Pope Leo and Patriarch Bartholomew—Is Their “Unity of Faith” Possible?

As a former Orthodox, I'm sure that the Patriarch can talk all he wants to, but the Slavic Churches will not follow him in any unity scheme. They have a visceral hatred of the West.

From The European Conservative

By Michael Haynes

Unity by the lowest common denominator is not something the Bride of Christ wishes for and must thus be carefully avoided.

Will the “path of dialogue” jointly welcomed by Pope Leo XIV and Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople actually produce results and the desired “unity of faith,” or is it destined simply to weaken the Catholic Church?  

Now several weeks on from Leo XIV’s first papal voyage to Turkey and Lebanon, the trip has naturally become one of the most poignant moments of his still young pontificate. In Lebanon, the American pope became associated with a sign of hope for the nation and the region amidst the backdrop of violence. In Turkey, Leo’s focus was decidedly more ecumenical, as he tackled a priority he outlined in the very earliest days of his reign.  

Organized to mark the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the papal voyage to Turkey was in many ways one of the most notable acts of ecumenism in recent years. A joint ecumenical prayer service at the historic site of the Council drew Christian leaders together once again, 1700 years after the original event, whilst the signing of a declaration by Leo and Patriarch Bartholomew emphasized the “spiritual brotherhood” and the dialogue underway between East and West.  

For Leo, it is fair to say that fostering ‘unity’ and ‘full communion’ amongst all Christians is perhaps his pre-eminent agenda. Hosting the ecumenical delegates at the Vatican on May 19, one day after his inaugural Mass, Leo revealed this aspect: 

My election has taken place during the year of the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. That Council represents a milestone in the formulation of the Creed shared by all Churches and Ecclesial Communities. While we are on the journey to re-establishing full communion among all Christians, we recognize that this unity can only be unity in faith. 

As Bishop of Rome, I consider one of my priorities to be that of seeking the re-establishment of full and visible communion among all those who profess the same faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

Unity, he said, “has always been a constant concern of mine, as witnessed by the motto I chose for my episcopal ministry.” 

The new pope made no hesitation in demonstrating this. He received Patriarch Bartholomew I twice within the first three weeks of his papacy. The voyage to Nicaea was swiftly arranged, after having originally been scheduled for May, with Pope Francis planned to be the visiting star.  

Once on the ground in Turkey, both pope and patriarch were close companions throughout many of the public points of the papal voyage. They gave a visible tour de force of unity between the “sister Churches,” as the pair themselves wrote in a joint declaration. 

The declaration itself was, in many ways, as might be expected. Vaticanists have become accustomed to the signing of documents between a pope and a religious leader, set to the backdrop of much pomp and ceremony, but which are then largely forgotten except when highlighted by the Vatican’s official news channels. The content is often warm and fraternal, exhorting the world to a better future and promising the collaboration of the two parties at hand to achieve such a goal, but offering little in the way of specifics.  

To a certain extent, Leo and Bartholomew followed suit in their written desire for religions to be at the service of global peace and prosperity. However, that was but a side note hiding in the shadow of their aim for ecclesial unity. 

“We continue to walk with firm determination on the path of dialogue, in love and truth, towards the hoped-for restoration of full communion between our sister Churches,” the Declaration read. The text—signed at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul—continued:  

Aware that Christian unity is not merely the result of human efforts, but a gift that comes from on high, we invite all the members of our Churches—clergy, monastics, consecrated persons, and the lay faithful—earnestly to seek the fulfilment of the prayer that Jesus Christ addressed to the Father: “that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you… so that the world may believe.” 

Pointing to the Council of Nicaea’s defense of Christological truths as a “providential event of unity,” Leo and Bartholomew’s declaration welcomed their commemoration of it as “an extraordinary moment of grace.” 

The pair also spoke of their firm conviction that “the commemoration of this significant anniversary can inspire new and courageous steps on the path towards unity.” 

It is a bold claim, but is it likely? Indeed, looking beyond the beautiful prose and examining the actual substance, the joint declaration contains the message that unity is still greatly desired but does not seem to offer any new proposal on how to achieve that.  

Take, for instance, the date of Easter, which coincided for both Rome and Constantinople this year. The declaration notes the desire for this to happen “every year,” but, quite simply, this will only happen if one side rejects its calendar in favor of the other’s. Since the Orthodox usage of the Julian Calendar to determine the date of Easter is essentially the only place the system is employed globally, the logical answer would be for the Orthodox to adopt the Gregorian Calendar used by Rome—and most of the world.

The same answer can be found with, for example, the question of papal primacy. Since the Holy See cannot change its teaching regarding papal primacy, either the Orthodox Church bends the knee over its current rejection of the See of Rome’s primacy, or it does not. The difficult decision must at some point be undertaken if the hopes for unity contained in the joint declaration are indeed genuine.  

Delivering a homily on the patronal feast of St. Andrew, Patriarch Bartholomew acknowledged these theological and hierarchical issues. “We can only pray that issues such as the ‘filioque’ and infallibility, which the Commission is currently examining, will be resolved such that their understanding no longer serves as stumbling blocks to the communion of our Churches,” he said.  

The differences are not insurmountable, but they are undeniable and require definitive answers.  

Yet perhaps Leo might seek to employ the in-vogue process of synodality in order to portray the Catholic Church as more appealing for those loyal to the Patriarch of Constantinople. 

During his address to ecumenical delegates in May, Leo hinted at how he would put synodality at the service of ecumenism, since the former has been described as intimately linked to the latter. “Aware, moreover, that synodality and ecumenism are closely linked, I would like to assure you of my intention to continue Pope Francis’ commitment to promoting the synodal nature of the Catholic Church and developing new and concrete forms for an ever stronger synodality in ecumenical relations,” he declared.  

But this policy is a double-edged sword. Patriarch Bartholomew welcomed how studying papal primacy through the lens of synodality was “a source of inspiration and renewal not only for our sister Churches, but also for the rest of the Christian world.” This is surely a reference to the June 2024 document, which placed the papacy at the service of synodality and ecumenism, and thus sparked controversy amongst traditional Catholics due to how the document undermines the position of the pope.  

If Leo were to pursue a course of action that saw the prestige, honor, and authority of the papacy downplayed in order to attract unity from the Orthodox, then it could result in a Catholic Church that is weaker in Her own teaching and hierarchical identity.  Unity by the lowest common denominator is not something the Bride of Christ wishes for and must thus be carefully avoided.  

The process of determining whether unity can be achieved will, it seems, likely be determined by the theologians of the Dialogue Commission between the Catholic and Orthodox Church, which received renewed approval from Leo and Bartholomew in their joint declaration.  

The fruit of Leo’s voyage to Turkey was the fostering of significant goodwill between both parties. However, whilst citing their “spiritual brotherhood,” Leo and Bartholomew have yet to come to any concrete realization of the unity that is much desired. In part, this could be due to the fact that the Catholic Church must not and cannot change her teaching and identity, whilst the Orthodox do not wish to change their teaching on the relevant points of contention.  

Both the passage of time and the work of the Dialogue Commission will determine the efficacy and conviction both parties bring to their arguments and whether the fruit of unity is ripe and ready to be plucked.