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Thaw in relations with Athens
Orthodox prelates see new opportunities
In a meeting without historical precedent, Pope John Paul II received a delegation of prelates from the Greek Orthodox Church to the Vatican in March. In his welcoming remarks, the Holy Father asked for a “frank dialogue,” while the head of the Greek delegation suggested that collaboration on social issues might help to ease theological difficulties.

The Greek Orthodox delegation was led by Metropolitan Panteleimon of Attica, along with Metropolitan Timotheos of Kurkya and Paxos and Metropolitan Athanasios, the representative of the Greek Church to the European Union. It was the first time that Greek Orthodox prelates had been received by a Roman Pontiff. The Greek delegates spent the week in Rome, meeting with members of the Roman Curia.

“The hour for collaboration has been sounded,” Pope John Paul said. He said that “reciprocal personal understanding,” as well as candid discussions, formed “the essential conditions for the start of collaboration.” And he went on to say that the two sister churches had ample reason to cooperate today, when European society is losing its respect for human dignity. “Our task is to pass along the Christian patrimony which we have inherited,” he said.

The visit by the Greek delegation, which was authorized by the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church, had been eagerly anticipated at the Vatican. In the past the Greek Church has been one of the Orthodox bodies least amenable to ecumenical advances from Rome.

When the visit was concluded, Metropolitan Athanasios, told the Italian daily Avvenire that relations between Rome and Athens were now “much more positive.” The Orthodox prelate said that the Greek Orthodox Church “could learn a great deal” from the Catholic Church about dealing with problems of the contemporary world.

“That visit to Rome was a particularly successful experience for us,” the metropolitan said. With a “climate of confidence” now in place, he added, “there is now no doubt that the two churches will go forward together.”