Fratellanza personale, sororità interecclesiale. Uno sguardo sull’eredità ecumenica di Francesco e Bartolomeo

The article examines the development of ecumenical relations between the Catholic Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople from 2013 to 2025, a period marked by the collaboration between Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew. At its core lies the interplay between the personal fraternity of the two primates and the gradual institutionalization of an inter-ecclesial sorority. Particular attention is given to the theological and performative value of gestures and images as instruments of communication, the progress and the reception of the Joint International Commission’s documents on primacy and synodality, the integration of ecological and social concerns into the theology of communion, and the impact of the “ecumenism of blood” in contexts of persecution. Although not leading to full ecclesial communion, this period has renewed ecumenical languages and practices, strengthening the credibility of Christian witness. Challenges and unresolved questions remain, however, particularly those linked to intra-Orthodox tensions, revealing the limits of the current dialogue. The legacy of Francis and Bartholomew lies in having transformed personal fraternity into a lasting ecclesiological paradigm.