Bishops of various Churches at the service of the human family
The Ecumenical Conference of Bishops, friends of the Focolare Movement, will be held in Istanbul
25-30 November 2015
The 34th Conference of Bishops of various Churches, promoted by the Focolare Movement will be held on the island of Heybeliada (Halki), in the sea of Marmara, near Istanbul. The 150 participants, from 9 different countries, will be hosted in the Monastery on this island, which was once the seat of the prestigious Greek-Orthodox theological Academy of Halki.
His Holiness Bartholomew I awaits to meet this group of bishops. During a recent interview, at the time when he received a doctoral degree h.c. in the Culture of Unity by the Sophia University Institute (Loppiano–Italy), the Patriarch said: “At Halki we will together remember Chiara and pray for the repose of her soul. We will be able to express our commitment to work for the unity of Churches. We, the Church of Constantinople are pleased to welcome these cardinals and bishops, and we are ready to exchange our experiences and give one another the kiss of peace between the East and the West”.
“Together for our common home” will be the theme of this conference, which will focus on unity, as a service to the human family, through a diversity of gifts.
Meetings for bishops of various Churches, promoted by the Focolare Movement are held annually. These meetings have been taking place since 1982, and they owe their beginning to a suggestion made by John Paul II to a group of Catholic bishops, friends of the Focolare Movement when he invited them to share their experience of “effective and affective” communion even with bishops of other churches.
Updated on November 24, 2015
SIF – Focolare Information Service
