ECUMENICAL dialogue

The Anglican–Orthodox Dialogue

Spanning over five decades, this commission unites the Anglican Communion and the Orthodox Churches in a profound theological friendship. Together, we undertake a “hope-filled pilgrimage” that applies a shared understanding of the human person to the urgent ethical challenges of the modern world.

A Hope-Filled Pilgrimage: Fifty Years of Theological Friendship

The International Commission for the Anglican–Orthodox Theological Dialogue (ICAOTD) represents a sustained and rigorous engagement between the Anglican Communion and the Churches in Communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Established in 1973, this dialogue has spent over fifty years navigating the complexities of history and ecclesiology to articulate a shared vision of the Christian faith. What began as a theological mapping exercise has evolved into a profound “dialogue of truth,” moving from the intricacies of dogmatic definition to a deep engagement with the existential crises of the twenty-first century.

The Commission operates as a pilgrimage of friendship. By meeting residentially and alternating between Anglican and Orthodox contexts, the dialogue is grounded in shared worship and the lived reality of both traditions.

Foundation and Application

In its current phase, the Commission has adopted a distinct theological strategy: Foundation and Application.

Rather than reacting to isolated political or ethical trends, the Commission first sought to establish a shared dogmatic foundation. They began by asking the most fundamental question: Who is the human person?

By agreeing on a shared “Theological Anthropology”—a definition of what it means to be created in the image of God—the dialogue created a stable platform for application. The Commission now applies this shared understanding to the most pressing ethical challenges of our time, from the environmental crisis to bioethics and the end of life.

A Hope-Filled Series

The fruit of this strategic approach is a series of major Agreed Statements that offer a unified Christian voice on the human condition.

The most recent agreement extends the Commission’s bioethical work, endorsing organ donation as an expression of Christian hope and charity.

Addressing the “growing debates around euthanasia and assisted dying,” this statement offers a rigorous defence of life as a “God-given gift”. It challenges cultures that view death merely as a choice, calling on the world to recognize that humans have no right to intentionally end life, even in cases of suffering.

Applying the definition of the human person to the environment, this statement addresses the human responsibility within the “vast extent” of the universe. It issues a clear call for “temperance in our use of God’s gifts” and aligns Anglican and Orthodox practice in prayer for the protection of the natural environment.

This statement establishes the theological bedrock for the dialogue’s current work. It celebrates the shared belief that human dignity is intrinsic and God-given, asserting that “The glory of God is a human being fully alive”. It challenges secular notions of autonomy, redefining human freedom as the “freedom to cooperate in obedience with God’s love”.

Looking Ahead: Mission in the Contemporary World

Having addressed the nature of the human person and the ethics of life, the Commission is now turning its attention to Mission.

Recent meetings, including the 2025 gathering in St Davids, Wales, have focused on “Mission in the Contemporary World”. The Commission is currently working towards a new Agreed Statement on witnessing to Christ and making disciples, exploring how the Church forms believers in an increasingly complex global landscape.

Key documents:
  • Organ Donation: A Hope-Filled Gift (2024) The latest agreed statement regarding the ethics of organ transplantation.
  • The Pendeli Statement: Dying Well, Living Well (2022) An agreed statement on the sanctity of life and end-of-life issues.
  • Stewards of Creation: A Hope-Filled Ecology (2019) A theological vision for the environment and human responsibility.
  • In the Image and Likeness of God (2015) The foundational statement on theological anthropology.
View the full library of Agreed Statements (1976–Present)