Press Release, 29 August 2013
Those present at the conference for the Catholic Church will be: Mansueto Bianchi, bishop of Pistoia, president of the commission “Ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue” of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, archbishop Antonio Mennini, apostolic nuncio in the United Kingdom, bishop Gabriele Mana of Biella, retired archbishop of Perugia Giuseppe Chiaretti, and Hyacinthe Destivelle, the delegate of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.
Bishop Konstantin (Ostrovskij) of Zarajsk will lead the delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate, which includes father Dimitrij Sizonenko, responsible for inter-Christian dialogue of the Departemnt for external relations. Other participants will be archbishop Stefan of Homel’ and Žhiobin (Exarchate of Belarus), metropolitan Zosima of Vladikavkaz, father Stefan Domuschi, delegate of the Moscow Theological Academy, archimandrite Serafim (Petrovskij), delegate of metropolitan Aleksandr of Alma Ata and Kazakhstan, hieromonks Amvrosij (Vajnagij) e Pimen (Vojat) of the Lavra of the Caves in Kiev, delegates of metropolitan Antonij of Boryspil, vicar of the metropolitan of Kiev and rector of the Kiev Theological Academy.
Bishop Ignatie of Mure? of the Romanian Orthodox Church will represent patriarch Daniel. Other participants will be metropolitan Dometian of Vidin and bishop Boris of Agatonitsa (Bulgarian Orthodox Church), bishop Alexander (Golitzin) of Toledo and bishop Melchisedek of Pittsburgh (Orthodox Church of America), fr Zakaria (Baghumian) (Armenian Apostolic Church), delegate of the Catholikos of all Armenians Garechin II, archimandrite Athenagoras (Fasiolo) (Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta), canon Hugh Wybrew (Church of England), delegate of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
To be noted is the presence of monks and nuns from Orthodox monasteries (Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Mount Sinai, Armenia, France, England, United States), from Catholic and Reformed monasteries (Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary). We note also the presence of father Joustinos of the St Catherine Monastery on Sinai in Egypt, fr Evdokimos Karakoulakis of the Koutloumoussiou monastery on Mount Athos, of fr Vasilije (Grolimund) of Geilnau. Present at the conference will be the ambassador of Romania to the Holy See Bogdan Tataru, the consul general of the Russian Federation in Milan Aleksandr Nourizade, and professors Gelian Prochorov (St Petersburg), Spyridon Kontoyannis and Nikitas Aliprandis (Athens), Pantelis Kalaitzidis (Volos).