天主教会与东方亚述教会神学对话国际联合委员会公报

天主教会与东方亚述教会神学对话联合国际委员会第十七届全体会议于2025年10月27日至28日在梵蒂冈圣玛尔大之家举行，由促进基督徒合一部（DPCU）主办。这是始于2017年的第三阶段（教会论）的第七次会议。与自2023年以来讨论的主题一致，今年的全体会议以“教会生活中的礼仪：拉丁礼仪与东方教会礼仪传统的比较研究”为主题，重点关注两种传统中的时辰礼仪。

与会成员们提交并讨论了以下论文：威廉·托马大执事所作的《东叙利亚礼仪中的晚祷礼仪》；约翰·邦尼主教所作的《时辰礼仪总论》；特邀专家多米尼克·尤尔恰克神父教授所作的《罗马时辰礼仪的历史》；以及乔治·托马大执事所作的《主日和平日晨祷（Sapra ）的秩序与神学》。安多尼·奥多主教（耶稣会士）也从迦勒底礼仪的角度对这一主题进行了反思，强调了礼仪与教会身份之间联系的重要性。讨论中，与会成员欣喜地发现，尽管两种礼仪传统发展于不同的历史和文化背景，但它们之间存在着根本性的相似之处。

委员会会议召开之际，恰逢马尔·阿瓦三世宗主教首次正式访问教宗良十四世。良十四世于2025年5月8日当选为罗马主教。10月27日星期一，教宗良十四世在宗座宫接见了马尔·阿瓦三世宗主教及委员会成员。马尔·阿瓦三世宗主教在致辞中回顾了尼西亚公会议召开1700周年，并指出：“我们深受鼓舞……因为我们已拥有共同的信仰，即我们对尼西亚公会议信经的宣认。……这一信仰宣认已使我们在关于圣三位一体以及唯一主耶稣基督——天主圣子——的神性和人性二元论的基本教义上合而为一。”

教宗良在回应中，就当前对话阶段指出，“主要挑战在于共同发展一种以第一个千年为灵感的完全共融模式，同时深思熟虑地回应我们时代的挑战……这样的模式不应包含吞并或支配；相反，它应当促进我们教会之间交流圣神所赐予的恩赐，以建立基督的身体（参阅弗4:12）。” 教宗良还提及尼西亚公会议周年纪念，并引用了教宗方济各在2022年宗主教马尔·阿瓦三世访问期间的讲话：“天主教会所进行的共议之旅是且必须是普世的，正如普世之旅本身也是共议的。”

10月28日星期二，教宗马尔·阿瓦三世和枢机主教库尔特·科赫向委员会成员致意，并参与了关于下次会议议程的讨论。此次会议也缅怀了两位于2025年逝世的委员会前成员，他们分别是：美国圣地亚哥圣伯多禄宗徒迦勒底天主教教区前主教萨尔哈德·贾莫阁下，以及东方亚述教会印度及海湾南部国家前都主教、对话联合主席马尔·阿普雷姆·穆肯阁下。

委员会的研究和讨论将在下次会议上继续进行，下次会议将于 2026 年 11 月 23 日至 28 日在埃尔比勒的东方亚述教会举行。

亚述代表团成员包括澳大利亚、新西兰和黎巴嫩都主教 Mar Meelis Zaia 阁下（联合主席）；印度和南湾总教区都主教马尔·奥金·库里亚科斯 (Mar Awgin Kuriakose) 真福；杜霍克和尼尼微主教马尔·阿布里斯·尤卡纳 (Mar Abris Youkhanna) 阁下；巴格达主教马尔·埃利亚·艾萨克阁下；副主教乔治·托马；以及主教会议副秘书长（联合秘书）副主教威廉·托马。

天主教代表团成员包括：安特卫普主教约翰·邦尼阁下（联合主席）；阿勒颇加尔丁礼教区主教安托万·奥多阁下（耶稣会士）；美国圣托马斯宗徒加尔丁礼教区主教弗朗西斯·卡拉巴特阁下；德国法兰克福圣乔治哲学与神学研究生院名誉教授特蕾西娅·海因塔勒博士；宗座东方学院东方基督教研究学院院长泽利科·帕沙神父（耶稣会士）；额我略大学吉吉蒙·普图维蒂尔卡拉姆神父（耶稣会士）；以及天主教神学联合会官员雅辛特·德斯蒂维尔神父（多明我会士）（联合秘书）。

JOINT INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE

BETWEEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST

COMMUNIQUé

Rome, 27–28 October 2025

 The seventeenth plenary session of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East took place on 27–28 October 2025 at the Domus Sanctae Marthae in the Vatican, hosted by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (DPCU). It was the seventh session of the third phase, on ecclesiology, started in 2017. In line with the theme discussed since 2023, this year’s plenary meeting was dedicated to the topic: “Liturgy in the life of the Church: A comparative study of the Latin and the Church of the East’s liturgical traditions,” with a particular focus on the liturgy of the hours in both traditions.

