• June 8-16, 1968 – Chambésy/Geneva, Switzerland
  
  • “Fourth Pan-Orthodox conference passed positive judgement and decided to encourage the process of establishing an Inter-Orthodox commission to prepare an official dialogue which began in 1981”
•  
• March 26-28, 1974 – Liebfrauenberg, France
  
  • Inter-Lutheran consultation organized by the Institute for Ecumenical Research of Strasbourg and by the Lutheran World Federation on the assumptions of a worldwide Lutheran-Orthodox dialogue

• Inter-Orthodox Preparatory meetings
  
  • November 4-9, 1978 – Sigtuna, Sweden
  • September 16-26, 1979 – Amelungsborn/Hanover, Germany
  • September 6-13, 1980 – Skálholt, Iceland
    “Discussion on the nature of the Church; action of the Holy Spirit in the Church; unity of faith and limits of the Church;
    sacraments; Scripture and Tradition”

• Lutheran Preparatory Committee meeting
  
  • April 30 – May 3, 1978 – Chambésy, Switzerland
    March 4-10, 1980 – Chania, Crete, Greece

MEETINGS

1. August 27-September 4, 1981 – Espoo, Finland
   “Theme of participation in the mystery of the church; establishment of joint sub-commissions to set forth the basic
   positions”

   March 27-April 3, 1982 – Penteli/Athens, Greece
   Sub-commission meeting: “drafted texts on the themes of the Holy Trinity and the church; the church in the history of salvation; the marks of the church; the way in which the salvation of humanity which Christ wrought is communicated in
   and through the church”

2. May 23-29, 1983 – Limassol, Cyprus
   “Methodological question of by what route could the staged goal be approached”
3. May 24-30, 1985 – Allentown, Pennsylvania USA
   “Formulation of agreed statement” – DIVINE REVELATION
   August 21-26, 1986 – Bossey/Geneva, Switzerland
   Sub-commission meeting: “drafted a text on scripture and tradition to be taken up in plenary session”
4. May 28-June 2, 1987 – Chania, Crete, Greece
   “Worked out differences to finalize an agreed statement” – SCRIPTURE AND TRADITIONOctober 10-12, 1988 – Venice, Italy
   Sub-commission meeting: “the canon and inspiration of Holy Scripture”
5. September 2-7, 1989 – Bad Segeberg, Germany
   “Reformulation and discussion of the draft from Venice leading to a joint statement” – THE CANON AND THE
   INSPIRATION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTUREJune 26-30, 1990 – Châtenay Malabry/Paris, France
   Sub-commission meeting: “studied the first of the sub-themes on authority of the ecumenical councils”
6. May 31-June 8, 1991 – Moscow, Russia
   “Work began on a new theme; authority in and of the church in the light of the ecumenical councils”June 17-21, 1992 – Geneva, Switzerland
   Sub-commission meeting: “authority in and of the Church; ecumenical councils”
7. July 5-10, 1993 – Sandbjerg, Denmark
   “Finalized work on the first sub-theme and issued an agreed statement” – THE AUTHORITY IN AND OF THE CHURCH

   July 5-10, 1994 – Venice, Italy
   Sub-commission meeting: “the understanding of salvation in the light of the ecumenical councils”

8. August 1-8, 1995 – Limassol, Cyprus
   “Finalized work on the second sub-theme and issued an agreed statement” – UNDERSTANDING SALVATION IN THE LIGHT OF THE ECUMENICAL COUNCILS

   October 9-11, 1997 – Princeton, New Jersey USA
   Sub-commission meeting: “work on draft ‘Salvation: Grace, Justification and Synergy’, present: Lutherans: Lazareth
   (Pres.), Aagard, Marshall, Saarinen, Sven Oppegaard; Orthodox: Spiridon (Pres.), Chrysanthos, Gennadios, Pheidas”

9. July 31-August 8, 1998 – Sigtuna, Sweden
   “Examined and studied a draft text on salvation prepared by the sub-commission” – SALVATION: GRACE,
   JUSTIFICATION AND SYNERGY

   October 9-14, 1999 – Chania, Crete, Greece
   Preparatory sub-commission meeting: “Word and sacrament in the life of the Church”

10. November 3-10, 2000 – Damascus, Syria
    “Finalized the theme elaborated by the sub-commission” – WORD AND SACRAMENT (MYSTERIA) IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH

    February 19-23, 2002 – St. Petersburg, Russia
    Sub-commission meeting: “Sacraments as means of salvation”

11. October 3-10, 2002 – Oslo, Norway
    “Finalized and published agreed statement” – THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH: MYSTERIA/SACRAMENTS AS
    MEANS OF SALVATION

    October 1-6, 2003: Ierapetra, Creta, Greece
    Preparatory sub-commissions: “The mystery of the Church; baptism and chrismation as sacraments of initiation into
    the Church”

12. October 6-15, 2004 – Duràu, Romania
    “Finalized and published an agreed statement on Baptism” -THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH: BAPTISM AND
    CHRISMATIONOctober 8-13, 2005 – Erlangen, Germany
    Preparatory sub-commission: “The holy eucharist in the life of the Church”
13. November 2-9, 2006 – Bratislava, Slovakia
    “Themes explored included: spirituality of the eucharist and practical implications; Lutheran understanding of the eucharist; the holy sacrament/mysterion of the eucharist; place of the eucharist in the divine economy of salvation;
    metabole or transsubstantiatio” – THE HOLY EUCHARIST IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCHOctober 3-8, 2007 – Joensuu, Finland
    Sub-commission meeting: “work on a draft concerning ecological and social implications of the eucharist” – COMMUNIQUÉ
14. May 30-June 7, 2008 – Paphos, Cyprus
    “Received work of the sub-committee and the themes of: the preparation for participation in and canonical celebration of
    the eucharist; eucharist and mission of the Orthodox church; a possible Orthodox eucharistic ecological theology; social
    and ethical aspects of the eucharist” – COMMUNIQUÉ and THE HOLY EUCHARIST IN THE LIFE OF THE
    CHURCH. PREPARATION, ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS

