Common Christological Declaration Signed in 1994
Joaquim Magalhães de Castro
Exactly thirty years ago, John Paul II, Bishop of Rome and Pope of the Catholic Church, and His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, signed the Common Christological Declaration between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church. This was a fundamental step towards reconciliation and full unity of both Churches, which met again last Saturday, November 9, to commemorate the publication of the aforementioned document, which took place on November 11, 1994.
In fact, according to the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Pope Francis held a fruitful and fraternal meeting with His Holiness Mar Awa III, the current Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. This important ceremony took place at the Angelicum (a Dominican institution located in the city centre of Rome) and was attended by Cardinal Kurt Koch, Bishop Antoine Audo, Metropolitan Mar Meelis Zaia and Bishop Johan Bonny, among others – all gathered there to celebrate the three decades of the document and the fortieth anniversary of the first visit of an Assyrian Patriarch to Rome. Before 1984, no Assyrian Patriarch had ever entered the Vatican.
In these forty years of history, important steps have been taken towards the reunification of the Churches. Thus, following the meetings and the Christological Declaration of 1944, a Joint Commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East (whose members were present at the meeting between the Patriarch and Pope Francis) was immediately established, and a text was signed at the time in which Catholics and Assyrians mutually recognised the validity of the sacraments celebrated and administered both in the Catholic Church and in the Assyrian Church of the East. Furthermore, since 2001, this religious structure has authorised “experiences of Eucharistic hospitality” with the Chaldean Church, whenever pastoral situations so require.
In recent times, thanks to the work of the Joint Commission – which was created precisely with the aim of “dispelling the obstacles of the past that still impede the attainment of full communion” between the two Churches – a new phase of “dialogue on the liturgy” has begun in the life of the Church.
Initially, there was no anathema between the ancient Assyrian Church of the East and the Church of Rome. The separation would arise following the Council of Ephesus in 431, “although the Depositum fidei that we celebrate is shared, and we are called to guard it together”, as Mar Awa III said in a recent interview with the Fides news agency.
In 2025, the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea will be celebrated, and so there is already talk of the possibility of a meeting that would allow the Church of Rome, the Orthodox Churches and the ancient Churches of the East to commemorate this important Council together. “Nicea unites us. Nicaea belongs to everyone. In our different liturgies, we recite the Nicene Creed, even if we are not in full communion,” says His Holiness Mar Awa III. Furthermore, dialogue between the two Churches continues in other areas, particularly on the issue of deciding on a common fixed date for the celebration of Easter. Achieving “full communion,” Mar Awa III stressed to Fides in the same interview, “is a long-term journey, and it will be a journey to be shared with all the other non-Catholic Churches, a journey guided by intense prayer and by the Holy Spirit himself.”
His Holiness Mar Awa III was born on July 4 in Chicago, Illinois, with the name David Royel. He is therefore a first-generation Assyrian-American. His involvement with the Assyrian Church of the East dates back almost to his adolescence: at the age of 16 he was ordained a subdeacon and the following year he became a deacon. Both ordinations took place in the Cathedral of Mar Gewargis (St. George’s Cathedral) in Chicago.
The Assyrian Church of the East considers itself the legitimate heir of the Church of the East, a church that originally developed among the Assyrians during the first century in Assyria, Upper Mesopotamia and northwestern Persia, east of the Byzantine Empire. It is an apostolic church established by Thomas the Apostle, Addai of Edessa and Bartholomew the Apostle – contrary to popular belief, the Apostle Saint Peter never visited the Church of Babylon.
The distinctive character of the Assyrian Church of the East resulted from a series of complex processes and events that occurred within the Church of the East during the period of transition that began in the mid-16th century and lasted until the early 19th century. This turbulent period was marked by several divisions and consequent mergers, resulting in the creation of separate branches and rival patriarchal lines. Throughout this period, one of the main issues of contention was union with the Catholic Church. Eventually, the pro-Catholic branches were consolidated under the name of the Chaldean Catholic Church, while the traditional branches were consolidated as the Assyrian Church of the East.
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