Things are changing fast in Europe where inter-church relations are concerned, Ireland's Catholic primate Archbishop Seán Brady has said.
"Last month, for the first time ever, the presidents of Europe's 34 Catholic bishops' conferences met in Russia, in St Petersburg. It was something unthinkable a few years ago. Its guests included representatives of the Moscow patriarch, Lutheran bishops and representatives of the civic authorities in the city of St Petersburg."
Dr Brady was speaking yesterday at the Irish Inter-Church Meeting (IICM) which opened at the Emmaus Centre in Swords, Co Dublin.
The co-chairs are Dr Brady and Gillian Kingston, president of the IICM. Both welcomed over 80 delegates to a two-day meeting on the theme "Light of Christ shines on all" (John 8.12).
Addressing delegates, Mrs Kingston said that "... as Christians, we need to make common cause - in the face of the rising tide of secularism - in our encounter with persons of other faiths".
The IICM represents a partnership of the Catholic Church and the Irish Council of Churches. Its first meeting was held at Ballymascanlon, Co Louth, in 1973.
The Irish Council of Churches is made up of 15 members,including the Antiochian Orthodox Church in Ireland, the Church of Ireland, the Coptic Orthodox in Ireland, the Greek Orthodox Church in Britain and Ireland, the Lifelink Network of Churches and the Lutheran Church in Ireland.
It also includes the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Moravian Church Irish District, the Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and the Religious Society of Friends.