Page 283 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

E C U M E N I C A L R E L AT I O N S
share, to some extent, a common life. Every effort to overcome
division carries ecclesiological significance.
For this reason, the World Council of Churches should be
understood not only as an institution but as an event. While
it cannot be identified with the Church, it represents a process
through which Churches rediscover their tradition and seek
unity. In this sense, it may be called “conciliar,” not in the ca-
nonical sense, but as a gathering aimed at reconciliation.
This allows the Orthodox Church to remain faithful to its
own ecclesiology while acknowledging that something of ec-
clesiological importance is taking place. The ecumenical
movement becomes a space not only of dialogue, but of trans-
formation—where, without being compelled, Churches are
drawn into a process of ecclesiological re-examination ori-
ented toward unity.
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