From October 13th to 27th, 2023, the 17th Training Course on Dialogue was held, organized by the Franciscans of Istanbul at the Convent of Santa María Draperis in Turkey.”
The intense days of listening and dialogue, with intriguing reflections on the Franciscan vision and the path of dialogue in the present day, were presented and guided by the mission and experience of the International Fraternity of the Friars Minor.
Throughout the course, topics are studied and presented through anthropological and biblical foundations, and compared with the reality of dialogue today, taking into account both Christian and Islamic perspectives. All of this is enriched through dialogues with the speakers and experts, who, through their studies but above all their experience, seek to delve into and explain the challenges and future of dialogue.
Today, the city of Istanbul serves as a bridge between the West and the East, making it the perfect setting to capture the essence of dialogue in all its facets.
During these two weeks, intellectual formation is combined with experience and encounter. Yes, because during this training course, ‘visiting’ places and gaining experience is part of the educational offering promoted by the Santa María fraternity. Important visits and encounters include meetings with His Holiness Bartholomew I, Patriarch of Constantinople, representatives from various Christian churches, as well as an interreligious prayer encounter with Sheikh Nail Dede Kesova and the Dervish brothers. Furthermore, to delve even deeper, at the end of the course, a pilgrimage is undertaken. This year, participants had the opportunity to visit the pilgrimage sites of the seven Churches of the Apocalypse.
Unfortunately, during our 17th Course, we received the sad news of the passing of His Excellency Monsignor Dimitrios Salachas, Titular Bishop of Grazianopolis and Emeritus Apostolic Exarch of Greece, who accompanied us for many years in our courses and was a great advocate for dialogue with the Eastern Catholic Churches and their synodality. With sorrow, we learned of his departure, aware that his contributions will be recorded in the history of our formation in Dialogue.
