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Anglican-Orthodox Relations:
A Dead-End or a Way Forward?

DIMITRIS SALAPATAS

Relations between the Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion
have been an ongoing phenomenon since the 17th century. However, the
20th century has taken the relations to a new level, resulting in the es-
tablishment of the O?cial Dialogue between the two churches. This
century will be known as the Age of Ecumenism, “the age in which
Christians of all denominations became aware of the scandal of disun-
ion, and attempted to do something to bring it to an end.”1 We live in a
globalised, digital world and epoch; it is inevitable that this would have
a?ected the relations between the churches on a global level, taking us
away from the past, isolated state within which the churches and the
people existed. It is crucial to understand why this has happened now,
i.e. the dialogue between Eastern and Western Christianity, whether it
is a dead-end or a way forward for all of Christianity.

The number of Anglican-Orthodox groups which exist, primarily
in the West, and more speci?cally in Britain, have contributed im-
mensely towards the establishment of the current dialogue. The ?rst
group to be founded in Britain was “The Association for the Promotion
of the Unity of Christendom”2 which was founded in 1857, whilst the
Eastern Church Association came into being in 1864. The ECA’s pur-
pose was to

“inform Anglicans of the state and position of the Eastern
Christians; to make the doctrines and principles of Angli-
canism known in the East; to take advantage ‘of all oppor-
tunities which the providence of God shall a?ord us for

1 Bonner, Gerald, “Divided Christendom: The Contemporary Background”, Sobornost, Series 5:
No. 7, Autumn 1968, p. 511.
2 Young, Ivan, The Relations of East and West since the Great Schism, (London, SPCK, 1935), p. 19.

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