Feature story
Particular attention was given to strengthening the contribution of Orthodox theology, both by engaging Orthodox scholars and by situating consultations within contexts where Orthodox theological reflection could be articulated in depth and in dialogue with other traditions.
The Sibiu consultation was part of a wider series of academic consultations initiated by the WCC Commission on Faith and Order to encourage theological engagement in different regional and confessional contexts.
“The consultation built on the momentum of the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order, held in Egypt in 2025, and was the first major Faith and Order event following that conference, with a regional Eastern European and confessional Eastern Orthodox focus,” explained Fr Prof. Dr Vasile-Octavian Mihoc, WCC programme executive for Ecumenical Relations and Faith and Order.
The event invited a threefold response: (1) a critical reception of recent Faith and Order studies, engaging their results with the resources of Orthodox theology and offering concise, constructive critique where methodology, process, argumentation, or conclusions fall short; (2) an active contribution to current studies, integrating contemporary Orthodox theological reflection, the results of inter-Orthodox consultations, and ongoing academic work into the ecumenical discourse; and (3) a renewed ecumenical commitment to continued engagement with Faith and Order materials as a shared task.
Significant theological contributions
The consultation provided a model of Faith and Order regional engagement in which theological reflection was brought into close dialogue with local ecclesial contexts and academic institutions.
“We are very grateful to H.E. Laurențiu, archbishop of Sibiu and Metropolitan of Transylvania, for his generous hospitality and to members of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology Saint Hierarch Andrei Șaguna as well as to participants from other faculties of Orthodox theology in Romania and from abroad for their significant theological contributions during this consultation,” said Mihoc.
The two-day symposium opened on 13 May, drawing 28 invited scholars from nine countries onsite and online, as well as doctoral candidates, students, and guests. Sessions featured presentations by Faith and Order commissioners and staff from the three Faith and Order study groups and responses from scholars from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Sibiu; from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Cluj-Napoca and Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Târgoviște; and from scholars from France, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, and Bulgaria.
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Received by H.E. Metropolitan Laurențiu
On 12 May, a WCC delegation – H.E. Metropolitan Job of Pisidia of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, who is also vice moderator of the Commission on Faith and Order; Prof. Dr Andrej Jeftic, director of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order; Fr Prof. Dr Vasile-Octavian Mihoc, WCC programme executive for Ecumenical Relations and Faith and Order; and Rev. Prof. Dr Martin Illert, WCC programme executive for Faith and Order – was received by the H.E. Laurențiu, archbishop of Sibiu and Metropolitan of Transylvania, and a graduate of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey from 1982. His Eminence underlined the importance of Faith and Order for the ecumenical movement and the Orthodox contribution to it.
A message from H.E. Metropolitan Laurențiu was conveyed to the participants by Rev. Dr Constantin Horia Oancea, dean of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Sibiu.
“The Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Sibiu is recognized for its openness to ecumenical dialogue between Christian traditions, and some of its professors have been involved in the work of the World Council of Churches and the Commission on Faith and Order,” he said.
Historical overview
The first communication session was opened by H.E. Metropolitan Job of Pisidia of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, who is also vice moderator of the Commission on Faith and Order.
“The origins of the Commission on Faith and Order are to be found in the World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910, which brought together major Protestant and Anglican denominations, missionary societies, mostly from North America and Europe, seeking to promote cooperation and common witness in the proclamation of the Gospel to all peoples,” he said. “Few are aware of the prophetic meeting between Archbishop Nathan Söderblom of Uppsala and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1918.”
In February 1918, Söderblom extended through Johannes Kolmodin, attaché of the Swedish Embassy in Constantinople, an invitation to Ecumenical Patriarch Germanus V to attend the international Christian conference which was originally planned to meet in April 1918.
“The Ecumenical Patriarch was deeply moved and attracted by the idea of Christian unity, and the Holy Synod responded favorably to the invitation and appointed him as delegate to Metropolitan Germanus of Amasya,” said Metropolitan Job. “Johannes Kolmodin frequently visited the Patriarchate and developed a close friendship with the dean of the Theological School of Halki at that time, Metropolitan Germanus of Seleucia.”
Their frequent exchanges on the topic of Christian unity led to the publication of the well-known encyclical letter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the Churches of Christ Everywhere in 1920.
“In August 1920, in Geneva, the Faith and Order movement organized a preparatory meeting to prepare its first World Conference in Lausanne in 1927,” said Metropolitan Job. “It is noteworthy that, as a result of the encyclical of the Ecumenical Patriarchate that had been sent seven months earlier, a large delegation of Orthodox churches, consisting of 18 people, including such major figures as Metropolitan Germanus Strenopoulos and Russian Metropolitan Evloghiy Gheorghievsky, attended that meeting.”
“Irreplaceable presence”
Prof. Dr Andrej Jeftic, director of the WCC Commission for Faith and Order and professor at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey said Faith and Order reflected that Orthodox theology is not simply a voice at the ecumenical table. “It is a constitutive and irreplaceable presence,” he said. "The ecclesiological vision, the liturgical life, the patristic depth that Orthodox theology brings have shaped our shared work in ways that cannot be overstated.”
This consultation is, in part, an expression of the commitment to deepen that partnership, to engage in substantive dialogue on ongoing work with distinguished minds deeply rooted in the Orthodox heritage.
“Coming to discuss our ongoing work, we came here not with ready-made answers, but with a shared commitment to think together, to listen to one another, and to let the Spirit guide us.”
Faith and Order “exists for the church as a whole” (WCC feature story, 21 may 2026)
WCC Faith and Order consultation to convene in Romania (WCC news release, 13 May 2026)
Learn more about the work of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order
