ROME, NOV. 7, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Collaboration between Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches in theological publications is advancing dialogue towards unity, according to Metropolitan Philaret of the Russian Orthodox Church.
«The 100 Books of Theology of the 20th Century» was presented in Rome last week at Communion and Liberation’s international center with the participation of Metropolitan Philaret, also president of the Synodal Theological Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The initiative is the result of the work conducted by Metropolitan Philaret, the Moscow’s Library of the Spirit Cultural Center and the Christian Russia Foundation.
«The rebirth and full development of the theological traditions will be impossible if our theologians do not know fully the evolution and fruits of Christian thought of the last century, period in which the possibilities of our theological school were substantially limited by the external circumstances,» said Metropolitan Philaret.
To complete the collection the commission involved the best known Orthodox experts of different subjects representing the most outstanding centers of study of Russia, such as the theological academies of Moscow and St. Petersburg, the St. Tikhon Institute and the Orthodox Encyclopedia.
On the Catholic side, the project enjoys the patronage of Cardinal Angelo Scola, patriarch of Venice; Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, archbishop of Vienna; and Archbishop Francisco Martínez of Granada, Spain.
The Library of the Spirit Cultural Center was founded in Moscow in 1993, at the initiative of the Christian Russia Foundation, Caritas Moscow and the Orthodox Theological Faculty of Minsk.
Its activity has an ecumenical dimension and creates conditions for cultural and pastoral exchange among the different confessions. The center is a point of reference for Christian publishing houses in Russia. It publishes and distributes books that are sent to the most remote regions of Russia, and promotes numerous cultural initiatives.
