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Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity

The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery within the Holy See whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965. Pope John XXIII wanted the Catholic Church to engage in the contemporary ecumenical movement. He established a Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity (SPCU) on 5 June 1960 as one of the preparatory commissions for the council, and appointed Cardinal Augustin Bea as its first president. The secretariat invited other churches and world communions to send observers to the council. The Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity prepared and presented a number of documents to the council: Ecumenism (Unitatis redintegratio); Non-Christian religions (Nostra aetate); Religious liberty (Dignitatis humanae); With the doctrinal commission, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei verbum). Following the council, in 1966 Pope Paul VI confirmed the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity as a permanent dicastery of the Holy See. In the apostolic constitution Pastor bonus (28 June 1988), Pope John Paul II renamed the secretariat the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The PCPCU has two sections dealing with: The Eastern Churches - The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches as well as the Assyrian Church of the East; The Western Churches and Ecclesial Communities and the World Council of Churches. The dicastery has a twofold role: The promotion within the Catholic Church of an authentic ecumenical spirit according to the conciliar decree Unitatis redintegratio; To develop dialogue and collaboration with the other churches and world communions. Since its creation, it has also established a cordial cooperation with the World Council of Churches (WCC). Twelve Catholic theologians have been members of the WCC's Faith and Order Commission since 1968.

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Related concepts (4)
Nostra aetate
Nostra aetate (from Latin: "In our time"), or the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions, is an official declaration of the Second Vatican Council. Passed by a vote of 2,221 to 88 of the assembled bishops, this declaration was promulgated on 28 October 1965 by Pope Paul VI. Its name comes from its incipit. It is the shortest of the 16 final documents of the Council and "the first in Catholic history to focus on the relationship that Catholics have with Jews.
Filioque
Filioque (ˌfɪliˈoʊkwi,_-kweɪ ; filiˈokwe), a Latin term meaning "and from the Son," was added to the original Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (commonly known as the Nicene Creed), and has been the subject of great controversy between Eastern and Western Christianity. The term refers to the Son, Jesus Christ, with the Father, as the one shared origin of the Holy Spirit. It is not in the original text of the Creed, attributed to the First Council of Constantinople (381), which says that the Holy Spirit proceeds "from the Father", without additions of any kind, such as "and the Son" or "alone".
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI (Paulus VI; Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, dʒoˈvanni batˈtista enˈriːko anˈtɔːnjo maˈriːa monˈtiːni; 26 September 1897 - 6 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in August 1978. Succeeding John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council, which he closed in 1965, implementing its numerous reforms. He fostered improved ecumenical relations with Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches, which resulted in many historic meetings and agreements.
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