"Our Ecumenical and Apostolic Throne is on the foundation. In view of the historical ties that connect it with the See of Antioch, attaches the greatest importance to a common search for the solution of problems that concern the Orthodox Church and the world as a whole, and which require study and close attention from everyone. it could not take place due to the conditions in which the autocephalous Churches find themselves, but its convocation became necessary and urgent. Today, these problems can become the subject of a special study at the conference, which should bring together first of all the Orthodox Churches."

The next day, Athenagoras I received representatives of various faiths and religious institutions, and then went to pray at the Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin in Saidnaya, one of the most revered places in Christian Syria. On Sunday, November 22, he will concelebrate with Patriarch Theodosius and other bishops of Antioch. He receives representatives of the Orthodox Youth Movement, expressing the hope that young bishops will come out of the Movement and maintain contact with the youth. He announces the convocation of a conference of Orthodox youth. Such conferences have been held regularly since then within the framework of the Syndesmos, i.e., the "connection" that exists between the various Orthodox youth movements in different countries {Since such movements do not exist in the countries of Eastern Europe, representatives of the Theological Academies are usually invited to these conferences.}.

On November 23, Athenagoras went to Jerusalem, where Patriarch Benedict received him at the Holy Sepulchre. He visited Jericho, the banks of the Jordan, Bethlehem, the Mosque of Omar.

Middle Eastern Christians who made a pilgrimage to the Jordan, renewing their baptism in the waters where Christ was immersed, bear the title of hajji, like the Muslims who made the pilgrimage to Mecca. This title serves as an objective testimony to holiness...

On December 2, Athenagoras arrived in Alexandria, where he was met by Patriarch Christopher in the Church of the Annunciation. Here Athenagoras recalls what Christianity owes to Alexandrian thought. On December 7, he visits Sinai and the Monastery of St. Catherine, the smallest but one of the most revered Orthodox Churches. On December 10, the Ecumenical Patriarch is in Cairo, where he is establishing, as we said, working contacts with the Coptic Church. On December 11, he is in Beirut, where, after meetings with the President of the Republic, the heads of the Churches, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of Orthodox organizations, he meets with representatives of Orthodox youth, and also visits the hospital and talks with each patient individually...

His pilgrimage, even in its most official part, never resembled visits according to protocol. The Patriarch unceasingly preaches the unification of the Orthodox and the unity of all Christians, a unity that can easily be realized above all in relation to the non-Chalcedonian Churches. Everywhere he speaks of the invincibility of love. Fr. George Khodr, general secretary of the Orthodox Youth Movement and probably the brightest personality of Arab Orthodoxy, said of him: "Everyone with whom he came into contact had the impression of a humble and simple man, 'a bishop who has not lost the soul of a pastor.' We have seen that a truly ecumenical atmosphere reigns in Constantinople today, far from any politics. A new wind blew over this ancient Christian people."

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If the project of the Pan-Orthodox Conference could not be implemented in 1960 because of the evasive answers of some Churches, by the end of the year the situation had changed for the better. Patriarch Alexy of Moscow, on his way back from the Holy Land, stops in Istanbul and celebrates the Christmas Liturgy together with Patriarch Athenagoras. He received assurances that the decisions of the Pan-Orthodox Conference would be free from all anti-communism and that the disputed issues between Moscow and Constantinople would be gradually resolved. Moscow recognizes the independence of the Finnish Church in the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which, for its part, recognizes the Bulgarian Patriarchate. In 1966, Constantinople abolished the temporary exarchate for Russian parishes in Western Europe.

For his part, Patriarch Athenagoras receives a promise that the Eastern European Churches will participate in the conference with the consent of their governments, but without too much political pressure from them. At that time, the communist governments, while continuing their efforts to strangle the Church from within, especially during the entire period of Khrushchev's rule, gave them more freedom in the international arena within the framework of a policy of "peaceful coexistence." Thus, it was decided that the Pan-Orthodox Conference would be able to meet. A few weeks later, at an assembly in New Delhi, the Orthodox Churches of Eastern Europe will join the World Council of Churches.

The success of the second convocation of the conference in 1961 rewards Athenagoras' tenacity and dedication. The preparation and holding of the conference show what it can mean for a primate that puts itself at the service of the unity of all. The Patriarch only proposed, never imposing anything, made decisions, but only with the consent of all the sister Churches and always pursuing common interests, and thus conquered distrust. The Ecumenical Patriarch convened the conference on his own initiative, sent out invitations, drew up its program, established the schedule, presided over the sessions, and all this without any pressure of authority, but only after consulting with the sister Churches, as if expressing their consent.

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"For the first time," says the final epistle, "after a long period, Orthodoxy gathers for a conference in which all its fullness is expressed." Or, to be more precise, for the first time, Orthodox unity manifests itself in the new structures that have emerged in modern Orthodoxy, especially in the nineteenth century, in connection with the movement of nationalities. Whatever it is, the very fact of this meeting remains decisive.

The delegation of each Church, consisting of six or seven people, included three bishops of the autocephalous Churches (two for autonomous Churches), two theologians (priests or laymen), most often professors of the Theological Academy, and two counselors (priests or laymen). The emphasized presence of the laity should be noted.

The delegates arrived in Rhodes without haste, as pilgrims, first visiting the island of Tinos, where one of the venerated shrines dedicated to the Virgin Mary is located, and the island of Patmos, marked by the memory of John the Evangelist. In Rhodes, public meetings took place in the large church of the Annunciation, built during the Italian occupation and after liberation decorated with magnificent frescoes in the Byzantine style created by Photios Kontoglou, who renovated sacred painting in modern Greece. Closed-door meetings took place in the smallest of the churches of the metropolia, the commissions worked in the administrative building of the metropolitan, which was directly subordinate to Constantinople. The three official languages were Greek, Russian and Arabic.