Friends:

Today the annual Orientale Lumen Conference XII concluded.
The Conference brings together Orthodox, Eastern Catholic
and Western Catholic participants for prayer, presentations and dialogue.
Meals are shared and issues discussed. The meeting took place at the John Paul II Cultural Center in Northeast Washington.

This year I served as Moderator–introducing the speakers–and
facilitating the dialogue with the panel of speakers after each presentation.
This was a first for me–to Moderate a whole conference rather than a presentation or two. A panel of all the speakers produces a rich answer to questions raised from the floor.

The presentations were excellent. The theme focused on feasts and the liturgical cycles with presentations on a number of the Eastern traditions. The role of icons and iconography was prominent–as all these elements are seen together, not separately. The view from the East is an integrated one.

I found the four days stimulating and exhausting at the same time.
It will take quite awhile to absorb all that was said.
I purchased CDs of the talks–when you are moderator you miss a few things while you think of what is next.

For more on the Conference see www.olconference.com

Peace,
John