Can Rome and the East Heal the Great Schism?

Twentieth-century Orthodox theologian Fr Alexander Schmemann used to say that a requirement for reconciliation with Catholics was a pan-Orthodox synod. That, he added wryly, was “an eschatological concept”. After Schmemann’s death, however, the Orthodox attempted a pan-Orthodox synod in 2016. Admittedly, that event did not succeed in bringing all the particular Orthodox Churches together. The most notable abstainers were the Antiochians and Russians. The event was, nonetheless, a start.