Description
A scrupulously fair exploration of how the Catholic and Orthodox churches were split asunder—and what a path to union might look like. In Reuniting Rome with the Orthodox DmitriSolzhenitsyn provides a careful theological and historical reflection on theprospects for full communion between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodoxchurches. He argues that unity is a moral and practical necessity, and that theobstacles standing in its way, though formidable, are more surmountable thanthey might seem. With balance and precision, Solzhenitsyn:traces the arc of Orthodox–Catholic relations from the churches’ shared apostolic heritage to their growing divergence to the Great Schism of 1054;contends that the breakdown was ultimately fueled as much by a failure to practice love and charity as by doctrinal conflict; andfinds hope for unity in the gradually warming relations between the churches seen since the twentieth century, as evidenced by symbolic reciprocal gestures and genuine theological breakthroughs. Solzhenitsyn ends by offering a constructive vision forreunion, focusing on the core theological obstacles of papal authority and the filioquewhile also addressing broader Orthodox attitudes and the practical mechanics ofreunion. In the end, he calls readers, Orthodox and Catholic alike, both toimagine what restored communion might look like in lived experience and towork—and pray—for unity.