www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West unity of western and eastern churches

will this dream ever be made real in our day? what will it take? I believe this is sorely needed in a time of upheaval of the true faith.

Mateusz,

The problem is that each side has made an irrevocable committment to certain views that are irreconcilable. I just don't see Rome repudiating the teachings of Vatican I and I don't see the Orthodox ever accepting the teachings of Vatican I. I pray and hope that there can be restored communion. But, realistically speaking, I don't think it will happen before the second coming of Christ.

But we should talk to one another, pray for one another, and work together where we can to re-evangelize the world. We should respect the piety and spirituality of both churches. With all due respect to my Orthodox brethren, I do not agree with the view of some Orthodox that the Church of Rome is entirely graceless. To use an idea from Vatican II, I would say that the true Church of Christ subsists in its fullness in the Orthodox Church, but that elements of the Church are present in the non-Orthodox Christian communions in various degrees. In a sense, what Rome believes to be the case about Orthodoxy, I believe to be the case about Rome, for the most part anyway. In thinking about this, I would have to qualify what I am saying here a little more. But, it is not necessary right now.

I still love the Melkite Church very much and part of my heart will always be with the Melkites. So, I am not interested in polemics or squabbles that have little to do with what is truly essential to the Orthodox Catholic faith. So, I think that if we are honest and charitable, we can accomplish much, even if we will probably never achieve restored communion.

Joe

It is imperative for Rome and the East to iron out the differences. for the sake of unity in preserving the Apostolic faith against the forces of evil in the world. there are so many evils to speak of. secular, moral, and heretical alike. Catholic and Orthodox churches are both Apostolic Churches. Both worship the Holy Trinity. Both have Mary as our Mother, and the Saints as our companions. The time of good-gesturing and social/moral alliance should have already passed by now to making solid declarations of unity in truth and faith. Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Constantinople produced good fruit, and i am sure more will come between the two sister Churches.

It's really imperative for the Orthodox and Catholic communities in the middle east to work together for mere survival becasue of the threat of militant Islam. An arragnement for sharing of the sacraments between the communions would be most wise to gurarantee the apostolic christian presence in the predominatly Islamic middle east. Where Catholicism and Orhtodoxy dominate we may not need to have intercommunion for our tradiions to survive but in some parts of the world mainly the places where the apostlic church roots started but are now threatened for extinction this is not the case. The squabbles of the ivory towers of theologians threaten to destroy the Christian church in the middle east. How do we explain this headstrong stupidty to the Lord when he comes back and sees no Christinity in the middle east because single men and women could not find other Christians to share the sacraments with and had to resort to marrying Muslims.

Well said.

Joe,

I think this is a perfect example of "with God, all things are possible." You're right that Vatican I is a significant obstacle to unity between East and West, but it is a mountain, such as Our Lord instructed us that with faith the size of a mustard seed, we could command it to be cast into the sea and it would be done.

Approximately 80 years ago, Pope Pius XI (in his encyclical, Mortalium Animos) sought to quell the growing pressure for the Roman Church to become involved in the new ecumenical movement by reiterating the old saying, "there is no such thing as schism within the Church, there is only schism from the Church." We all know this was changed with Vatican II, which openly embraced ecumenism and spoke of schism within the Church.

To the minds of many, this was already a repudiation of Vatican I. Rome, of course, has repeatedly insisted that this is not the case, but if it is not, the reconciliation between the two is not entirely clear.

I would contend that the biggest obstacle to unity between East and West is that many on both sides still think such a reunion impossible. Once we accept the idea that this truly is God's will, however, we will be looking at the problem from a different perspective. The late Pope John Paul II once said, "it is no longer a question of whether it is possible for us to re-unite, but whether we have a right to remain separate."


Peace,
Deacon Richard

A practical manner in which VC1 could easily be 'reconciled' is to declare VC2 the completion of VC1 (which wasn't officially concluded out of haste), furthermore it is now understood that many of the innovations that were perpetuated after VC2 were not condoned by that council and were introduced after its conclusion.

I think it's more of an issue of what underlies VI, in other words UOJ. That is a principle sticking point. How a reconciled church would co-exist seems to me to be a major unanswered question as well.