Paul VI and Athenagoras I

This article offers a study of the correspondence exchanged between Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I, as gathered in the collection known as the Tomos Agapis. Brother Patrice Mahieu, a Benedictine monk, adopts an analytical and ecclesiological approach to examine the theological significance of this epistolary exchange. He shows that this correspondence cannot be reduced to a diplomatic dialogue, but rather bears witness to an effective resumption of communion between the two Churches, grounded in a shared experience of the mystery of Christ. The main contribution of the article lies in its illumination of the ecclesiological implications of this relationship: the figures of the two Church leaders are presented as paradigmatic of a unity conceived as a visible manifestation of God at work in the community of disciples.