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Patriarch and Pope officially
revoked the mutual anathemas
exchanged in 1054. In 1967 the
two exchanged visits at Istanbul
and Rome. It was the first papal
visit to Turkey since A.D. 711.
A reconciliation between the
Vatican and the government of Tur–
key was also begun during Paul VI's
pontificate. In 1965 the Vatican
returned to the Turks a standard
captured by Christian forces during
the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. This
naval engagement had pitted an
allied Christian fleet against the
Turkish navy in a battle over
Cyprus.
Will full reunification between
Catholic and Orthodox be achieved
in this century? Sorne observers
believe that these ancient and com–
peting churches may soon find that,
in fact, they desperately
need
each
other-that competition is too costly
in a world where the spread of secu–
larism and atheism continues un–
abated, and where traditional Chris–
tianity stands increasingly at risk.
Pope John Paul 11 has spoken often
of his vision of a "united spiritual
front" in a world rapidly falling
apart.
This may be an especially impor–
tant consideration for the Patriarch–
ate of Constantinople. Modern Tur–
key has scant use for a Christian
leader in Muslim Istanbul. The
Turks consider the Patriarchate a
remnant of the Byzantine Empire
they conquered in 1453. The Turk–
ish government keeps a tight rein on
the temporal affairs of the Orthodox
faith. This has led sorne to speculate
that the Church of Constantinople
might one day find that it needs–
for its very survival-the strength
and prestige that would come from
unity with Rome.
Constantinople was once the
powerful center of half the Chris–
t ian world. Optimistic theologians
believe that Rome and
Constantinople might yet
reassume their old rela–
tionship as the sister cap–
itals of a unified Chris–
tendom-a
unified
Christendom that could
play a major r ole in
inftuencing the course of
world affairs! The impli–
cations of such a develop–
ment for the country of
Turkey- lslamic though it is–
would be enormous.
Overtures to Islam
Consider: an lslamic country the
site of a major focus of a powerful
new united Christendom! Turkey's
historie role as a
bridge
between
two worlds- the Christian West
and Islamic East-would automati–
cally be enhanced.
Growing overtures toward the
Islamic world by the Vatican and
by European governments lend
additional significance to these pos–
sibilities.
The Roman Catholic Church has
declared that it wants to sweep away
centuries of suspicion and mistrust
between Christianity and Islam and
mové into a new era of cooperation.
During his visit to Turkey, Pope
John Paul II stated that it is "ur–
gent ... to recognize and develop
the spi r itual bonds that unite us
[Christians and Muslims] in order to
protect and promote together, for all
men ... social justice, moral values,
peace and liberty.' '
These sentiments have been
echoed by Muslim leaders. It was
the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia
who helped open the way to an
understanding between Catholics
and Muslims with a message he sent
to Pope Paul VI in 1966: "We both
believe in one God, we both venerate
the Blessed Mary. Islam and the
Church must
pool their strength
to
thwart evil and atheism."
Were such an alliance of Chris–
tianity and Islam-of Europe and
the Arab world- ever to arise in
the years ahead, Turkey could well
play an instrumental- even indis–
pensable- role in its formation. By
virtue of its unique position
between two worlds, Turkey could
find itself thrust into a middleman
role in the piecing together of that
new and precedent-sbatter ing polit–
ical-religious configuration.
Anchored in Europe
Now, in this light, look at the cur–
rent state of Turkey's relations with
Europe and witb the Middle East.
Even though most of its land–
mass is in Asia, Tu rkey considers
itself essentially European. Pro–
Western T urkey has been a mem–
ber of the NATO alliance since
1952. As NATO 's sou theastern
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