Fr. Jason Charron: Leo and Bartholomew in Nicaea

In the wake of the 1,700-year commemoration of the Council of Nicaea, where Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I stood together on the soil of ancient İznik, the question of Church unity has taken on renewed urgency. Their meeting, at once liturgical and symbolic, recalled not only a shared origin but the enduring divergence of temperament that has shaped East and West. If unity is to be more than diplomatic choreography, it must engage the deeper currents of the distinct theological “styles” that define Catholicism and Orthodoxy.

The modern pursuit of communion between Rome and Constantinople often imagines unity as the work of theologians, hierarchs, or ecumenical commissions. Yet beneath formal theology lies temperament, and beneath temperament lies worldview; and renewing that is the obligation of all the baptized (Romans 12:2). Permit me to borrow a helpful analogy from a world I love, that of chess. Some openings are universal: resilient systems built on enduring principles that can withstand any opponent. Others are particular: brilliant and precise but dependent on specific conditions and upon the subjectivity of your opponent. This tension between the universal and the particular, between adaptability and rootedness, sheds light on the contrasting ecclesial genius of Catholicism and Orthodoxy. …

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