Paramus, NJ – On Thursday, May 8, 2025, His Eminence Mor Dionysios John Kawak of the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of the Eastern USA hosted a slate of important meetings at his headquarters on behalf of the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches (SCOOCh).
In the morning, the Bishops of SCOOCh and their appointed delegates convened for their general meeting, discussing a variety of important issues, including their dialogue with the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA, the convocation of the next Concelebrated Liturgy, and the planning of a variety of spiritual and ecumenical events, including an Orthodox Men’s Conference in Philadelphia and this year’s annual Pan-Orthodox Christmas Concert in New Jersey.
Joining His Eminence Mor Dionysios at the meeting were His Grace Bishop David – President of SCOOCh and Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of New York & New England – His Eminence Mor Titus Yeldho of the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church, His Eminence Mor Silvanos Ayub of the Knanaya Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and His Grace Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church. His Grace Bishop Makarios of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church Diocese of North America joined the meeting by telephone. Priests representing His Eminence Archbishop Petros of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church Archdiocese of New York and His Grace Bishop Gabriel of the Coptic Orthodox Archdiocese of North America were also in attendance.
After the conclusion of their morning meeting, the members and delegates of the Standing Conference were joined by their dialogue partners from the Roman Catholic Church for luncheon before reconvening for the quarterly meeting of the North American Oriental Orthodox-Roman Catholic Consultation. The topic for discussion was the document published last year by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity entitled “The Bishop of Rome”. Fittingly enough, during the course of the meeting, Pope Leo XIV was announced as the new Bishop of Rome. The assembled members of the consultation watched the announcement together, with the Orthodox delegates congratulating their Catholic counterparts.
The Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches congratulates the faithful of the Roman Catholic Church on the announcement of their new pontiff.