Document
Communiqué
International Conference on ‘The Holy Scripture in a Changing World’
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Armenia
27 September – 1 October 2018
“May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
An international conference of 40 theologians, representatives of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches and the United Bible Societies from around the world gathered from 27 September to 1 October 2018 in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Armenia to receive and sign the ‘Memorandum of Understanding and Collaboration between the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the United Bible Societies’ (MoU). This historic gathering was graciously hosted by the Armenian Apostolic Church under the auspices of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, who delegated HE Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Head of the Department of External Relations, to welcome the participants on his behalf. The co-chairs, HE Prof Dr Gennadios Metropolitan of Sassima and HE Prof Dr Bishoy Metropolitan of Damietta, reciprocated and asked Archbishop Nathan to convey the greetings of the participants to His Holiness the Catholicos.
Also invited to the conference were special observers from the World Council of Churches, the Middle East Council of Churches and guests of the Bible Society of Armenia. Participants were grateful that these invitations were accepted.
The gathering was ‘the result of the process of consultation between the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the United Bible Societies (UBS) in view of a mutual commitment to continuing relations and collaboration on all aspects of activity related to the Holy Scripture’ (Preamble of the MoU).
Since 1999, at the initiative of His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch, a new phase of relations was inaugurated between the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the UBS. Committees were established to oversee the process, and these met at various times and in multiple locations over the years. The fruit of their labour has culminated in the signing of the MoU at this gathering in Armenia.
Participants of the conference heard presentations and engaged in discussions on the themes of ‘The role and the place of Holy Scripture in the life of the Church,’ ‘The inspiration of the Holy Scripture,’ ‘The place of the Bible in a secularised world and in contexts of persecution,’ ‘UBS Bible translations,’ ‘The mission, vision and values of the UBS as it seeks to serve all churches,’ and ‘Challenges and opportunities of the digital age.’
The particular contexts of Christians in the Middle East, served as strong reminders of the power and resilience brought about as a result of our Christian Faith, as well as the cost still paid by many to remain faithful, and the urgency for us all to stand alongside them in their struggles. Conference participants reiterated the central role of Holy Scripture, calling all Christians to prayer and solidarity with those who are persecuted and have their God-given right to freedom of religion or belief violated, whoever and wherever they may be. The participants also prayed for God’s peace in the world, and an end to injustice, conflict, violence and war.
Participants were also encouraged by positive accounts of national and regional collaboration between the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and member Bible Societies around the world. These stories of concrete examples of Bible translations, Bible engagement and distribution of the Holy Scripture for the upbuilding of the Churches served as inspiration and incentive to work towards further collaboration.
Central to the conversations was the presentation of the final approved version of the Memorandum of Understanding. According to the MoU, ‘The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the UBS jointly regard the Holy Scripture as “inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:16), affirm the universal character of the Divine Revelation and the need of the entire world for the life-giving message of the Holy Bible’ (MoU, paragraph 2.3).
The participants expressed their gratitude to HE Archbishop Dr Yeznik Petrosyan, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Armenia, and his team for their diligent planning and execution of this conference and their care throughout. Participants were also very thankful to local Churches and to the British and Foreign Bible Society, the Finnish Bible Society and the American Bible Society for their generous sponsorship of the gathering.
Members of the conference had the opportunity to visit sites of historical significance in and near Yerevan, museums of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, projects of the Bible Society of Armenia, the Church of Oshakan, Mungni Monastery, the Saghmosavank monastic complex and the Geghard Monastery. Participants also visited and offered prayers at the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex.
The conference concluded with fruitful discussions on the practical implementation of the MoU in a multiplicity of contexts, its recommendation for approval and use by Churches and member Bible societies, and a commitment to prayer for the entire process and future partnership and collaboration. Participants further acknowledged that the signing of the MoU was not the endpoint of a process, but the beginning of future collaboration for the glory of the Triune God.
On the 29th of September 2018 the Memorandum of Understanding and Collaboration between the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the United Bible Societies was formally signed by:
HE Metropolitan
Prof Dr Gennadios of Sassima
Co-Chairman of the Permanent Committee
HE Metropolitan
Prof Dr Bishoy of Damietta
Prof Dr Gennadios of Sassima
Co-Chairman of the Permanent Committee
Mr Michael Perreau
Director General
UBS
United Bible Societies
