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unity; however, the reluctance of Palmer’s successors to take up the task
of his methodology and attempt reunion through intercommunion has
been one of the key elements contributing towards a slow advancement
in this ?eld.

The 20th century saw a massive increase in communications, con-
ferences and visits between representatives of both Churches. This was
the case, not only for theological and ecclesiastical reasons, but also and
mainly for political purposes, especially from the Orthodox side. The
Orthodox states were under major political and social di?culties, being
either under Communism, the Ottoman Empire, oppressive govern-
ments or Muslim rule. Any help from the West was needed and desired,
in order to obtain peace and freedom, in the ecclesiastical and social
?elds. This was of course a time when the Anglican Church and its hier-
archs had political power and could intervene in Foreign A?airs or Gov-
ernment policies. Nevertheless, a theological basis existed in the talks
and conferences that took place, showing therefore an ecclesiastical and
doctrinal interest between the two distinct groups; conversely, it is more
likely that the theological matters were discussed in order to achieve
political and economic gains from the West.

Despite the theological interest, it is signi?cant to see why we
have this interest and why it has increased especially during and after
the two World Wars. It seems that “the Orthodox had good reason to
seek rapprochement with the Anglicans.”24 In 1907 Ecumenical Patri-
arch Joachim III assigned Archimandrite C. Pagonis as his o?cial rep-
resentative to the Archbishop of Canterbury. This action has been re-
garded as an indirect recognition of the Anglican Church and the valid-
ity of Anglican Orders.

The relations in the beginning, but also during a big part of its
history, between the Orthodox and the Anglicans, were directed primar-
ily towards two key centres within the Orthodox World, i.e. Constan-
tinople, where the Ecumenical Patriarch resides, and Moscow. Then

24 Ge?ert, Bryn, Eastern Orthodox and Anglicans, Dilomacy, Theology, and the Politics of Interwar Ecumen-
ism, (Indiana, University of Notre Dame Press, 2010), p.4.

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