Orthodoxy and Primacy

According to the Vatican Information Service, Pope Benedict XVI met on Saturday with representatives of many of the Orthodox Churches in Germany, telling them that "among Christian Churches and communities, the Orthodox are theologically closest to us; Catholics and Orthodox both have the same basic structure inherited from the ancient Church. So we may hope that the day is not too far away when we may once again celebrate the Eucharist together." He then went on to stress the need

to clarify theological differences. ... The resolution of these questions is indispensable for restoration of the full unity that we hope and pray for. Above all it is on the question of primacy that our continuing efforts towards a correct understanding must be focused. Here the ideas put forward by John Paul II in the Encyclical 'Ut Unum Sint' on the distinction between the nature and form of the exercise of primacy can yield further fruitful discussion points.

I have recently had rather a lot to say on the topic, and you may read the fruits of that research and writing here: Orthodoxy and the Roman Papacy: Ut Unum Sint and the Prospects of East-West Unity.