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 Dmitri Solzhenitsyn provides a careful theological and
historical reflection on the prospects for full communion between the Roman
Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. He argues that Orthodox–Catholic
reunification is not only a moral imperative but also a possibility,
especially in light of recent dialogue between the churches.
Solzhenitsyn
traces the arc of Orthodox–Catholic relations from the churches’ shared
apostolic heritage to their growing divergence to the Great Schism of 1054. He contends
that the breakdown was ultimately fueled as much by a failure to practice love
and charity as by doctrinal conflict. And he finds hope for unity in the
gradually warming relations between the churches seen since the nineteenth
century, as evidenced by symbolic reciprocal gestures and genuine theological
breakthroughs.
Solzhenitsyn
ends by offering a constructive vision for reunion, focusing on the core
theological obstacles of papal authority and the filioque while also
addressing broader Orthodox attitudes and the practical mechanics of reunion.
In the end, he calls readers, Orthodox and Catholic alike, both to imagine what
restored communion might look like in lived experience and to work—and pray—for
unity.