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Message to the 27th International Ecumenical Conference on Orthodox Spirituality by WCC General Secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit
As one who has personally benefited from the hospitality and ecumenical spirituality of the Bose community, I am delighted to offer my greetings at the onset of your conference. The monastery remains a true ecumenical beacon in its commitment and contributions, as evidenced in the strong relationships and friendships of the community with the WCC and our members.
The Orthodox spirituality experienced and lived in this monastery cannot be separated from its continual sharing beyond its walls and beyond confessional borders. Life is communion: communion with each other and with God. The Apostle Paul says it beautifully: “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). In the liturgy of John Chrysostom, we hear repeatedly: “Let us commend ourselves and one another and our whole lives to Christ our Lord.” This call teaches and reminds us what the Christian life is all about. Against any compartmentalization, it stresses the wholeness of the life which must be directed toward the source of life, which is God.