Greetings

The Christological agreement between the Catholic Church and the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church in 1984 and the agreement between the Catholic Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in 1990 in fact fundamentally influenced by the Christological discussions of the Catholic and the Oriental Orthodox theologians under the auspices of the Pro Oriente foundation in Vienna in early 1970’s. Pro Oriente Regional Symposium held in Kottayam under the eminent leadership of Archbishop Joseph Powathil in 1993 in which all the Christian Churches participated paved the way for the formation of the Christian Bishops Council in Kerala. Later it was known as the Inter Church Council and turned to be the umbrella organization of the Inter Church Council for Education, Ecumenical temperance movement and Inter Church Council for Ecological Causes. In 1994 a Joint Pastoral Letter against corruption in the society signed by the heads of all the Christian Churches in Kerala was well appreciated by the general public. The Council also published a Joint Church history book; another ecumenical effort. In fact the bilateral dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Malankara Churches are significantly influenced by the works of Forum Syriacum of the Pro Oriente.

Philip Nelpuraparampil