Breathing With Two...or Three Lungs

First a little history:  The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church split apart in the "Great Schism" in 1054. This split was due to various doctrinal disagreements. The Church of England split from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534 because the pope would not annul King Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon. There has been talk about reconciliation over the past several years with only limited progress.

Now Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is going to meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul. The Patriarch is the so-called first among equals of the Orthodox patriarchs. He is the Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome. He occupies the First Throne of the Orthodox Christian Church.

According to the attached article from "Ecumenical News", Welby is hoping to "contribute to the goal of Christian Unity. Pope Francis will be meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew in Jerusalem in May.

Archbishop of Canterbury to visit Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is traveling to Istanbul on Monday to visit the man considered by many as the spiritual head of Eastern Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

A statement on the Anglican Communion website says, "Archbishop Justin hopes that the visit will help to develop greater fellowship between the two churches and contribute to the goal of Christian unity."

The two day visit will include the first meeting in Istanbul between the Ecumenical Patriarch and Welby, who once worked in the banking and oil industry, since he became Archbishop of Canterbury.

Welby was enthroned as spiritual head of the Church of England and symbolic head of the 80-million strong Anglican Communion in March 2013.

"As Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew occupies the First Throne of the Orthodox Christian Church," says the Anglican Communion website.

The Ecumenical Patriarch is Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome, and is a Greek Orthodox who is the first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which has a number of patriarchates.

Eastern Orthodox churches are member of the World Council of Churches which represents more than 500 million Christians from mainly Anglican, Orthodox and Protestants traditions.

Welby attended the 10th Assembly of the WCC held in Busan, South Korea in November and he had a meeting at the Vatican with Pope Francis in June 2013.

http://www.ecumenicalnews.com/article/archbishop-of-canterbury-to-visit-ecumenical-patriarch-in-istanbul-22675