St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary - Press Releases Orthodox WCC Team Visit April 16, 2003

On April 16, several Orthodox staff members of the World Council of Churches visited the seminary. George Lemopoulos (Ecumenical Patriarchate), Deputy General Secretary, and Fr. Kwame Labi (Church in Ghana, Patriarchate of Alexandria), of the WCC Mission Team, were joined by area Orthodox who have participated in the Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC. This high-level commission, consisting in delegates from all the canonical Orthodox churches and the non-Chalcedonian churches, as well as from several Protestant churches, worked for three years to address long-standing theological and practical concerns the Orthodox have had with the WCC.

The visitors attended the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, in which the seminary community takes a particular joy and encouragement during the lenten season. Following dinner they headed an informal panel discussion with SVS faculty and students in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium.

Joining Mr Lemopoulos and Fr Kwame were Tarek Mitri (Patriarchate of Antioch), head of the team on interreligious dialogue, and currently on sabbatical teaching at Harvard, as well as Anne Mackoul (AOCA), an attorney who sits on the WCC Central Committee and participated in the work of the Special Commission. Jane Richardson (Reformed Church in America), of the WCC's New York office, was also on hand and contributed some remarks from a Protestant perspective. Also in on the discussion were SVS faculty members Peter Bouteneff and Paul Meyendorff, who had followed the work of the Special Commission, participating in its meetings and in the drafting of the final recommendations, and Dean John Erickson, a veteran participant in inter-Christian dialogue.

There was a lively and constructive dialogue between the panelists and the SVS community on a wide variety of questions, such as: "What is the purpose of the WCC, and of Orthodox participation?" - "How did the Special Commission address Orthodox concerns?" - "How do Orthodox WCC staff witness the Orthodox Church as the One Church?" The evening was a valuable contribution to the kinds of discussion commonly held in seminary classes and seminars.