The 1848 Encyclical of Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs as a Still Relevant Position on Catholic Theology

This article investigates whether the Eastern Orthodox Church has articulated a common and official position toward the Catholic Church. A dynamic and contextual framework is applied, treating conciliar acts, patriarchal encyclicals, and synodal letters as an open corpus ordered by representativeness and reception. The method combines qualitative and quantitative approaches: qualitative analysis assesses clarity, coherence, diachronic continuity, and theological significance, while quantitative indicators – signatures, translations, and the absence or presence of opposition – serve as positive and negative signs of acceptance. Among nineteenth- century encyclicals (1836, 1838, 1848, 1895, 1902/1904), the 1848 Encyclical (E48) emerges as the most representative. Signed by four patriarchs and 33 hierarchs, it directly responded to a papal appeal, achieved wide acceptance, and has never been formally opposed. Though not the outcome of an ecumenical council, E48 demonstrates the strongest contextual authority. E48 stands as the most viable candidate for further study as a potential expression of a common EOC official position vis-à-vis the Catholic church, while highlighting the need for continued interdisciplinary analysis of doctrinal texts.