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'''Ecumenism''' is, principally, dialogue between Christian denominations groups aimed at promoting the restoration of unity among all Christians through understanding, through mutual respect and toleration, and through practical cooperation in areas of common concern, such as care for the poor, sick, and needy.
Orthodox Christians take widely different attitudes toward ecumenism. A few embrace the Anglican "branch theory" which holds that the various divisions in Christianity all represent branches of the same Church just as the branches of a tree are all integrally part of the same living tree. Many Orthodox Christians object to this theory on the ground that it is inconsistent with properly Orthodox [[ecclesiology]]. It tends to minimize Orthodoxy and reduces its stature from exclusively the [[One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church|one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church]] to that of a relatively small segment of the Church: one denomination among many.
