The ecumenical path is open and can no longer be closed

W hen Pope John XXIII announced the convocation of a Great Council of all Christians, hope arose in the Orthodox world, especially in our blessed predecessor, Patriarch Athenagoras, that a grand Ecumenical Council of all Christian Churches would soon be convened, with the goal of finding paths towards the unity of the Body of Christ. After all, Angelo Roncalli’s experience with the East had been consolidated with his presence as Apostolic Delegate, first in Bulgaria and then in Greece and Turkey. In March 1927, the future Pope had had his first encounter with the-then Ecumenical Patriarch Basil III, who had confided his concern about the disunity of the Christian world as well as his desire for a general council of all Christianity to be convened. Angelo Roncalli first arrived in Bulgaria in 1925, and remained there until 1934, when he ...