(Istanbul, Turkey)--The Patriarchal Press Office has announced a symposium scheduled during the visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. (Click here to read press release about visit and its live broadcast on EWTN the Global Catholic Network.) With the encouragement and the blessings of their Holiness Pope Benedict and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, a group of scholars from the Universities of Berlin, Nottingham and Vienna as well as the Academies of Sciences of Bavaria and the Vatican, representing the western Church tradition and another group from the Universities of Athens, Ioannina, Komotini, Thessaloniki and the National Research Foundation representing the eastern Church tradition, organize a symposion on "Modes of Communication between Rome and Constantinople through the centuries".
This scholarly symposion is inspired by the historic visit of his Holiness the Pope at the Seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. It was thought necessary to study how over the centuries the two superior centers of Church administration exchanged their experience and necessary information on issues of common interest. Thus we have registered visits of popes in Byzantine Constantinople in the earlier period, visits of Patriarchs to Rome in later periods, the institution of the apocrisiarii as standing legates of Rome to the capital of the Empire, ad hoc delegations both ways, and the exchange of letters and gifts: all modes and tools of a close and constant cooperation even at times when the opinions on doctrinal or canonical issues were not in harmony to each other.
The symposion will be held in Istanbul from 27 through 29 November and will be officially inaugurated by his Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
In particular we plan to discuss thirteen topics according to the following list:
List of Speakers and Themes
Robert Markus, Nottingham
The Roman Apocrisiarii at Constantinople
Heinz Ohme, Berlin
The Concilium Quinisextum: A case study of communication at the end of the seventh century
Erich Lamberz, Munich
The correspondence between Hadrian and Tarasius
Alkmini Zafraka, Thessaloniki
Unity in peril: The issue of the Cyrilomethodian mission
Constantine Pitsakis, Komotini
The communication of the Thrones in the Twelfth Century
Werner Maleczek, Vienna
The Roman-Byzantine relationship in the Register of Innocent III
Symeon Paschalidis, Thessaloniki
Modes of communication through common Saints’ veneration
Luca Pieralli, Vatican
Roman initiatives for contacts between Constantinople and Rome in the XIIIth and XIVth centuries
Alexandros Alexakis, Ioannina
Official and Unofficial Contacts between Rome and Constantinople before the Council of Lyons (1274)
Walter Brandmüller, Vatican
The question of Union in the time of pope Martin V
Evangelos Chrysos, Athens
Rome and New Rome meet in Ferrara and Florence
Kriton Chrysochoidis, Athens
Contacts between the two Thrones in early Ottoman times
Sotirios Varnalidis, Thessaloniki
Experiencing the meetings of Popes and Patriarchs in recent times
Professor Evangelos Chrysos
University of Athens
Professor Walter Brandmüller
Comitato Scienze Storiche
[For a listing of the events scheduled during this historic visit, click here. The visit will be broadcast live by EWTN, the Global Catholic TV Network and over the Internet by GOTelecom, Greek Orthodox Telecommunications; for more information, click on the links for each.]
