Conclusions of the Conference
We could be present at an Orthodox symphony, one in its inspiration and diverse according to historical periods and cultural contexts
XV International Ecumenical Conference
on Orthodox Spirituality
Monastery of Bose, 16 – 19 September 2007
THE TRANSFIGURED CHRIST
IN THE ORTHODOX SPIRITUAL TRADITION
Conclusions
read by Michel Van Parys
in the name of the
Scientific Committee of the Conference
The 15th International Ecumenical Conference organized jointly by the Bose monastic community and the patriarchates of Constantinople and Moscow had for its topic: “The transfigured Christ in the Orthodox spiritual tradition”. We note first of all the wide diversity of the participants who have come from all the Christian Churches.
This 15th Conference brought an innovation: up to now the Bose conferences were held in two turns, a Greek section and a Russian section, each dedicated to a different topic. This conference on the transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ has integrated the two sections around one single theme, a theme at the heart of all Orthodox spiritual tradition, be it Greek, Russian, Romanian, or Serbian. In this way we could be present at an Orthodox symphony, one in its inspiration and diverse according to historical periods and cultural contexts. Two testimonies from Latin monasticism, that of Guy II the Carthusian and of Peter the Venerable, have rendered this symphony more ample, thus underlining that the Christian East and the Christian West are invited to sit together at the feet of Jesus to listen to the word of the Gospel (as br. Enzo Bianchi has aided us to do) and together to ascend the mountain to contemplate his glory, to follow him then in his exodus of suffering for the salvation of mankind. Christ is the living exegesis of the mystery of God and of the economy of salvation.