Masked by the drama of a controversial and tense papal visit to a leading Muslim nation, an unexpected thaw seems to be taking place in relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox world, which were broken apart by the Great Schism of 1054. Pope Benedict's visit to Turkey was originally in response to an invitation from the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. The invitation was a distinctly positive move so soon after Benedict's election, and is further evidence that this Pope is regarded more warmly by the Orthodox than his predecessor. Encouraging noises are even coming out of Moscow, which Pope John Paul II failed to be invited to visit despite his eagerness to do so.

Two factors count in the present Pope's favour when dealing with the Orthodox, where Russians still dominate: that he is German, not Polish, and that he has expressed theological opinions that the Orthodox were glad to hear. In fact there was no sign that John Paul II's Polishness influenced his attitude to the Orthodox Churches. Nor is it apparent that Cardinal Ratzinger differed significantly from John Paul in relation to these matters. They both seemed willing to take an eirenic approach to the filioque controversy - the Orthodox complaint that the wording of the Nicene Creed was unilaterally altered by Rome despite the Creed's adoption by an ecumenical council. There was agreement that the Creed without the filioque clause was a true statement of Catholic doctrine, notwithstanding that Orthodox theologians have been less willing to make the complementary concession.

There are other grievances not yet dealt with, such as the status of the Uniate Churches (Churches loyal to Rome that use the Orthodox liturgy), whose existence is regarded as an act of papal aggression. These quarrels would melt in the morning mist if the fundamental divide between the Orthodox ...