60 Years PRO ORIENTE

Since my studies in Innsbruck and Rome at the Pontificium Institutum Orientale, I have had the privilege of maintaining numerous contacts with the Pro Oriente Foundation, especially after my return to Austria in 1970.

The Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches were a small minority in Austria 50 years ago. Pro Oriente offered them a beneficial platform where they could present themselves in the ecumenical symposia, and many books and publications also publicised the Eastern churches to broader sections of society. The archbishops of Vienna always showed them interest and favour.

Much has changed nowadays. Orthodoxy is numerically the second largest Christian denomination in Austria and plays an important role in many ecumenical initiatives. Our modern information society learns about all this in a very short space of time.

Nevertheless, Christianity is facing many problems worldwide today, and even within universal Orthodoxy there are disputes and rifts. This also poses new challenges for the Pro Oriente Foundation. A genuinely fraternal and friendly attitude, dialogue and contacts are a prerequisite for peaceful coexistence in the future.

Ieromonach Ioann (DDr Johann Krammer)

Russian Orthodox Church in Austria
Consultant of Pro Oriente Foundation for many years