The 50th anniversary meeting of the Orthodox Catholic Theological Consultation will take place at St. Spyridon Cathedral and Assumption College in Worcester, Mass., on Oct. 22-24.

Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, the Orthodox chairman of the Consultation, is overseeing the preparations. Events will include vespers at St. Spyridon Cathedral, public lectures by consultation members, and meetings with students from Holy Cross School of Theology and Assumption College.

Under the leadership of Archbishop Iakovos and Catholic Bishop Bernard Flanagan the first meeting took place in Worcester on Sept. 9, 1965. The Theological Consultation was established that year by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops, now the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops, and the Catholic Conference of Bishops, now the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops became a co-sponsor of the Consultation in 1997. The Joint Committee of Orthodox and Catholic Bishops in North America was established in 1981.

When it was established, the Theo- logical Consultation was the first formal dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church since the 15th century. The first meeting occurred after the historic encounter of Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras in Jerusalem in 1964, and prior to the Lifting of the Anathemas of 1054 by Rome and Constantinople in 1965. The Consultation reflected the ecumenical perspectives of the Second Vatican Council of the Catholic Church (1962-1965) and the Pan-Orthodox Conferences (1961-1968).

For 50 years, the Consultation has brought together theologians from the two churches. They have both an understanding of the serious historical dif- ferences between the churches and the points of agreement.

At the same time, these theologians are committed to the ultimate goal of the dialogue which is the restoration of full communion through agreement on the Apostolic Faith and expressed in the celebration of the Eucharist.

The Consultation has produced 28 formal Agreed Statements on topics such as the Holy Eucharist, Mixed Marriages, the Filioque as well as Primacy and Conciliarity. More recently, the Consultation published “Steps Towards a Reunited Church: An Orthodox-Catholic Vision for the Future.”

The Agreed Statements of the Consultation have contributed greatly to mutual understanding and the resolution of differences in the spirit of the Lords prayer for the unity of his disciples, “that they all may be one” (John 17:21)