Representation of the Orthodox Church in America
to the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate

News | 05-03-05 International Orthodox Conference on Perspectives of Muslim/Christian Dialogue in the Contemporary World held in Amman, Jordan

From February 28 –March 4, 2005, Archimandrite Zacchaeus, Representative of the Orthodox Church in America participated in an International Conference sponsored jointly by the Orthodox Society of Jordan and the International Foundation for Unity among Christian Nations. The theme of this conference was Perspectives of Muslim-Christian Dialogue in the Contempory World. Archimandrite Zacchaeus was able to present a paper at the Conference entitled “What is required of us for True Dialogue?”

The conference was opened by with a prayer by His Eminence, Metropolitan Benedictos of Philadelphia and All Jordan, a hierarch of the Jerusalem Patriarchate. Also offering opening words to the participants of the Conference were the Chief Justice and Councilor to His Majesty the King of Jordan, the Deputy Prime-Minister of Jordan, the President of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy Mr. Sergei A. Popov, Professor Valery A. Alekseev, President of the IFUOCN and Dr. Raouf Abujaber, the Chairman of the Orthodox Society of Jordan.

Also read during the Conference were greetings by His Majesty Abdullah II of Jordan, His Beatitude, Patriarch IRENAEOS of Jerusalem, His Holiness, Patriarch ALEKSY of Moscow and All Russia, His Holiness, Patriarch MAXIM of Bulgaria, and His Beatitude, Metropolitan SAVA of Warsaw and All Poland, and the Chairman of the State Duma of Russia, Mr. Boris Gryzlov.

Throughout the course of the Conference, the participants were able to visit the holy sites of Jordan including the Jordan River, at the place where the local inhabitants believe to be the exact place of Baptism of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This area has been identified as “Bethany beyond the Jordan” the place where John the Baptist was living when he baptized Jesus. (See John 1:28). The biblical verse of John 10:40 refers to this same place when it says that, fleeing for His safety after being threatened with stoning in Jerusalem, “Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days.” The other Orthodox sites visited in Jordan were the Orthodox Society headquarters, the Orthodox Club, the Orthodox School for Children, and the Diocesan Chancery and Bishop’s Residence for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and Metropolitanate of Philadelphia and All Jordan.

More information about this conference including the Communiqué published at its conclusion can be found at www.fepn.ru.