The Orthodox Church is not a part of the True Church, neither she is a defective Church, as someone said in a recent time.

The Holy Orthodox Church is the True Church of Christ, and she has fullnesses of truth.

m+

Correct.

KW,

As you can see, your query has, for better or worse, sparked some sensitivities - more so than we ordinarily encounter here. Without question, Catholicism and Orthodoxy (whether it be Eastern or Oriental) are separated and each of the respective Churches perceives itself as having the fullness of truth.

At the same time, each (generally - there are some who would dissent) considers the other(s) to possess a unique character (for lack of the ability of my tired brain to formulate a better term at the moment) that differentiates it from Protestantism. You have wandered amongst a body of folk here who, for the most part, would be classed as optimists. I think it's safe to say that the overriding desire among us is for there to be unity of all God's peoples and Churches and, most especially, our respective ecclesia, because we are very cognizant of what separates us but equally of what unites us - common bonds of spirituality, theological understanding, and praxis.

There are many sites on the web, both Catholic and Orthodox, at which one will find the prevailing viewpoints to be significantly more hard-nosed than here. That is not to say that we are synchristic or that any of us is less than passionate in his or her belief or faith. It has, however, always seemed to me that those most committed to this site have an implicit respect for one another's faith and beliefs, an abiding desire for unity to be achieved, and a trust that the Holy Spirit will eventually enlighten the minds and hearts of men - that such might happen.

So, while one can, will, and should find acknowledgement here of the matters which separate our Churches, and one will see the occasional debate over doctrinal or dogmatic issues, you are unlikely to encounter much "labeling" with terms such as schismatic, heterodox, etc. It's a self-defeating approach that does not leave open lines of communication, does not encourage dialogue or debate, does not lead to understanding; rather, it brings to mind the days of anathema-hurling and dogmatic pronouncements - not some few of which, generated from both sides, brought us to where we are today.

This is a place where we are less concerned with where we are in regard to one another than where we'd like to be - together, if the Holy Spirit will only show our respective hierarchs how to get there. We have watched members pass from one Church to the other and I'd be naive to say that it doesn't pain those whose Church was left behind, but you won't see recriminations or dire predictions that the new Catholic or new Orthodox is hell-bound. Prayerful wishes that he or she find their new spiritual home to give them peace are much more the norm.

We are a family here, we know each other - most often at least by our personal names; we pray for one another's needs and mourn our brethren's losses. In some respects, this is the most ecumenical environment you'll find on-line. So, if we appear to be most concerned with helping you to understand why we're not sure it's productive to focus on "schism" - but rather to acknowledge "separation", it's because the latter seems much more amenable to being bridged - and we pray for that to happen.

Many years,

Neil, who cannot claim to speak for all of his brothers and sisters, but believes that most here feel similarly

I do not deny that there are differences between the Churches, but I say that we must change our way of approaching them. And the question of method is in the first place a psychological, or rather a spiritual problem. For centuries there have been conversations between theologians, and they have done nothing except to harden their positions. I have a whole library about it. And why? Because they spoke in fear and distrust of one another, with the desire to defend themselves and to defeat the others. Theology was no longer a pure celebration of the mystery of God. It became a weapon. God himself became a weapon!

Oh, how satisfied we are with ourselves! We are the pure, we possess the truth, and we condemn others! But life and history go on. They are knocking at the doors of the Church, and putting ultimate questions to us. Everything is changing. The scientific revolution is advancing, it is modifying and not only man’s environment, but man himself, his education, the relationship between the sexes, his psychology, and tomorrow perhaps his heredity and character as well. Not that science and technology necessarily build a world without God, as is sometimes said. But they force man, and they will force him more and more to ask where all this is going, what is the meaning of it all, what is the meaning of his own life.

What is most lacking among men of the Church is the Spirit of Christ: humility, selflessness, an open welcome, the capacity of seeing the best in others. We are afraid, we want to hang on to what is over and done with, because we’re used to it. We want to be right over against the others, and under a language of conventional humility we hide the spirit of pride and power.

The Orthodox Church is not a part of the True Church, neither she is a defective Church, as someone said in a recent time.

The Holy Orthodox Church is the True Church of Christ, and she has fullnesses of truth.

m+

I second the motion. Let's hope and pray that one day the Latin church will rejoin Holy Orthodoxy and the two Chalices shall become one.

The Byzantine Forum provides message boards for discussions focusing on Eastern Christianity (though discussions of other topics are welcome)

Xpy
As we keep saying here - this is an Eastern Forum NOT an Eastern Catholic one

At the bottom of the page you will see


All are welcome - providing they stick to the rules - which can probably be best summed up as "be nice to folk and don't start fights "

Guys... Perhaps because the Eastern Catholics are so good to us we forget where we are. This is a Catholic sight. Also, these posts have nothing at all to do wtih the OP. His question was NOT what we think about ourselves but how The Vatican Church views us. Please show me how any of these posts above answer in anyway his question.

Stop. It's amazingly tacky.

Xpy