30^th January 2007

Your Grace, Most Eminent Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England, Dr. Rowan Williams,

Beloved brethren and children in the Lord,

Holy, Holy, Holy is our God worshipped in Trinity, Who through the Lord Jesus Christ reconciled to Himself all things [Col. 1 : 20] and invites us to a ministry of reconciliation. Brought together also in this work by the Holy Spirit, our Churches, both Orthodox and Anglican, offer up glory and thanks to Him for those good things which have taken place in the Theological Dialogue, invoking at the same time his merely for what remains still to be achieved.

Doing thus at today’s festal gathering in this historic church, we greet Your Grace, most beloved brother in Christ, archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, with a kiss of love and honour and, through you, the plenitude of the Anglican Communion throughout the world.

Our Great Church of Christ of Constantinople, the Oecumenical Patriarchate, ceaselessly praying together with all Orthodoxy for the welfare of the Holy Churches of God and their unity, has undertaken, at various times, numerous initiatives aiming at removing from among us every form of discord, dispute and division and eventually at the restoration of unity.  The attempts begun long ago on both sides, namely the official Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox and Anglican Churches, despite various obstacles during its long journey, have led to the result we are celebrating today, namely the Anglican-Orthodox Agreed Statement.

In the same way, for our part we express the gratitude due from this place to both the local Holy Sister Orthodox Churches and those of the Anglican Communion, the various co-chairmen and the members of the Dialogue’s committee, as well as to yourself, eminent head of the Anglican Church, for your general encouragement, support and promotion of the Dialogue and of the complete co-operation with the Orthodox, as well as for the present festal celebrations and brotherly hospitality.

Truly it has been said at one time that a feast is the silent descent to the depths.  To the depths of our hearts, but also at the same time to the depths of those actions.  In the presence of the One Who searches and knows reins and hearts, our God Who is a just judge and no respecter of persons.  The attitude of each one of us with regard to our efforts for reconciliation is put to the test: inspired and fervent zeal, but also perhaps unjustified reticence and inaction; fidelity to the work that our Churches have entrusted to each at every time, particularly fidelity to Christ’s Gospel itself and to His divine wish, “that all may be one” [John 17 : 21].

The descent, on the other hand, to the depths of the actions reveals the grievous situation in many things of the planet, on which God still permits us human beings to dwell, even though they do not all do so in accordance with His Will and commandments.  This situation tests us Christians also, our faith or lack of it, our boldness or cowardice, our powerlessness due to our estrangements and differences, so that we may furnish together an honest witness to the Gospel, that it may be known and understood by every human being, “that there is salvation in no other” [Acts 4 : 12] but only in the Lord our God, “Who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” [1 Tim. 2 : 4].

The difficult situation of the world imposes even more on us Christians, that we soldier together sincerely and courageously today, in the imperative struggle for peace, justice, and basic human rights on behalf of our brothers and sisters, God’s children without discrimination.

In the light of these known facts, the completion of an important phase of our theological Dialogue rightly fills our hearts with joy and sends out a message of hope to the rest of the Christian world.  However, given that our joint effort must further develop and bear fruit, we consider it necessary to soberly evaluate the past and decide on the future action.

By way of example only we proceed to some essential points:

        Our theological dialogue does not of course constitute a goal in itself.  It is a road towards the goal laid down by our Lord Himself, the goal of unity and loving unanimity.  The plentiful signs of concensus ascertained, by God’s help, must be laid before the appropriate instruments of our Churches for examination and possible reception.  In accord with the firm faith and established practice of Orthodoxy, this may not be allowed and cannot take place without the knowledge of or with the bypassing of the People of God, their life and problems.  The Theological Dialogue is a work principally of specific theologians, but not therefore a matter of a sealed secret.  Clergy and laity have a right to full and timely information.  For this reason, the official Theological Dialogue should be accompanied by parallel activities, sufficient to contribute to the creation of a positive climate of acceptance.  If, in the past, doctrines divided people, people must co-operate today for the convergence of doctrines.

The sober consideration of the achievements will demonstrate in continuation the possibility of the reception of what has already been agreed, without waiting for full agreement on all the points on which we still differ.  One such “pre-consensual reception” is, for example, the Use of the Creed without the Filioque  so as to allow the faithful a certain foretaste of the joy of the Church being in one mind, being one in faith and love and, moreover, being a positive model for other Theological Dialogues – including especially the recently-resumed Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, for the quicker promotion of which the recent visit of His Holiness our beloved brother in Christ the Bishop of the Elder Rome, Pope Benedict XVI, to the Oecumenical Patriarchate is expected to have a positive contribution.

In the hope that the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, will strengthen even more our zeal for reconciliation and unity, we greet you, beloved brethren, with the words of the apostle: “rejoice in the Lord always!”