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Oradea to host 2024 Eastern Catholic Bishops Meeting
Over 60 Eastern Catholic bishops from Europe will participate, September 16 -19, in the 25th Meeting of Eastern Catholic Bishops of Europe, to be organised in Oradea by the Romanian Greek-Catholic Bishopric of Oradea, at the invitation of the Greek-Catholic Bishop of Oradea, Virgil Bercea.
The 2024 Meeting of Eastern Catholic Bishops takes place in Oradea in the year in which the Greek Catholic Church in Romania celebrates five years since the beatification of the Blessed Romanian Bishops Greek Catholic Martyrs by Pope Francis, on the Liberty Field of Blaj - on June 2, 2019 - and it is the second of its kind to take place in Oradea, after the 2011 Meeting of Eastern Catholic Bishops of Europe, according to organisers.
The meeting's theme regards the relationship between bishops and priests. The over 60 Eastern Catholic bishops will also touch on the Synod on Synodality (2021-2024) before the second session of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that will take place October 2 - 27, 2024 at the Vatican. The Latin and Byzantine bishops of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Romania were also invited to participate.
The meeting will include daily conferences and working sessions in which the bishops will address topics related to synodality, fraternity and humanity in the relationship between bishops and priests. The conference will be attended by: Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Eastern Churches; Apostolic Exarch of the Byzantine Rite Catholics in Greece, Manuel Nin; Metropolitan Archbishop of Philadelphia (USA), Borys Gudziak, and Dean of the Faculty of Greek-Catholic Theology of the Babes-Bolyay University of Cluj-Napoca Cristian Barta.
The official opening of the meeting will take place on September 16, in the main hall of the Oradea City Hall. A welcome speech will be delivered by the Greek-Catholic Bishop of Oradea, Virgil Bercea, and host of the meeting. The following will also take the floor: Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti; apostolic nuncio to Romania and Moldova,Giampiero Gloder; Chairman of the Council of Bishops' Conferences of Europe (CCEE) Gintaras Grusas; the Greek Orthodox bishop of Oradea, Sofronie Drincec; senior official for church affairs Ciprian-Vasile Olinici; Bihor County Prefect Marcel Drago, and Oradea City Mayor Florin Birta.
The participating bishops will celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine rite daily, starting at 08:00hrs, in three locations, where the public is invited to participate. The public moments will be broadcast live by Maria TV and Radio Maria Romania.
The St Nicholas Greek-Catholic Cathedral of Oradea will host on September 17 a religious ceremony presided over by Cardinal Gugerotti together with Bishop Bercea, animated by the Choir of the Iuliu Maniu Greek-Catholic High School in Oradea.
A Divine Liturgy in the Mother of God Diocesan Shrine will take place on September 18, presided over by Cardinal Gugerotti, together with the main celebrant, Major Archbishop of Kyiv Sviatoslav Shevchuk, animated by the Schola Cantorum Choir of the Theological Seminary of Oradea.
The third liturgy will be celebrated at the Transfiguration Greek-Catholic Parish, presided over by apostolic nuncio Gloder, with the main celebrant being the Metropolitan Archbishop of Hajdudorog Peter Fulop Kocsis, animated by the Annunciation-Francisc Hubic Choir of the Diocese of Oradea.
A concert called "Kyrie Eleison" will be mounted in honour of the guests, on September 17 afternoon, at the Regina Maria State Theatre House in Oradea. Performing under the baton of conductor Gianpaolo Mazzoli will be Egyed Apollonia, tenor Daniel Magdal, baritone Florin Estefan, along with the choir and orchestra of the Oradea State Philharmonic.
On September 18, at the Ascension of the Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Basilica, the Lord's Prayer will be recited in various languages, and the closing prayer will be delivered by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Oradea, Bocskei Laszlo, in Hungarian. The Schola Cantorum Choir of the Theological Seminary of Oradea will sing. At the end, apostolic nuncio Gloder will give the apostolic blessing in Latin on behalf of Pope Francis.
Eastern Catholic bishops meet annually, with the previous meeting taking place in 2023 in Athens, Greece.