From the 7th to the 10th of September 2016, the 24th International Conference of Orthodox Spirituality was held in collaboration with the Orthodox Churches at the Monastery of Bose, a community which regularly organizes ecumenical activities. The theme of the conference was “Martyrdom and Communion”.
The conference aimed to illuminate the close ties between the witness of the martyrs to Christ as they appear in the writings of the Fathers and the Tradition of the Orthodox Church. The focus of discussions in this conference was the dramatic reality nowadays, the wars and persecutions which have affected many Christian communities in the world. The experience of the martyrs of the twenty-first century is an evangelical heritage for all the churches and all of humanity.
The event was attended by representatives of the Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian and Anglican churches, by monks, theologians etc. The Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania was represented by Bishop Asti of Bylis.
On the first day, after the inaugural talk of the prior of Bose, Enzo Bianchi, the papers of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Pope’s representative etc, were read to the participants. (In the following sessions, the papers of other Orthodox churches’ representatives would be heard). Archbishop Anastasios’ greeting was read by His Grace Bishop Asti. While the main paper in this conference, “The Blood of Martyrs, Seed of Communion”, written by His Beatitude Youhanna X, Patriarch of Antioch, was read by his representative. Proceedings continued with the participants’ talks and discussions.
On the second day, in addition to the greetings, talks, and discussions, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated, where clergy of different Orthodox jurisdictions concelebrated in their own languages.
On the last day of the Conference, the discussions came to an end, and several conclusions were drawn among which special attention was paid to Archbishop Anastasios’ message to this conference.
