Alex writes:
[I told him "God will heal the chasm between us in HIS way, not in ours."]
I agree. Though we would probably disagree on the methods he will use and the critera he will insist upon.
Latin Tradition writes:
[they will be surprised to find that Constantinople is no longer Orthodox-in-communion-with-Rome (as it was when they entered the wall, thanks to Constantine XI Palaelogos).]
Beg to differ since the 'Council of Florence' was repudiated by the people and the Orthodox clergy as soon as it was announced in 1439 and certainly by the time its emmissaries arrived in 'New Rome'. So when Constantinople fell in 1453 the union was already a lost cause and Constantinople had already regained its 'Orthodoxy' which it lost when it turned its back on under pressure in 1439 -
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http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/stmark.htm [33] But the triumph of Orthodoxy was accomplished only after the death of St. Mark. The successor of Emperor John, his brother Constantine, openly announced his desire to preserve Orthodoxy in its purity. [34] Not long before the Fall of Constantinople a Council was convoked at which the Union and its promoters were triumphantly condemned and the Union itself overthrown, and the memory of St. Mark honored by all.
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So those Monks and priests were very well aware of the fact that the union had been repudiated and Holy Orthodoxy had been preserved when they entered the walls with the Holy Sacraments!
