Friday, June 27, 2008

Pray for the Holy Father's Efforts toward Unity














Anonymous said...

How wonderful if the five original arms of the church formed by the apostles were reunited!

As most probably already know, but I'll mention it just in case, it is in the Acts of the Apostles that the early formation of the church is described. Five centers of the Christian church were organised and located in Rome, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Constantinople, and
Antioch. Acts states that it was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first known as Christians. Many perceive this to be the start of Christianity right then and there, the founding of the new religion.

The church in the west was within the Roman Empire, and the church in the east was within the Byzantine Empire.

The same five patriarchates exist today. One is in the west, in Rome, and the other four are in the east, in Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Constantinople (presently known as Istanbul).

The eastern arms of the church have suffered terribly over the past two thousand years as a result of continual invasion and hostilities from non-Christians.

The eastern church was separated from the western church partly by geographic separation, partly by a few disagreements on theological doctrine, and by some administrative differences.

However, the eastern church endures to this time, and has much to offer the western church - and vice versa, of course!

The Orthodox recognise the RC Pope as "first among equals", and the four eastern patriarchs regard the Roman Pope as their leader in certain issues. If the four eastern patriarchs disagree on something they consult with the Holy Father and accept his pronouncements. However, they do not see him as infallible, and for the sake of diplomatic understanding it is important to recall that the doctrine of infallibility in the Roman Catholic church did not itself exist until the year 1895, which is relatively recent.

When Roman Catholics get up in arms about the Orthodox not accepting papal infallibility, most of these RCs are completely unaware, for reasons I do not know, that the Pope was not considered infallible until the Council of Trent in 1895. Even at that time the notion of infallibility was introduced for purposes of limiting the Pope's authority to matters of faith, rather than extending it out into the political or social arena. Given this background it is easier to see why the Orthodox, though they respect and revere the Roman pope, find the idea of papal infallibility to be a recent innovation. In truth, it is.

The Orthodox church actually has a strong administrative system. The four patriarchs form the nucleus of church governing which is always based on the determinations of the ecumenical councils of the early years of Christianity, with the Patriarch of Constantinople in a pre-eminent role. The individual churches or parishes of the Orthodox are autonomous, self governing within the praxis and theology f the mother church.

Finally, the eastern churches are far less legalistic than the Roman church has become over the years.
I know that many RCs find this legalism so comforting that they will fight to protect it. The Orthodox church requires members to work on their conscience formation in an intense and personal way, and to police themselves, rather than follow a rule book. There is an emphasis on both personal responsibility and personal freedom.

There aren't too many Orthodox locally, so it would be hard for us to know many of them, but if and when you do meet and come to know an Orthodox Catholic, you will find that most are sincere and faithful followers of Christ. Their Divine Liturgy (DL and the Mass are two sides of one coin) is classic, ancient, and beautiful. Their sacraments are valid. The Orthodox are not our enemy.

In short, let us celebrate the hope of a re-union. It cannot be imagined for a second that God would not crave this. Let us be tolerant, prayerful, and optimistic about it. I know for sure that I am!


Anonymous said...


And the Apostles organized and located a center of the Church in Constantinople? remarkable.