INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR ANGLICAN–ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE

COMMUNIQUE

In the name of the Triune God and with the blessing and guidance of our Churches, the International Commission for Anglican–Orthodox Theological Dialogue (ICAOTD) met in St Davids from the 26^th September to the 3^rd October 2025, at the invitation of the Church in Wales.

St Davids was an apposite venue for this meeting: in the time of St David in the sixth century, churches of the East and West were united, and British Christianity was evidently influenced by Eastern Christian traditions. Further, this year marked both the 1700^th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council held at Nicaea from which our common creed arose, and the centenary of an ecumenical celebration of the 1600^th anniversary hosted at St Davids Cathedral at which a high-level delegation from local Orthodox Churches was welcomed. Recognising the place of St Davids as a destination for pilgrims since earliest times, the Commission followed their footsteps in a short pilgrimage to St Non’s Chapel and Well, where St David’s birth is traditionally remembered, concluding with visiting significant sites within the Cathedral.

The members of the Commission are grateful for the warm welcome and generous hospitality offered by the Rt Revd Dorrien Davies, Bishop of St Davids. The Commission was also graciously received by the Cathedral community, and by the Dean of St Davids Cathedral, and Commission member, the Very Revd Dr Sarah Rowland Jones. The Commission attended the Cathedral’s daily worship, including the Sunday Eucharist, at which the Bishop of St Davids presided, and a sung service of Solemn Vespers for the Eve of the Feast of St Michael and All Angels. The Orthodox members of the Commission also celebrated the Divine Liturgy and led a service of Vespers in the Cathedral. 

The 50^th anniversary of the Anglican–Orthodox Theological Commission occurred in 2023. It was celebrated during the plenary in Boston in 2024 at which it was agreed to mark the anniversary by preparing a special publication outlining the Commission’s history and achievements. This year’s meeting at St Davids welcomed a draft including an overview of the Commission’s development, introductions to each of the seven Agreed Statements issued by the Commission since 1973, and other significant archival material, and looked forward to its publication. 

The Commission worked on a comprehensive paper, ‘Mission in the Contemporary World: Witnessing to Christ and Making Disciples.’ This built on the preparatory papers of 2024, centring on mission, witness, Christian repentance, formation and discipleship. 

The Commission next meets in 2026 and will be hosted by the Patriarchate of Alexandria. The 2026 meeting hopes to finalise the document, ‘Mission in the Contemporary World.’

Members of the Commission present at the meeting

The Rt Revd Michael Lewis
The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem & the Middle East
Anglican Co-Chairman

His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium
Ecumenical Patriarchate
Orthodox Co-Chairman

Representatives of the Orthodox Church

His Eminence Metropolitan Serafim Kykotis of Zimbabwe and Angola
Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa

The Very Revd Professor Dr Archimandrite Calinic Berger
Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East

The Revd Professor Dr Protopresbyter Chrysostomos Nassis Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Professor Dr Bogdan Lubardić
Patriarchate of Serbia

His Eminence Metropolitan Nifon of Târgovişte
Patriarchate of Romania

The Revd Dr Dobromir Dimitrov  Patriarchate of Bulgaria

The Very Revd George Gibradze  Patriarchate of Georgia

The Revd Dr Protopresbyter Nicholas Papantoniou Church of Cyprus

Professor Emeritus Dr Miltiadis Konstantinou
 Church of Greece

Dr Nathan Hoppe
 Church of Albania

The Very Revd Deacon Eulogios Tsatsas, Codecographer of the Holy and Sacred Synod  Ecumenical Patriarchate
Co-Secretary

Representatives of the Anglican Communion

The Most Revd Dr Phillip Aspinall
 The Anglican Church of Australia

The Revd Dr Christopher Beeley
 The Episcopal Church 

The Revd Marc Billimoria
 The Church of Ceylon

The Revd Dr Alex Irving  The Church of England

The Revd Canon Philip Hobson OGS
 The Anglican Church of Canada

The Revd Canon Dr Lin Khee Vun  The Anglican Church in South East Asia

The Rt Revd Dr Humberto Maiztegui Gonçalves
 The Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil

The Very Revd Dr Sarah Rowland Jones
 The Church in Wales 

Canon Dr Christopher Wells
 Anglican Communion Office
 Director of Unity, Faith and Order & Co-Secretary

The Revd Neil Vigers
Anglican Communion Office
 Programme Executive