www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Queen Sophia of Spain: Byzantine Catholic Monarch

As far as I can gather, it has been well received. Unfortunately, the Russian Archdiocese had been undergoing a crisis, particularly over who will succeed +Anthony, and some groups are developing...the influx of Russians immigrants coming into conflict with the converts and the British Russians and there are rumours going of parishes going to that of Thyteira under +Gregorius. I don't know really....

Interestingly, Patriarch Alexis has extended the letter to all the Russians churches (such as +Mark of Germany). Kudos to him (though some do suspect alterior motives - how exactly will the Russians be looked after in E. Europe, particularly in the Orthodox countries?). In America, the OCL (Orthodox Christian Laity) have taken this as proof that Alexis is wonderful and the EP is rotten to the core...frankly, the whole business there is a mess.

I think that jurisdictional problems are the crisis that we face. Unlike Catholics or Anglicans, we don't have people disagreeing with the doctrines of the Church. This is not an attack; merely a reflection. One needs to look at the UK Catholics and the "liberally" inclined "Tablet" magazine. In the Anglican Church...well the less said the better...+Williams has his work cut out esp. with the crisis in Canada and Australia.

Anton

griego catolico,

I don't like to link to low-quality photographs, but you might find these pics of the Orthodox and Catholic weddings of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia of some value:

http://www.tboyle.net/Royalty/Juan_Carlos_wedding.html

Paul

Dear Anton - I think that there may well be 'fallout' and that Thyateira will be waiting with a net. +Gregorios has long considered himself - in my humble opinion - the rightful first hierarch of all of the Orthodox in Britain, harking back to the mentality of the Ottoman empire. I think that he sees himself as the rightful spiritual head of Britain's Orthodox and also as an ethnarch of the Greek and Cypriot peoples. I hope the Russian Orthodox resist the temptation to flee, as I think that the Patriarchate of Constantinople is spirittually and morally bankrupt.

Spasi Khristos -
Mark, monk and sinner.

Dear Anton,

Prince Michael is Orthodox - I got it directly from him at a banquet we had for The Queen's Gold Jubilee here.

Prince Philip has also returned to Orthodoxy, I've seen a number of references to it - and then there is the direct way as well . . .

Perhaps the popular press in Britain doesn't consider this "newsy."

But if there were any truth to the rumour that Prince Charles has become an Orthodox Catechumen, well, then . . .

Alex

I might concede on the Michael front, but the historian in me still wants proof about Philip! As for Charles becoming Orthodox ('twould be nice); heck no. He is deeply religious, granted, and he may disapprove of some wings of the Anglican Church, but he is Anglican. The Bill of Rights, for example, demands that the ruler be of the Anglican faith, just as those of Norway and Sweden demand that their rulers be of Lutheran Church (hence Queen Christina's abdication and enjoyment of the high life in Rome!). And besides, both father and son cross the wrong way......

Anton

I must admit to having heard from within the royal househod about Prince Philip, but can say no more.

Fr Mark.

Dear Anton,

At the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, I saw Prince Charles cross the Orthodox way.

Of course, the Prince could not become formally Orthodox now.

But rules are meant to be changed.

King Edward V declined to be crowned because the coronation oath of his time was offensive to Catholics.

When Parliament refused to change it, he refused to accept the crown until it did . . .

In England today, what does it mean to be a "solid Anglican" anyway?

To be an Anglican with a personal body-weight of over 200 pounds?

Alex

Alex, Alex.....shame on you! I wish there were more people like + Chartres of London in the Anglican Church...now there is a wonderful prelate with a room full of icons (as one bishop crassly commented during the search for the new ABC). A tid bit about the Anglican crisis; well the diocese of Jensen (sorry - Sydney) is going towards an interesting path - on one side it condemns homosexual unions but on the others fully supports lay involvement during the Communion/Mass....hmmm


Anton

P.S. But Vather, ve have ways of making you talk.....(does a Boris and Natasha Churckle)...

Dear Anton,

I was speaking in generalities . . .

I myself belong to two Anglican devotional societies.

As for Father Mark, you can forget about it.

Old Believers are famous for their composure under all sorts of torture .

And who says you have to know everything?

Alex

I'd always understood to the rules of the reigning monarch of Great Britain to be that he/she could be of any religious organization (Anglican, Muslim, Jewish, Eastern Orthodox), but could NOT be Catholic. Can't remember the name of the document that says this, but AFAIK it's still in effect. Corrections are appreciated (not that y'all wouldn't give them even if they weren't!) .

Logos Teen

You are correct Teen, the English monarch, while serving as temporal head of the Church of England may be of any religious persuasion, other then Roman Catholic, as well as their spouse. Any member of the royal family (even the most peripheral relations) who marries a Roman Catholic must renounce any succesion rights. Ernst of Hanover, who had about as much chance of inherting the throne of the UK as I do had to renounce his claims when he married Princess Caroline of Monaco because she is Catholic.
I read a bio of the Queen a few years ago, which alluded to the Duke of Edinburg returing to the Orthodox faith. Prince Charles as Orhtodox? Hmm...but he is raising his sons C of E.

David

Fine...I made a mistake.....we all make mistakes....and frankly, I am a medievalist anyway...can't be doing with this mumbo-jumbo "modern history"..................


Anton

Dear David,

But some of the best Orthodox Christians I know where former Anglicans!

One got ordained an Orthodox priest on Sunday last!

As you know, Prince Philip's mother was an Orthodox nun until her death and she had her own private Orthodox chapel in Buckingham Palace.

The fact is that the Romanov Martyr-Saints are all blood relations of Her Majesty The Queen.

Anglicans have always had excellent relations with Orthodoxy, beginning with St Theodore of Canterbury, King Charles the Martyr's relationship with the Patriarchs of Constantinople etc.

I had a private conversation with Prince Michael of Kent about these matters which, alas, must remain private.

He bears such a strong resemblance to Tsar St Nicholas Romanov!

Alex

The more I read Alex's posts, the more mysterious he gets. Tell me, are you by any chance the bloke who parachutes into the hotel room with a box of chocolates?