    May 4-9, 2009 – Skálholt and Reykjavik, Iceland
    Sub-commission meeting: “work on the nature and attributes/properties of the Church” – COMMUNIQUÉ

    May 25-31, 2010 – Bethlehem, Palestine
    Sub-commission meeting: “work on the mission of the Church” – COMMUNIQUÉ
    Inter-Orthodox meeting:
    May 2-5, 2011 – Penteli/Athens, Greece
    “An Orthodox evaluation of the dialogue from its inception 1981 until the present” – COMMUNIQUÉ and AN INTER-ORTHODOX EVALUATION OF THE DIALOGUE

15. May 31-June 7, 2011 – Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany
    “The dialogue began a new phase with the exploration of the themes of ministry, priesthood and ordination” –
    COMMUNIQUÉ and THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH: THE NATURE, ATTRIBUTES, AND MISSION OF THE CHURCH

    May 5-10, 2012 – London, England
    Sub-commission meeting: “work on the new themes of ministry, priesthood and ordination”May 24-29, 2013 – Sibiu, Romania
    Sub-commission meeting: “work continued on the new themes; Lutheran understanding of ministry/priesthood during the period of the Reformation; apostolic succession and ordination from a historical, patristic and canonical point of view” – COMMUNIQUÉ
    May 8-13, 2014 – Tallinn, Estonia
    Sub-commission meeting: “work continued on the new theme; liturgical texts on rites of ordination in the Orthodox and Lutheran traditions; the understanding of the roe and place of women to the priesthood in the Church and the question of the ordination of women” – COMMUNIQUÉ

16. April 28-May 5, 2015 – Rhodes, Greece
    “The Commission studied papers and reports from the Preparatory Meetings of London, Sibiu and Tallinn, as well as new papers from both sides with commentaries on the above-mentioned Draft Statements. Intensive discussions revealed the need for further research especially on the Biblical foundations and early Church teachings and on the Apostolicity of the Church, concerning the office of Ministry/Priesthood in both traditions. The Plenary Meeting formulated a new provisional Statement that will be developed further in the forth-coming meetings in the near future” –
    COMMUNIQUÉDecember 7-13, 2016 – Nicosia, Cyprus
    Sub-commission meeting: “discussions on the overall theme of Ministry/Priesthood in light of the following sub-themes:
    a) Biblical foundations of Ordained Ministry/Priesthood in Orthodox and in Lutheran traditions,
    b) The Ordained Ministry/Priesthood in the Early Church, in the Ecumenical Councils and in the Medieval Church tradition,
    c) The Relationship between the Royal Priesthood and the Ordained Ministry/Priesthood and
    d) Episcopate and
    Apostolic Succession” – COMMUNIQUÉ
17. November 7-14, 2017 – Helsinki, Finland
    “Discussions were had on the presented papers; a Joint Drafting Committee was assigned to finalize the Nicosia Statement in view of the presented papers and the discussions. A modified draft Statement was presented to the Commission and was amended and approved. This common Statement identified areas where Orthodox and Lutherans agree and disagree on several topics between the two traditions. In addition, the Commission had a thorough discussion on the future of the dialogue. It was decided that the main topic for discussions on the next phase will be ‘the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church’” – COMMUNIQUÉ and COMMON STATEMENT: ORDAINED MINISTRY/PRIESTHOOD
    September 24-October 1, 2019 – Tirana, Albania
    Sub-commission meeting: “work on new theme: the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church”
18. May 29-June 4, 2020 – Germany
    Postponed because of COVID 19 pandemic
19. February 22-25, 2023 – Halki, Turkey
    “The theme explored considered ‘The Holy Spirit, the Church, and the World’”.
20. April 29 May6, 2023 – Wittenberg, Germany
    “The Commission has produced significant theological texts throughout four decades of work. The desire of the Commission
    is to also produce texts that will have some impact in parishes. Therefore, the proposed Common Statement on the Holy Spirit
    will include a section on the Epiclesis in and outside of the Eucharistic prayer and the ways in which the life of worshipping
    community is shaped”
21. November 16-19, 2023 – Tallinn, Estonia
    “The Commission is also working on a Common Statement on the filioque clause to be published for the 1700 years of the
    Council of Nicea in 2025. With such a statement, attention to the creed is renewed and along with it a trinitarian spirituality.”
22. May 24-June 1, 2024 – Cairo, Egypt
    “Completion of the work of the 18th Session of the Joint Theological Commission with a Common Statement on the Filioque
    (published July 30, 2024) and a Common Statement on the Holy Spirit (to be published)”- COMMUNIQUÉ and
    COMMON STATEMENT ON THE FILIOQUE

CO-CHAIRMEN

Metropolitan Emilianos of Silyvria (1968-
Archbishop Spyridon Papageorgiou (1995-
Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima (2007-
Dr Georg Kretschmar, Germany (1968-1986)
Bishop Karl-Heinz Stoll, Germany (1987-1989)
Bishop William Lazareth, USA (1990-
Bishop Donald J. McCoid, USA (2007-2009)
Bishop Christoph Klein, Romania (2013-2016)
Archbishop Anders Wejryd, Sweden (2017

CO-SECRETARIES

Patriarchal Deacon Dr. Theodoros Meimaris (2007
Dr. Kathryn L. Johnson (2007-2011)
Rev. Dr. Kaisamari Hintikka (2013