BRAINTREE -- In another demonstration of the longstanding friendship between the Archdiocese of Boston and the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston, Archbishop Richard G. Henning visited the Orthodox Canon Law Society of North America's 2025 Conference, held at the Maliotis Center of Hellenic College Holy Cross in Brookline on Oct. 24 and 25.

In his remarks on Oct. 24, Archbishop Henning said he was "ever grateful" for the "paternal encouragement and care" of Metropolitan Methodios, the metropolis's spiritual leader and close friend to Boston's last three archbishops.

"We're so grateful to you for your personal witness of discipleship and faith in Jesus," the archbishop said.

He thanked the metropolitan for his traditional presence at the Chrism Mass, held on the Tuesday of Holy Week each year. Delivering a prayer and blessing at the conference, the archbishop said that the work of the Canon Law Society is not merely intellectual, but "participation in the divine work of creation and of life itself."

"I pray that this experience for you together will be an experience of partnership with one another and with the Lord himself," he said.

Metropolitan Methodios introduced Archbishop Henning "in the ecumenical spirit of this wonderful work." He prayed that the archbishop would someday be named a cardinal like his predecessors.

Vito Nicastro, associate director of the Archdiocese of Boston's Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, said that the "brotherly" introduction showed the love and respect between the two men and the two churches.

"The presence of the archbishop at this event was a deep sign of the long-term work that has gone on between the archdiocese and the Greek Orthodox Metropolis, and it reflects the love between them on every level," Nicastro said.

He said that the work of the conference "is vital for the relationship between Catholic and Orthodox," especially because some members of the Orthodox Canon Law Society of North America are Catholic.

"The fact that the Orthodox Canon Law Society welcomed Catholic members is a vital ecumenical contribution in itself," he said, "but I believe that there's a deeper experience and fruitfulness of the archbishop's presence, and that is because it shows the close relationship built up on our common faith and lived witness together in Boston."

Without canonists, Nicastro said, it's impossible for the Catholic Church to follow Jesus's hope "that all may be one."

The Society maintains close relationships with Catholic institutions as it studies ecumenical questions, like whether the two churches can share sacraments and common prayer. Currently, a properly-disposed Catholic can only receive Communion from an Orthodox priest, and vice versa, in grave emergencies.

"When we reach theological agreements with other Christian churches and communities, it is absolutely vital that we be able to translate the theology into common law," Nicastro said.