| Viorel Ionita Gets Heufelder Prize |
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| Written by Conference of European Churches | ||||
| Thursday, 18 May 2006 | ||||
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The Romanian Orthodox priest and theologian Prof. Dr Viorel Ionita, Study Secretary of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) in Geneva, has been awarded the "Abbot Emmanuel Heufelder Prize" from the Benedictine Abbey of Niederaltaich in Bavaria, German.
The award ceremony will take place in the Abbey on 3 June 2006. The "Laudatio" will be delivered by Fr Dr Gerhard Voss OSB, Rector of the Ecumenical Institute of Niederaltaich Abbey. Abbot Emmanuel Heufelder Prize The "Abbot Emmanuel Heufelder Prize" was initiated in 1992, ten years after the death of Heufelder, who had for decades been the head of the Niederaltaich community. The prize aims at honouring institutions and persons who have made a special contribution to ecumenical dialogue and understanding between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Churches. The prize is awarded every 2-3 years, and is divided into two parts: "prize A" for institutions and "prize B" for individuals. This year the recipient of prize A is the Pro Oriente Foundation, founded in 1964 by the Austrian Cardinal Franz König. Father Ionita The winner of prize B, Father Ionita, studied theology in Bucharest and Bonn. Since 1977 he has been Professor for Church History at the Theological Faculty of the University of Bucharest. Since 1994 he has been Study Secretary of CEC, responsible for the work of the "Churches in Dialogue" Commission of CEC. The citation to the prize recognizes his "exceptional contribution, as an Orthodox, to the Charta Oecumenica and to the process of 'Healing of Memories' in Eastern Europe". Well Deserved The Venerable Colin Williams, General Secretary of CEC, stated: "This is a very well deserved honour for Fr Ionita and serves as a sign of the substantial contribution which he has made to ecumenical relations within Europe. Fr Ionita was particularly instrumental in the drawing up of the Charta Oecumenica, and it is an especial joy to us in CEC that his work in this context has been recognised in this way. All associated with CEC join together in offering our congratulations on this award". Abbey of Niederaltaich The Abbey of Niederaltaich, on the Danube, was founded in 731 by Duke Odilo of Bavaria. In 1924 Pope Pius XI gave the monks the task of making the theology and spirituality of the East known in the West. Since then, Niederaltaich has been using both the Roman and the Byzantine rites for its liturgies. During the Second Vatican Council an Ecumenical Institute was established within the Abbey. Charta Oecumenica The Charta Oecumenica - Guidelines for the Growing Cooperation among the Churches in Europe was launched in 2001 by CEC and the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE). For the full text of the Charta see http://www.cec-kek.org/content/charta.shtml Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto:             
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 18 May 2006 ) | ||||
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