Inside the Core We Join Others to Welcome Orthodox Bishop

Inside the Core last Thursday, June 27, we had the pleasure of the Core joining with Catholic Studies, the Provost’s Office, Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology and the Library to welcome his Grace, Bishop (Mor) Theophilos Kuriakose of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, as he visited from India; it was truly an inter-disciplinary celebration.

Bishop Theophilos is Resident Metropolitan and Professor of New Testament at MSOT Seminary, Metropolitan and Patriarchal Vicar of Malankara Churches in Europe (Except UK and Ireland) and  Ecumenical office president of Malankara Jacobite Syrian church. He also has been involved for many years in ecumenical dialogue internationally. The visit was arranged through the friendship of Ines Murzaku, Chair of Catholic Studies, with the bishop. It was a beautiful time of fellowship and of building bridges with an important figure in the Orthodox community and, as we all experienced, a warm and devout person of faith.

The group hosting the visit happen to be all close colleagues and friends, and the bishop truly became one with the group almost immediately. We enjoyed a rich and meaningful conversation over lunch, which was held in the priest’s dining room in ICSST. Since Ines Murzaku was traveling during the time of the bishop’s visit, among the group hosting the bishop, CAST was represented by Gloria Aroneo, her assistant and also, for the last two years, a faculty member in the Core. Father Gerry Buonopane, vice president of Academics and Catholic Identity (of the Provost’s office), was also part of the group to welcome his Grace, along with Monsignor Jack Radano, adjunct professor at ICSST and a very active member of the Priest Community.  Through his many years of serving in Rome as part of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), Vatican City, where in 1985, Pope John Paul II appointed him as head of that Pontifical Council’s Western Section, Monsignor Radano already knew Bishop Theophilos from their ecumenical connections. Alan Delozier, archivist from the Seton Hall Library, joined the lunch and then provided a tour of the archives with the assistance of other librarians, who all graciously welcomed us. These librarians included Waverly Riley, assistant to the Dean of University Libraries; Brianna LoSardo, archivist for the Archdiocese of Newark; and Athena Frade, Sacramental Records assistant for the Archdiocese of Newark. As part of the luncheon group, I also joined the tour and was fascinated by the interesting holdings we have right at Seton Hall – including a very old religious text written in ancient Syriac.

A wonderful close to the afternoon was the bishop’s joining our campus Sant’ Egidio prayer group (of which Monsignor Radano and I are a part) for afternoon prayer, where Monsignor Dick Liddy was at prayer as well, so he also got to meet Bishop Theophilos. We are all grateful to Ines Murzaku for arranging this lovely visit, and I know everyone present hopes to continue the connection.  

Interestingly, our little gathering was right in line with what is happening in the larger church. My good friend and retired English professor and Dean, Chrys Grieco, who is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church, sent me an article about Pope Leo’s meeting with Orthodox religious leaders in Rome (noting that the leaders in Rome and Bishop Theophilos are from different branches of the Orthodox churches, but the desire for unity extends across those barriers as well). Pope Leo’s remarks apply beautifully to our event with Bishop Theophilos here at Seton Hall and are a fitting way to close this article: “As I think back with gratitude on the progress made thus far, I assure you of my desire to persevere in the effort to restore full visible communion between our Churches. The attainment of this goal can only come about, with God’s help, through a continued commitment to respectful listening and fraternal dialogue.”

Categories: Faith and Service, Nation and World