filiiSSR
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Case study. There really is so much liturgical variety in the world. I saw these two ceremonies recently and thought that they provided a very deep insight into how two very different cultures approach …More
Case study.
There really is so much liturgical variety in the world. I saw these two ceremonies recently and thought that they provided a very deep insight into how two very different cultures approach the same action the worship of God. Reading the following passage of Holy Scripture made me think a bit: Holy Father, keep them in thy name whom thou has given me; that they may be one, as we also are. John17:11.
StarlightSeraphim
Ireneaus,
Thank you for clarifying your position. My apologies for taking offense. The reason I used examples beyond the chart was that the point was that the Roman Pontiff is not immune to heresy nor is any one Bishiporic. That is why it was always so important that the Church functioned as it was made to. The role of the papacy did change drastically in the middle ages. I had seen the Letter of …More
Ireneaus,
Thank you for clarifying your position. My apologies for taking offense. The reason I used examples beyond the chart was that the point was that the Roman Pontiff is not immune to heresy nor is any one Bishiporic. That is why it was always so important that the Church functioned as it was made to. The role of the papacy did change drastically in the middle ages. I had seen the Letter of Clement to be the Corinthians before but the language used is with a fraternal exhortation and does not appeal to Peterine texts or claim extraordinary jurisdiction. The letter written by St. Ignatius of Antioch on the way to his martyrdom expresses this He writes, “to the Church that is in charge of affairs in Roman quarters…” and in Cannon 6 of the first council of Nicea we see “Let the ancient customs in Egypt, Libya, and Pentopolis prevail, that the Bishop of Alexandria have jurisdiction in these, since the like is customary for the Bishop of Rome also. Likewise in Antioch and the other provinces, let the Churches retain their privileges.”When the Asian Bishops headed by Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus, refused to heed the decree and a dispute broke out between he and Pope St. Victor he reminded the Pope in a dignified response that the Church in Asia also had Apostolic origins. Eusebius writes “Thereupon Victor, head of the Roman Church, attempted at one stroke to cut off from the common unity all the Asian dioceses, together with the neighboring churches, on the ground of heterodoxy … But this was not to the taste of all the bishops: they replied with a request that he would turn his mind to the things that make for peace and love and unity towards neighbors. We still possess words of these men who sternly rebuked Victor. Among them was Iraneaus, who wrote on behalf of the Christians for whim he was responsible in Gaul.”

This back and forth is something that we could do forever, as we are dealing with a thousand year divorce there are many strong emotions and offenses between East and West I apologize for making a litany of complaints as this is not the place and that is not helpful. As I said before I truly do desire unity between East and West. I do not believe that the Catholic Church is heretical, nor is that the official position of the Orthodox Church, despite the opinions of many Orthodox. Rome’s position is also that the East is not heretical. We recognize the validity of each other’s sacraments and Apostolic Succession but disagree mainly over mechanics, liturgics and theological concepts that are not outside what can be reconciled. This is not the same thing as Protestants who deny the Sacraments of Communion and Confession among other things and are rightly called heretics. Even so, we are all brothers in Christ and we should be lamenting this division and trying to do something about it that may all worship together in spirit and in truth.
There is a great article by Fr. Thomas Hopko on what we Orthodox would have to do to achieve unity with Rome, I will put up the link so as not to go on and on, save one quote.
“… my opinion is that what is really required of the Orthodox most of all above everything, is a real desire for unity…to want to be one, to suffer over the division, to weep over it, to carry it around like a sword in your soul that we who claim Christ and praise God in Christ (especially in this world which is getting less and less Christian as the clock ticks), that Christians would be divided… A lot of Christians these days don’t even claim that and are not interested in that. But the members of the St. John Chrysostom Society … exist because of that. We claim to belong to the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church of Christ, the church that teaches the gospel truly, fully, that prays properly, that acts and teaches the right way to behave according to Christ, according to God Almighty, according to the Holy Scriptures, the canons, the saints, the fathers, etc. So the most important thing of all is the desire to be one, and to prove that desire, not only by praying – because we pray for unity at every single liturgy – but prayer without activity, without work, is just blasphemous. To be praying all these things and not to be working, not be ready to make any possible sacrifice you could make that doesn’t violate the essence of the faith. In other words, the Orthodox have to desire unity and be ready to sacrifice everything that they can without violating their convictions about the gospel in order to be one, particularly with Roman Catholics.”
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1698562/posts