The event which took place on 10.06.2025, gathered representatives of the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv and two French institutions: Institut des Chrétiens d'Orient and L'Œuvre d'Orient.

At 9:00 a.m. a meeting was held with His Magnificence the Rector of the UPJPII, Rev. Prof. Dr. Hab. Robert Tyrała and the ceremonial signing of the respective cooperation agreements took place:

• between the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow and the Institut des Chrétiens d'Orient, represented by Prof. Antoine Fleyfel and Haude d'Harcourt,
• renewal of cooperation with the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, represented by Rev. Prof. Roman Fihas, Director of the UCU Ecumenical Institute.

The next item on the agenda was a panel discussion “On the Frontlines: How Academic Institutions Adapt to Complex Geopolitical Realities?”. The experts -  Rev. Dr. Hab. Andrzej Kielian, Rev. Prof. Roman Fihas, Prof. Antoine Fleyfel and Ms. Haude d’Harcourt, discussed the topic of the activity of Christian institutions in spreading peace from different standpoints. Particular emphasis was put on the role the institutions play in the process of shaping the ideas of ​​brotherhood and respect in the world gripped by the crisis of extremism. Christianity was presented as a natural space for seeking truth through the free exchange of ideas and tolerance of people who have found other answers in their search. In this context, Christians have an important role to play, building a space for encounter and dialogue – without encounter and conversion, peace cannot be built. This idea is close to the philosophy of Rev. Prof. Józef Tischner, pointing to the interpersonal encounter as the basic space for realizing values ​​and striving for peace. The key moment in the encounter is listening to the other, not in order to judge them and convince them to one's arguments, but treat them as guides on your path to truth. The discussion that took place at our university was intended to be such a space for representatives of various Christian circles to listen to each other: the Greek and Roman Catholic Churches and people associated with the Eastern Churches.

After the panel discussion, the time has come to open the photographic exhibition “In the Footsteps of Eastern Christians”. A part of the opening were the speeches by Ms. Haude d’Harcourt, deputy director of L’Œuvre d’Orient, and Mr. Cédric Peltier, consul general of France in Kraków. The exhibition can be viewed in the library lobby on Bobrzyńskiego 10.

The team of the International Cooperation Office and the Main Library also prepared a special surprise. During the special presentation, guests had a Chance to see pieces from the special collection related to the history of the Eastern Churches, including a priceless manuscript of an Armenian-Latin dictionary, edited in the first half of the 17th century by the Polish-Armenian priest Stefan Roszko, associated with Lviv. Of particular interest was the liturgical old Cyrillic print - the Gospel Book published in Pochayiv in 1773, with an extraordinary preserved binding, and the famous Antwerp Polyglot, the fifth volume of which published in 1571 contains the New Testament in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin. Guests also had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with a scientific treatise published in 1789 devoted to the oldest translations of the New Testament into Syriac. The meeting was prepared by library employees responsible for special collections: Ms. Dorota Chomko and Mateusz Zimny, PhD, who shared his knowledge about the gems in the UPJPII collection. We would like to express our special thanks to the director of the Main Library, Mr. Sebastian Wojnowski, and the head of the Promotion Office, Mr. Łukasz Rzepka, for their help in organizing the event.