Agia Napa, Cyprus, November 7, 2010
From November 2–5, 2010, a regular meeting of the preparatory committee of the Orthodox Church, the Oriental Churches, and the United Bibles Societies took place, reports theDECR Communication Center. The committee included representatives of several local Orthodox Churches, as well as of the main Oriental Churches, and the heads of the central apparatus of United Bible Societies. From the Russian Orthodox Church, Archimandrite Kirill (Govorun), the first vice chairman of the Education committee, represented the Russian Church.
The goal of the meeting was the final consideration of the "Memorandum on understanding and cooperation between the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the United Bible Societies." Compilation of the text of the memorandum was begun at the preceding committee meeting in Moscow, 2007.
Among other items, the memorandum proposes that when the Bible Societies act on the territory of countries where the majority are members of the Eastern Churches, it should orient itself toward an Orthodox understanding of passages from the Holy Scripture as accepted by Church tradition and the life of the Church, and it should likewise actively work together with these Churches in translating and disseminating the Holy Scriptures. These Churches should be fittingly represented in the leadership of national Bible Societies. The memorandum also condemns the proselytism practiced by certain Protestant Churches amongst traditional Orthodox populations.
The text of the memorandum was finalized at the Cyprus meeting, and will be signed by the co-chairmen of the committee, Metropolitan Gennadios of Sasima (Constantinople Patriarchate), Metropolitan Pishoy of Damietta (Coptic Church), and the general secretary of the United Bible Societies, Rev. Dr. A Miller Milloy. A presentation of the memorandum should take place in Echmiadzin, Armenia in November 2011.
