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Union of Orthodox Citizens appe...ssionary work in Europe and America [interfax-religion.com]

Moscow, August 23, Interfax - As the Uniates have become more active in Ukraine the Orthodox public have appealed to Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Russia to end all relations with the Roman Catholic Church and begin missionary work in Europe and America.

�It is necessary to accept in the fold of the Orthodox Church all the Old Catholic communities who wish to join it, to establish a Russian Orthodox school for training Latin-rite clergy for service in Europe and America and to develop intensive Orthodox missionary work there�, an appeal of the Union of Orthodox Citizens to Patriarch Alexy states.

The authors of the appeal, the text of which was given to Interfax, believe that any relations with the Vatican should be interrupted since the Catholic Church is believed to use them only for her own purposes.

�In our view, any agreement with the RCC pursues exclusively the Vatican�s interests and prevents the Church of Christ from carrying out the service commanded by the Lord. There is only one way to beat a card-sharper - not to sit at a card-table with him�, the Union of Orthodox Citizens maintains.

I say to them: feel free. They can even elevate a bishop in Rome to be "Patriarch of Rome and all the West", in charge of the Western Orthodox Church-MP.

Who's going to care?

Oh, wait a second. You mean there are already Orthodox faithful and Bishops in the West? And they're not limited to ethnic Russians or Greeks or whatevers? Hmm. They must be prostelytising .....

Who are these people? I'll bet they are some Orthodox priests whose own people don't go to Church. If they think they are able to reconvert Europe from the paganism into which they have fallen I hope they do. But they'd best convert their own members while they are at it.

Dan L

Agreed. I think some Russian Orthodox are falling into the sin of pride.

In Russia abortions outnumber newbirths.
I think they need to adress the fundamental problem that deaths from the born also outnumber newborn births. They are loosing Orthodox simply because the Orthodox don't have kids anymore.
This is not because they are loosing members to Eastern Catholics but because their religion has become irrelevant due to the real enemy secularism.
Pope Bendedict is well aware of the problems in western catholcism at least he has the brains to point out the real probloem secularism and indeference to christiantiy he's not blaiming the ORthodox or protestants for Europes problems.
But the Orthodox don't have any new tunes in their songlist so everything wrong in the world is because of Rome.
Will anyone really notice Moscow has broken off talks with Rome? All the talk is criticism of eastern catholcism so I don't see where we would be loosing anything by not talking to them.

Sounds hilarious. But, as someone just hinted, Moscow has been trying this game for decades with no particular successes that I can think of. They received an Old Catholic sawdust group in the USA in 1962 and authorized a "Western Rite" form of service (the Tridentine Mass, basically) for this outfit. The world did not flock to the door. They tried it in Spanish - same result. And on, and on.

They also tried it in France and Italy. One would have to look very hard (probably with a microscope) to find traces of that "movement".

As for the Old Catholics - is Moscow prepared to receive female clergy?

But never mind. I'm getting new eyeglasses next month, so I should be better able to watch these developments with fascinated interest.

Incognitus

When we Orthodox get mad, because of the fear of the "Judeans", we forget our Judean inheritance.

What "relations"?

You can't break them if there are none! :p

Amado

"What "relations"?

You can't break them if there are none!"


Dear Amado,

Now that is funny...and so true!

Zenovia

On the other hand, keep in mind the principle: you can only kill the King once, but you can knock the King's hat off as often as you like!

Incognitus

One would think at some point that these folks would see what is really going on in the world - the Culture of Death is beating down the doors everywhere and all these particular Orthodox can do is get angry at Patriarch Lubomyr's relocation from Lviv to Kyiv.

What they need is not anger or scorn, but prayer - and lots of it.

Well, the call for establishing missions training Latin-Rite clergy must not be understood as a serious thing but as a symbolic gesture, as a kind of "ask for reveange" thing which will not happen.

I believe that the "Latin-Rite" as a pastoral strategy, when implemented, has failed to attract people in the West and would only create confusion (this is already happening with the presence of uncanonical groups).

Orthodox Churches already exist in Western countries, the good of the Orthodox Church here is also the good for the Roman Church, since we both look for a Christian society, to convert the world to Christianity and fight for life.

It's my understanding that this Union of Orthodox Believers represents a minority in Ukraine, just as the political group that protects them. Sooner or later a new Orthodox Church in Ukraine will end the disputes, hopefuly.

Maybe Rome should call their bluff and say fine.
We'll have open season too.
And lest anyone jump the gun, this is not my position but am just showing what the consequences could be.
Stephanos I

One never knows. A few years ago I was amazed to receive in the mail one morning a complete text of the Divine Liturgy in Latin, pointed for singing according to modern Russian chant. There was a long letter (also in Latin) explaining that this was just the thing to attract huge crowds of Roman Catholics to Orthodoxy.

Incognitus

My son, James read this and asked me, "Dad, who would benefit from this?" I told him I didn't have the answer.