The first rapprochement between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches came about by some common declarations:
COMMON DECLARATIONS

• May 12, 1970 – Rome
  Pope Paul VI and Vasken I, Supreme Catholicos-Patriarch of All Armenians
• October 27, 1971 – Rome
  Pope Paul VI and His Holiness Patriarch Mar Ignatius Jacob III of the Syrian Orthodox Church
• May 10, 1973 – Rome
  Pope Paul VI and Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria and patriarch of the See of St. Mark
• June 23, 1984 – Rome
  Pope John Paul II and His Holiness Mar Ignatius Zakka I Iwas
• December 13, 1996 – Rome
  Pope John Paul II and Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians Karekin I
• January 25, 1997 – Rome
  Pope John Paul II and Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I Keshishian
• September 27, 2001 – Etchmiadzin, Armenia
  Pope John Paul II and Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians Karekin II
• April 28, 2017 – Cairo, Egypt
  Pope Francis and His Holiness Tawadros II

FIRST SERIES (2003-)

Preparatory Committee for the establishment of a Dialogue Commission involving representatives of the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches – Rome, January 27-29, 2003 – PRESS RELEASE

MEETINGS

1. January 27-30, 2004 – Cairo, Egypt
   “Review of the studies and activities over the past 30 years; planning for the second meeting” – REPORT
2. January 26-29, 2005 – Rome, Italy
   “Understanding of communion, constitutive elements of communion; Particular and universal communion, meaning of sister churches and of Church families; Full communion and degrees of communion, common ecumenical goal” – REPORT
3. January 27-30,2006 – Etchmiadzin, Armenia
   “Bishops in apostolic succession; Primacy and synodality/conciliarity; Synods, local and ecumenical (their ecclesiological meaning); appointment of a drafting committee” – REPORT
4. January 28 – February 3, 2007 – Rome, Italy
   January 29-30 – Oriental Orthodox delegates met
   January 30 – Catholic delegates metJoint commission met January 31 – February 2
   “Mission, witness, service and problem of proselytism; salvation of non-believers; marriage between Catholics and Muslims; Mixed marriage with non-believers” – REPORTMay 28-30, 2007 – Rome, Italy
   Sub-committee drafting meeting
5. January 27 – February 2, 2008 – Maarrat Saydnaya, Syria
   January 27-28 – Delegations met separatelyJoint commission met January 29 – February 2
   “Study of draft document; Goals of the dialogue” – REPORTDrafting sub-committee June 25-26, 2008 – Rome, Italy
6. January 26-30, 2009 – Rome, Italy
   January 26 – Delegations met separatelyJoint commission met January 27-30
   “Nature of the communion of our churches shared in the first half of the first millennium” – REPORT and COMMON DOCUMENT
7. January 27-31, 2010 – Antelias, Lebanon
   January 27 – Delegations met separatelyJoint commission met January 28-30
   “The ways in which the churches expressed their communion with one another in the first five centuries; The reception of councils; Approval of agreed statement ‘Nature, Constitution and Mission of the Church’” – REPORT
8. January 25-28, 2011 – Rome, Italy
   January 25 – Delegations met separatelyJoint commission met January 26-28
   “Communion and communication among the churches until mid-fifth century; Role of monasticism; Petrine ministry” – REPORT
9. January 17-21, 2012 – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
   January 17 – Delegations met separatelyJoint commission met January 18-21
   “Martyrdom and communion; Ecclesial communion in the New Testament; Prayer and liturgy as means of communion and communication” – REPORT
10. January 23-27, 2013 – Rome, Italy
    January 23 (morning) – Delegations met separatelyJoint commission met January 23-26
    “The ways in which full communion among our churches was expressed in the first five centuries; Saints as elements of communion and communication; Processes of canonization and mutual recognition of saints as a constitutive element of communion” – REPORT
11. January 28-February 1, 2014 – Pampakuda, India
    January 28 – Delegations met separatelyJoint commission met January 29-February 1
    “Full communion in the first five centuries; Development of Eucharistic anaphoras; Significance of pilgrimage” – REPORT
12. January 24-31, 2015 – Rome, Italy
    January 26 – Delegations met separatelyJoint commission met January 27-30
    “Approval of ‘The Exercise of Communion in the Life of the Early Church and its Implications for our Search for Communion Today’; Sacraments of initiation” – REPORT and COMMON STATEMENT
13. January 30-February 6, 2016 – Cairo, Egypt
