World reaction to the prospect of an ecumenical council on behalf of church unity must have been extremely encouraging to the Pope. The dramatic decision of John XXIII, which burst upon the public on January 25, was in the main interpreted quite favorably by those who have no particular reason to indulge in perfunctory applause. Orthodox and Protestant leaders, as well as editorialists in the secular press, displayed their unmistakable interest in the Pope's plan and their sincere respect for his motives. His announcement was taken as something to be expected from one whose personality had already established itself in the popular mind as that of an amiable man who wants to be friends with everyone.

Indeed, from all indications, the proposal was the Pope's own idea; it is certainly stamped with his generous and expansive character. There is every reason to expect that the Holy Father will try to start the Fathers of the council off in a mood of conciliation comparable to his own. In the meantime it is already evident that the mere anticipation of a general council under the sign of unity has put this old and much-argued problem on an entirely new basis in everyone's mind. Of itself, the Pope's decision indicates that the Catholic Church believes the time is ripe for serious new initiatives to resolve the tragic historic division of Christians.

What will all this lead to? Speculation is, of course, very hazardous at this stage. One can only size up the elements of the situation, examine the moods of the interested parties and then make an extrapolation from the present state of minds to situations that may materialize in the next few years. As one reads the mass of statements issued by both Orthodox and Protestant leaders after the news broke, it is obvious that the instant, articulate response was nothing less than the explosion of pent-up feelings and thoughts. In these statements two themes recur. Together they indicate, each in its own way, the two dominant elements of hope and doubt that may be expected to be at work in all hearts.

On the one hand, it is evident that the unity of all those who invoke the name of Jesus Christ is an aspiration which means a great deal indeed to non-Catholic Christians. The desire of Christ, expressed so clearly and so often in the gospels, is in striking contrast to present religious divisions. In this common desire for the unity of Christians, no doubt divinely inspired, lies the best hope for its ultimate realization.

On the other hand, a pessimistic note tempers the praise of the Pope's plan. Orthodox and Protestant spokesmen raise points on which they are convinced Rome will not yield. The difficulties—let us be candid about it—of a union with the Catholic Church loom so large at this moment as to seem beyond the possibility of resolution. So set is each of the two major parties on its own standpoint that no compromise formula compatible with the convictions of all concerned appears anywhere on the horizon. If the Catholics are resolute and frank in expounding their own minimum conditions of reconciliation, the Orthodox and Protestants are no less vehement in their rejection of these conditions. Not even the kindly and humane new Pontiff can conjure away a thousand years of theological and historical problems that will confront the 21st Ecumenical Council, to be convened in 1961 in quest of Church unity.

While it is customary to link the Orthodox and the various Protestant denominations in any discussion of the ecumenical movement, these two groups are, as is well known, quite different in the challenge they present from the Catholic point of view. In each case a distinct set of theological and historical issues is at play. In the coming months, therefore, it will be necessary for observers of the preparations for the council to keep this in mind.

Reactions Among the Orthodox

On the side of the dissident Eastern Churches, undoubtedly the man to watch is Athenagoras I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. This prelate's own subjects are reckoned at only two million (by contrast, for instance, with the 7.35 million Orthodox in Greece, not to speak of the 125 million who recognize the Patriarch of Moscow). But the see of Constantinople is "first among equals" and bears the prestige of ancient Byzantium, the "New Rome." Athenagoras studied in the United States where, according to reports, he came to know and admire the Catholic Church. In the past few years he has been quite outspoken in advocating an end to the divisions of East and West. In 1952 the late Pope Pius XII sent to the Patriarch, through the Apostolic Delegate in Istanbul, a commemorative medal of the proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The Patriarch on this occasion warmly received the Delegate and devoutly kissed the medal which, need, it be said, represented a belief particularly dear to the Eastern Churches.

It is doubtful that the Pope has ever met the Ecumenical Patriarch personally. That they have been in communication recently is known from the Patriarch's own declaration. It is possible that the Orthodox leader's reaction to the Pope's Christmas appeal for unity was the deciding factor that led to the decision on the general council. In his own New Year message the Patriarch referred to the Christmas appeal at length: "We gladly welcome," he said, "every sincere appeal for the sake of peace in the Church. And our gladness is naturally the greater when such a Church union appeal comes from a Christian center such as Old Rome." He urged that every call for unity be "accompanied by such concrete deeds and actions as are necessary to prove our intentions in full harmony with our words...." At the time, these words appeared only to reflect the Patriarch's known hope of achieving some common practical action among all Christians in the ideological fight against communism. Now it is necessary to view them in the light of the soundings that Pope John XXIII was at that moment undertaking on the opportuneness of an ecumenical council.

The words of Athenagoras should not be overestimated. Few, if any, other Orthodox leaders are on the record in such terms. It may be wondered, in fact, just how far the Patriarch's views are supported by the clergy and laity of his own jurisdiction. Indeed, even he had to add his own note of caution: "Such a uniting of spiritual forces is, of course, not possible in the present state of division and discord which has existed for centuries."