Inter-Christian Relations at the beginning of the 20th century: The Contribution of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the Development of Relations among Christian Churches
Inter-Christian Relations at the beginning of the 20th century: The Contribution of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the Development of Relations among Christian Churches

Author(s): Ioannis Ladas
Subject(s): Theology and Religion, Sociology of Religion
Published by: Editura Doxologia
Keywords: Inter-Christian relations; Ecumenical movement; Christian Churces;
Summary/Abstract: The rapprochement of the Orthodox Church with all non-Orthodox Christian Churches and Confessions and the strengthening and development of relations with them has always been a matter of the immediate ecclesiastical perspective of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which has become a key regulator of inter-Christian relations. The movement for closer inter-Christian cooperation and the realization of the unity of the Christian Churches intensified at the beginning of the 20th cent. and was largely connected with the Orthodox Church’s march towards the Holy and Great Council (2016). Despite the adverse conditions that the Ecumenical Patriarchate faced during much of the 20th cent., it undertook intensive actions (steps) to consolidate inter-Christian unity, which, on the one hand, brought the prestige of Orthodoxy around the world to its true levels, and on the other hand, led at a later stage to the beginning of official theological dialogues. Unfortunately, the brilliant actions of the early 20th cent. and the way of further rapprochement with the other Christian Churches were overshadowed by a period of interruption of the discussions, due to the beginning of the Second World War and the ensuing problems and rearrangements. The purpose of this article is to present both the relations between the Christian Churches at the beginning of the 20th cent. and the actions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which contributed decisively to the beginning of the course towards the much-hoped restoration of full unity in the faith and sacramental life of the Christian Churches.

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