"And you shall be my witnesses"
(Acts 1:8)
16th ORTHODOX CONGRES
IN WESTERN EUROPE
1st - 4th November 2018
Manosque, Sainte-Tulle - France
Under the auspices of the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of France
(AEOF)
According
to the words of
the Lord, Christians are called to shine with the hope and the love of
God towards the world. How can the faithful, alone or in together,
incarnate this mission in the complexity of the contemporary world ?
How can we give a pertinent witness of Christ in a secular context? How
can we make our social lives and actions a sign of the presence of
Christ? How can we witness to the unity of the Church in spite of the
divisions between Christians?
To look more deeply into
these
questions, in a moment of reflexion, conviviality and prayer, come to
the 16th Orthodox Congres.
Since 1971, the Orthodox Fraternity in Western Europe has organised,
every three years, a congress which assembles pastors and faithful
Orthodox beyond the structural divisions which still seperates them in
Western Europe.
The Orthodox Fraternity is an ecclesiastical initiative, started in the
1960s by personalities such as Olivier Clément,
Elisabeth Behr-Sigel and P. Cyrille Argenti, Jean Tchékan,…
The congres aims to be a place of friendship which assembles people,
organisations
and communities who desire to work in unity for the witness of the
Orthodox Church in Western Europe. The Fraternity has notably published
liturgical and educational books.
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Inscriptions
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The organisation of the congress depends entirely on the help
and
dedication of everybody, both morally and financially.
This is why we
are approaching you for financial assistance.
Click below to participate:
Your contribution towards the organisation will particularly allow
us
to:
- Overcome financial difficulties for those for whom
the price of registration is too high;
- Offer a digressive tariff to families;
- Reduce the price of registration;
- Offer the service of simultaneous translation;
- Improve the conditions for the youngest
participants.
T
here are many ways in which you can donate on a regular basis or
as a
once off donation.
By making a bank transfer to our account:
IBAN : FR18 2004 1000 0122
6010 8V02 022 – BIC : PSSTFRPPPAR;
Thank you fot your confidence and your generosity!
This meeting, open to all, will ask the question of knowing how to be
witnesses Christ in our lives. There will be a particular emphasis on
discussing the missionary opening in the church community and of the
engagement of the faithful in favour of migrants and of the
disadvantaged, as well as on numerous other aspects affecting the
responsibility of Christians in the world.
Beyond the reflexion, these
congresses are equally intense moments of
ecclesial conviviality gathered around our pastors (bishops, parish
priests, abbots and abbesses) enriching our diversity.
Save the date NOW!
We are happy to announce
that, from 1st to 4th
November 2018, the 16th Orthodox Congress will be held, with the
blessing and encouragement of the bishops of France, in the beautiful
Mediterranian setting of Sainte-Tulle (all accommodation will be on
site in the Regain Hotel complex), near Manosque, in the south of
France. Put the date in your diary and start planning your journey
today. We will keep you informed of the programme and let you know when
the registration is open, particularly via this website.
The general reflexion will be centred around the
words of our Lord, “And you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1,8). This
point of departure will allow us the broach different aspects of
Christian witness in the world, notably the missionary opening and the
ecclesiastical community and the engagement of the faithful in favour
of migrants and the most disadvantaged people. This meeting will
equally provide a place for exploring different questions linked to the
responsibility of Christians in the world: cultural diversity in the
Church; interreligious and interconvictionnal ecumenical dialogue;
solidarity with eastern Christians; organisation of liturgical, family
and parish life; transmission of the faith; marriage, couples and
sexuality; contempory biological and ecological challenges; attitudes
in the face of economic and ethical liberalism...
As you know, beyond theoretical reflection, for
nearly 50 years, these congresses have been, for Orthodox Christians
scattered throughout Western Europe, eminent moments of ecclesiastical
conviviality. They allow living in communion on a scale vast than
within that of either parish or diocese. Thus by contributing to
weaving these closer links between diverse communities which
characterise our ecclesiastical landscape, they are also occasions to
deepen our faith. Lastly, they give us to live the church communion
gathered around our (bishops, parish priests, abbots and abbesses) who
grant us the honour of their participation every time, reflecting the
presence of Christ as an Elder amongst a multitude of brothers and
sisters (Rm 8,29).