The members presented and discussed papers on: “The Service of Vespertine in the East Syriac Rite,” by Archdeacon William Toma; “The General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours,” by Bishop Johan Bonny; “The history of the Roman Liturgy of the Hours,” by Revd Prof. Dominik Jurczac, OP, invited expert; and “The Order and Theology of the Contents of the Sundays and Ferias Morning Service (Sapra)”, by Archdeacon George Toma. Bishop Antoine Audo, SJ, also offered a reflection on the theme from a Chaldean perspective, noting the importance of the link between liturgy and ecclesial identity. During the discussion, the members were pleased to note the fundamental similarities between the two liturgical traditions, even though they had evolved in different historical and cultural settings.

The meeting of the Commission coincided with the first official visit of His Holiness Mar Awa III to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, elected Bishop of Rome on 8 May 2025. On Monday 27 October, Pope Leo XIV received His Holiness Mar Awa III and the members of the Commission at the Apostolic Palace. In his address, recalling the commemoration of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Catholicos Patriarch Mar Awa III pointed out that “we are greatly encouraged […] in the shared faith which we already enjoy, namely, our profession of the Creed of the Council of Nicaea. […] This profession of faith already unites us in the essential doctrines concerning the Holy Trinity and the dual natures of the divinity and humanity of the one Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God.”

In his response, Pope Leo, with reference to the current phase of the dialogue, noted that “the principal challenge lies in jointly developing a model of full communion, inspired by the first millennium, while thoughtfully responding to the challenges of our time […] such a model should not involve absorption or domination; rather, it should promote the exchange of gifts between our Churches, received from the Holy Spirit for the building up of the Body of Christ (cf. Eph 4:12).” Also referring to the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Pope Leo quoted Pope Francis’s words during Catholicos Patriarch Mar Awa III’s 2022 visit: “The journey of synodality undertaken by the Catholic Church is and must be ecumenical, just as the ecumenical journey is synodal.”

On Tuesday, 28 October, His Holiness Mar Awa III and His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch greeted the members of the Commission and took part in the discussion concerning the agenda for the next session. The meeting was an opportunity to remember two former members of the Commission who passed away in 2025, namely, Most Reverend Sarhad Jammo, former Bishop of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle of San Diego, USA, and His Beatitude Mar Aprem Mooken, former Metropolitan of India and the Southern Gulf Countries of the Assyrian Church of the East, and former Co-chair of the dialogue.

The study and discussion of the Commission will continue at the next meeting, which will be hosted by the Assyrian Church of the East in Erbil, from 23 until 28 November 2026.

The Assyrian delegation included His Beatitude Mar Meelis Zaia, Metropolitan of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon (Co-chair); His Beatitude Mar Awgin Kuriakose, Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of India and Southern Gulf; His Grace Mar Abris Youkhanna, Bishop of Duhok and Nineveh; His Grace Mar Elia Isaac, Bishop of Baghdad; Archdeacon George Toma; and Archdeacon William Toma, Under-Secretary of the Synod (Co-Secretary).

The Catholic delegation included the Most Reverend Johan Bonny, Bishop of Antwerp (Co-chair); Most Reverend Antoine Audo, SJ, Bishop of Aleppo for the Chaldeans; Most Reverend Francis Kalabat, Bishop of the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, USA; Professor Dr. Theresia Hainthaler, Honorary Professor of Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology, Frankfurt, Germany; Reverend Father ?eljko Pa?a, SJ, Dean of the Faculty of Eastern Christian Studies at the Pontifical Oriental Institute; Reverend Father Jijimon Puthuveettilkalam, SJ, Gregorian University; and Reverend Father Hyacinthe Destivelle, OP, Official of the DPCU (Co-Secretary).