in its historical setting to be
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