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DLMPES students took part in the online meeting with Fr. Dr. John Berry, Professor of the University of Malta. Father is the lecturer of the Dogmatic and Fundamental Theology; he is also a theological expert to the Archdiocesan Commission for Interreligious Dialogue. Fr. John presented a topic on Yves Congar’s ecumenical theology.

On January 21, at the UCU chapel an Ecumenical prayer service was held for peace in Ukraine and the unity of Christians. Under the theme "Is Christ divided?" (Corinthians 1:1-17), it brought together the faithful people of Lviv, representatives of Christian youth organizations and movements. The event took place within the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which annually takes place from 18 to 25 January – during the time when Christians around the world unite in prayer for the gift of unity.

An eyewitness and an active member of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church father Iwan shared online his thoughts and hopes with the DLMPES’ students regarding the activities, challenges and perspectives of the catholic-orthodox dialogue on October 24.

Dr. Heleen Zorgdrager had an online lecture with the DLMPES’ students on October, 10. Using as a basis the book of David Bosch on Missions professor analyzed the main paradigms of Christian missions in the history. There were presented the different aspects of the missions stressed by each approach and what main features should characterize Christian Missions today. Heleen Zorgdrager emphasized that modern ecumenical movement was born inside the missionary work.

The Head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch on 10 June visited the Ukrainian Catholic University and met with the employees of the Institute of Ecumenical Studies (IES). The meeting was attended by the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Patriarch Sviatoslav, a representative of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Fr. Milan Zust, the Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, Bishop Borys (Gudziak) and Vice Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, Fr. Dr. Bohdan Prakh.

On April 9 DLMPES’ students took part in the online lecture with Dr. Dagmar Heller. She is a theologian of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), professor at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey and member of the Faith and Order Commission at the World Council of Churches. Dr. Dagmar came to Ukraine to visit the Institute of Ecumenical Studies and to have lectures for its students.

Kiyoshi Seko, a Japanese theologian and editor of the Asian Christian Review, is going to teach a course Ecumenical Christian Ethics next semester at Distance Learning Master’s Program in Ecumenical Studies. He would be a successor of Dr. Konrad Raiser who have been taught this course for several years at the program.

- You have been teaching at DLMPES and in Ukrainian Catholic University for many years. Could you compare your teaching experience in on-line and campus programs?

The biggest difference for me with online teaching is the absence of the visual contact between professor and students – it is a lack of the dynamic dimension where a student could ask a question during the lecture. I think that all distance programs must face similar challenges that need to be resolved. So, online teaching has its peculiar challenge within its mode communication with its students.

Distance Learning Master’s Program in Ecumenical Studies is now accepting applications for the Fall, 2012 semester. The first Application deadline finishes May 31, 2012 and applicants would be informed about the results on June 4.

On March 19, Fr. Laurent Cleenewerck had an online meeting with the students. Topic of the event was dedicated to the Ravenna Declaration, one of the fruits of the Catholic-Orthodox dialogue. The Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, held in Ravenna (Italy) on October 15, 2007, accepted the Joint Declaration on the nature of the Church. The document became one of the most successful steps in the Christian dialogue.