By Matters India Reporter
CHIANG MAI, June 3, 2026: Retired Archbishop Felix Anthony Machado of Vasai has urged Asian Christians to embrace synodality and ecumenism as inseparable paths, stressing baptismal unity and common witness amid the region’s diversity.
Delivering the second thematic address on “Synodality and Ecumenism: Ecclesial Unity for Effective Witness in Asia” at the International Consultation on Ecumenism in Asia, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Archbishop Machado emphasized that synodality and ecumenism are inseparable dimensions of the Church’s life and mission.
“The path of synodality is and must be ecumenical, just as the ecumenical path is synodal,” said the archbishop who worked as Undersecretary in the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Vatican, from 1999 to 2008.
Reflecting on the Catholic Church’s Synod on Synodality and its 2024 Final Document, Archbishop Machado urged Christians across Asia to deepen their commitment to dialogue, listening, reconciliation, and common witness.
He highlighted the participation of delegates from different Christian traditions in the Synodal Assembly as a visible sign of growing collaboration, mutual learning, and shared witness among churches.
The Synod’s Final Document, he noted, affirms Baptism as the common foundation of both synodality and ecumenism. Since all Christians share one baptismal identity, the synodal journey naturally directs the Church toward greater unity.
Archbishop Machado stressed that synodality is not an end in itself but serves the Church’s mission of proclaiming the Gospel. Authentic synodality, he said, requires prayerful discernment, mutual listening, humility, and openness to the Holy Spirit. He described synodality and ecumenism as “mutually reinforcing journeys rooted in baptismal grace.”
“We Christians in Asia cannot afford to be divided in the face of the region’s religious and cultural diversity and the pressing need to foster stronger bonds of fraternity among Christians,” Machado said.
He commended the Christian Conference of Asia’s vibrant ecumenical leadership, noting its contributions to dialogue, reconciliation, and cooperation among churches. Encouraging Christians to continue witnessing through service, dignity, coexistence, and proclamation, Archbishop Machado expressed gratitude for decades of ecumenical progress.