Zoghby Initiative - July 1995 Meeting

July 1995 Meeting

At the July 1995 meeting of the Melkite Synod, twenty-four of the twenty-six attending bishops present subscribed to the so-called "Zoghby Initiative". The document was then presented to the Melkite Patriarch, Maximos V, and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatious IV. The profession was accompanied by an endorsement by the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Biblos and Batroun, George Khodr, stating "I consider this profession by Kyr Elias Zoghby to fulfill the necessary and sufficient conditions to re-establish the unity of the Orthodox Churches with Rome." The proposal received much press, both positive and negative. Numerous ecumenists lauded the initiative, while some theologians and canonists were critical. Despite the mixed reception, the initiative helped create a new climate of dialogue on East–West reunification and communion.