    February 1 – Delegations met separatelyJoint commission met February 2-5
    “The Sacraments of Initiation” – REPORT
14. January 22-27, 2017 – Rome, Italy
    January 22 and 23 – Delegations met separatelyJoint commission met January 24-27
    “The historical, theological, and ecclesiological aspects of the Holy Eucharist; discussion of modern pastoral issues, touching upon communities in diaspora, the challenges of secularism, reaching the younger generation, and the possibility of pastoral adaptation of traditional liturgies” – REPORT
15. January 29 – February 5, 2018 – Etchmiadzin, Armenia
    January 30 – Delegations met separately
    “Consideration of the sacraments with special emphasis on Penance/Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, and Holy Orders” – REPORT
16. January 27 – February 2, 2019 – Rome, Italy
    January 28 and 31 – Delegations met separately
    “Consideration of the sacraments with special emphasis on Marriage” – REPORT
17. January 26 – February 1, 2020 – Atchaneh, Lebanon
    January 27 and 29 – Delegations met separately
    “Focus on the fundamental aspects of sacramental theology, including the question of who ministers the sacrament, who can receive a sacrament, and other canonical issues related to matrimony” – REPORTJanuary 24-30, 2021 – Rome, Italy – cancelled
18. January 26-28, 2022 – online
    “Study of a draft document on the sacraments in the life of the Church, concluding the third phase of the dialogue” – REPORT
19. June 20-24, 2022 – Rome, Italy
    “Finalization of the document on the sacraments; the main theme of the meeting will be ‘The Virgin Mary in the teaching and life of the Church’”
20. January 31-February 4, 2023 – Wadi al-Natrun, Egypt
    January 31-February 1 – Delegations met separately
    “Theme taken up and explored with several papers was ‘Aspects of Mariology, The Holy Virgin Mary in the Teaching and the Life of the Church’; discussion centered on how the Marian doctrine and practice developed in each of the traditions. Further work will treat our common faith regarding the unique place of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and in the life of the Church. These topics include the exploration of the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, original sin, the understanding of dogmas and the hierarchy of truths.” – REPORT
21. January 22-26, 2024 – Rome, Italy
    The two delegations met separately on the morning of January 22, the morning of January 25, and the afternoon of January 26. Oriental Orthodox members had additional separate meetings on January 20, 21 and 22.“A discussion on the Declaration ‘Fiducia Supplicans’ on the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings published on 18 December 2023 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, further discussion was requested as well as the addition of the themes of pastoral and moral issues to be added to the agenda of the Commission that will be discussed by a next Joint Coordinating Committee. In keeping with the theme “Aspects of Mariology: the Holy Virgin Mary in the Teaching and the Life of the Church”, five papers were presented on certain aspects of Marian tradition and teaching the Oriental orthodox and Catholic churches; mariology lies at the intersection of many controversial issues concerning soteriology, anthropology and ecclesiology that require in-depth common study and discussion, especially concerning the Dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and of the Assumption. In addition to these discussions on the themes of the agenda, the members of the Commission deliberated on the methodology of the dialogue”. – REPORT

CO-CHAIRS

H.E. Cardinal Walter Kasper, President, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity – Vatican City (2003-2010)
H.E. Cardinal Kurt Koch, President, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity –
Vatican City (2011-)
H.E. Anba Bishoy Coptic Orthodox Church – Egypt (2003-2018)
H.G. Bishop Kyrillos, Auxiliary Bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles (2019-)

CO-SECRETARIES

Msgr. Johan Bonny, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (2003-2008)
Msgr. Gabriel Quicke, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (2009-2018)
Rev. Father Hyacinthe Destivelle, OP, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (2019-)
Rev. Dr. John Mathews, Secretary, Committee on Inter-Church Relations (2003-2010) (later as
bishop Metropolitan Youhanon Mar Demetrios, Assistant Bishop of Delhi) (2011-2023)
Reverend Father Shahe Ananyan, Director of the Interchurch Relationships Department and
Dean of the Kevorkian Theological Seminary Etchmiadzin, Armenia (2024-)