The “dual” capital

Preparations are in full swing in Romania for the Third European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA3). Sibiu, one of the seven towns founded by German colonists in Romania, was chosen as the dual capital of Europe this year: both cultural and ecumenical. After Basel (a largely Protestant city) in 1989 and Graz (city with a Catholic majority) in 1997, now it’s the turn of Sibiu (a city that is now largely Orthodox – almost 90% of the inhabitants are Orthodox) to host (from 3 to 9 September) the great ecumenical gathering that will bring together the official delegates of European churches and Christians. The event is being jointly promoted by the Council of the European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC). The city of Sibiu has been designated – together with Luxembourg – as European Capital of Culture in 2007. (Official website of the Ecumenical Assembly www.eea3.org). CLAUDIA STANILA , Romanian journalist, has gathered some comments from various sources on behalf of SirEurope two months before the ecumenical meeting.WHY SIBIU? First of all because the city has been for many centuries a place where various Christian confessions, ethnic groups and mentalities have lived together in excellent relations. The local people have – in a quite downbeat way – turned their daily modus vivendi into an ecumenical witness. “Between the inhabitants of the city, all of Romanian nationality, though of various ethnic origins – confirms LAURENTIU STREZA , Orthodox Archbishop of Sibiu and Metropolitan of Transylvania – there have never been any conflicts, but only good understanding and collaboration”. It was just this model of co-existence, especially between Romanians, Germans and Hungarians, that was a crucial consideration in the choice of Sibiu. The local people – always open to ecumenical dialogue – have shown their willingness to provide guest accommodation in their homes for the participants and the members of various confessions who will flock to Sibiu for the Assembly. New relations will thus be established and these will help promote mutual understanding. THEME AND PROGRAMME . The theme of the meeting is “The light of Christ shines upon all”. After Romania made history as the first country with an Orthodox majority to invite a pope to make an apostolic journey to the country (the spontaneous cry of the people: “Unite, unite!” remains legendary), the choice of Sibiu raises hopes of finding a new light for the path of reconciliation between the sister Churches. The event will open at 7.00 pm in one of the main squares of the city on Tuesday 4 September: there, amid music and singing typical of Romanian culture, the organizers and civil authorities of the city will welcome the participants. On the following morning the participants will meet in plenary assembly where they will reflect on issues drawn from the Charta Oecumenica : unity-spirituality-witness (Wednesday 5); Europe-religions-migrations (Thursday 6); Creation-peace-justice (Friday 7). The participants will split up into work groups in the afternoons. The Assembly will end with the publication of a final document. TENSIONS . Apart from the enthusiasms, a situation of tensions in relations between the majority Orthodox Church (86.8 % of believers) and the Greek-Catholic Church (0.9%) persists in Romania. The apple of discord continues to be church property and the process of the restitution of properties belonging to the Uniate Church but expropriated by the Communist regime. “The fact that both Orthodox and Greek-Catholics form part of the Preparatory Committee of all the Christian Churches – says Metropolitan Streza – may constitute a good sign on the path of reconciliation and dialogue. In this sense, we hope a great deal in the help of the Roman Catholic Church with which we have good relations and enjoy wonderful friendship”. HOPES . So the meeting in Sibiu is revealed also as a chance to build personal relations and overcome ancient divisions. According to the Metropolitan of Transylvania – Siebenburgen, “there still exist differentiations from a canonical, but fortunately not from a spiritual point of view”. And prayer, Archbishop Laurentiu Streza is convinced, “will have the power to illuminate each one of us. If, instead of legal actions or declared conflicts, we were to begin to invoke the aid of the Lord we would more rapidly reach a solution”. FOR A EUROPE WITH TWO LUNGS . The aim of the Sibiu Assembly is to be a spiritual and cultural pilgrimage to the rediscovery of the riches of the various Christian traditions. “We will have the opportunity – adds the Metropolitan – to offer our Orthodox spirituality, and our sense of hospitality to our Catholic and Protestant brothers. The Romanian people are traditionally gregarious and happy to receive guests. The fact that, like us, our Western Christian brothers will come here with the same intention of praying together for the unity of the Churches is a source of hope. We will all be delighted if the meeting helps to foster fruitful theological dialogue, which perhaps may soon lead to a full recognition of the sacraments celebrated by each”.