The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I called for a "never-ending search" for church unity on Wednesday during his opening remarks at the World Council of Churches' (WCC) Faith and Order Plenary Commission in Koympari, Crete, Greece.

"Our ongoing and persistent pursuit of unity is a testimony to the fact that what we seek will occur in God's time and not our own," Bartholomew said to the 152 theologians gathered. "It is, by the same token, the fruit of heavenly grace and divine kairos."

"Let our deliberation be a prayerful offering to God in our sincere desire that we 'may be one in response to our Lord's command and call," he continued.

Also emphasized in the patriarch's remarks was the importance of considering the past and present equally when making decisions for the sake of unity in the church.

"It is crucial that we learn from the early Fathers and Mothers of the Church, that we embrace the mind of the early Church by immersing ourselves in the spirit of the Christian classics," Bartholomew said.

"At the same time, however, we should turn our attention to the future, to the age to come, toward the heavenly kingdom…an eschatological vision offers a way out of the impasse of provincialism and confessionalism," he continued.

Held under the theme of "Called To Be the One Church," this year's Faith and Order Plenary Commission will run until October 14 with topics of discussion including historically and recently dividing issues between Christian denominations. The gathering is seen as Christianity's most representative theological forum, according to WCC.