Who the heck does get excited about it? I'll tell you what's driving the whole controversy. Up until 1922, the Orthodox patriarchs were appointed by the Sultan. Orthodox apologists do not want to appeal to the authority of the Sultan, so to justify the existence of their denomination, they trump up differences on doctrinal fine points.
And it is statements such as this that ensure there will never be a reunification.
Up until 1922, the Orthodox patriarchs were appointed by the Sultan.
What a crock! Patriarch (St.) Tikhon of Russia would be surprised to learn he was appointed by the sultan. Not to mention the Patriarchs of Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria.