[NYer]

Here's the hope I, as an Orthodox Christian, have; that this marvelous new pope, this patristics scholar who sits on the seat of +Peter, knows exactly how to speak with us and that he will teach you how to do the same.

And vice versa :-)

The Latins are beginning to discover the East. It began with John XXIII and VCII

ORIENTALIUM ECCLESIARUM

and has moved forward through each of the succeeding popes. Actions speak louder than words. With God's blessing, we need to work at this as well.

[Kolokotronis]

" And vice versa :-)"

Yes and we will teach him too! :) Actually, your comment is a fair one. You understand that there is a great and deep reservoir of distrust among the Orthodox towards Rome. That's just a fact. I do think that more talk in a patristic fashion about the Faith and the role of the pope in the appropriate exercise of the Petrine Office will begin to dry up that pool of suspicion and as that happens, what the Latins say may become more clear to us. As Agrarian points out, the way that conversation has been going on in the past has gotten us nowhere. Once we speak the same language, we may, we may, find we believe almost totally the same things. Personnally, I don't think we do, but perhaps the dividing issues are such that they can be resolved by an Ecumenical Council.