Vatican, July 27: A Jesuit priest from India has been appointed the Vatican observer for an international Church unity theology discussion between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches set to be held in Lebanon in January, 2020.
Fr Jiji Puthuveetilkalam, hailing from Alappuzha, Kerala, a research scholar with the Oxford University, would be the observer for the Catholic Church in the event, which would see the participation of several bishops from different Christian churches.
According to the Church sources, it was the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity that made the appointment. The council to promote dialogue between Christian churches beyond the Catholic Church and to create guidelines, is based in Vatican.
The conference would include nearly 30 persons, including eminent theologians, church heads and observers from both sides.Fr Jiji would be responsible for identifying the theological doctrines and stands common to the Oriental Orthodox churches and the Catholic Church. He would also analyze the guidelines that gets agreed upon by both sides as well.
The priest has a bachelor’s degree in English literature and post-graduation in philosophy and Syrian Literature. He also has a bachelor’s degree in theology from the Gregorian University, Rome.
The conference would be held from January 26 to February 1, 2020.