November 22, 2003

 Bishop John Participates in  International Theological Conference in Moscow

Upon the invitation of the Russian Orthodox Church, an  International Theological Conference titled "The Orthodox Teaching on the Church" was held from November 17 to 20, 2003 at the St. Daniel Monastery.

His Holiness Patriarch Alexi of Moscow and All Russia inaugurated the conference, after he was  introduced by Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk.  The conference considered ways of improving church management in the new historical conditions, the status and the codification of the church law, and relations between the local Churches. Also, the conference participants explored ways of achieving "a harmonious balance between the local and universal levels of the church existence, between the ethnic-national and global matters."

On Thursday, November 20, 2003, the Dean, His Grace Bishop John Yazigi,  gave a lecture titled The Church and  the Eucharist." The Lecture was translated into Russian and Greek. The Conference ended by a meeting with the students of the Moscow Theological Academy by its Dean Archbishop Evgeny who invited all guests to a meal in a sprit of fellowship and love.

Apart from the church top clergy, the forum will be attended by well-known Russian and foreign scientists, historians, philosophers theologians and representatives of secular science. Experts from 17 states including Greece, Syria, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, the United States, France, Great Britain, Germany, Austria and Italy came to attend the conference. The conference ended on November 22, and all participants returned to their churches with the enthusiasm of repeating these kind of uniting and important meetings.