Annual meal of Catholic and Orthodox Priests of Toronto

Every year, for the feast of Apostle Peter, patron of the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Thomas Collins presents a meal to the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Priests.

In November, for the feast of Apostle Andrew, patron of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Archbishop Sotirios holds a meal for the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Priests of the Toronto area.

At this year’s meal, Cardinal Thomas Collins and his assistants Bishops John A. Boissonneau and Wayne Kirkpatrick were representing the Roman Catholics. From the Orthodox side, Archbishop Sotirios, Bishop Mitrophanes (Serbian Church), Bishop Ioannis-Kassianos (Romanian Church) and Bishop Andriy (Ukrainian Church) attented. Also present were Fr. Anthony Lohale, Head of Inter-Church Relations of the Roman Catholic Church, and Fr. Panagiotis Avgeropoulos, Head of Inter-Church Relations of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada.

Discussions revolved around the themes of euthanasia, abortion, migration and the political situation in Canada.

It was agreed that the two Churches, the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox, would always act together on these issues.