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Dec 29th, 2019
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For me personally, as a Byzantine Catholic, I believe that to be truly Orthodox one must be in union with the Roman See.
I have debated whether I am a Catholic of Eastern custom, or Orthodox in communion with Rome for a couple years. Spiritually I find myself growing more "Orthodox" and the more I idenitfy with my Eastern religious roots the more I see the neccesity of being in union with the Roman Patriachate (despite the dropping of that title in 2006).
When religiously educated perople ask me what faith I am I say "Orthodox in union with Rome" otherwise I just say Catholic.
I have contemplated converting to Orthodoxy a few times, sometimes out of my own impulsion, and other times I believe that is where the Holy Spirit was taking me. I have reached a point now (the RDL notwithstanding) where I can't imagine belonging to a Church not in union with Rome. I love the Orthodox Church, and without her I think Christendom would be incomplete, but for me, on a sheer pragmatic level, the nationalism and internecine strife that Orthodoxy is prone towards validates the need for a Supreme Pontiff.
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Fine. Are you saying explicit acceptance of this doctrine and its particular mode of expression is mandatory for all Christians? If so, the answer to my question is "yes". Yes, acceptance of the uncreated nature of the divine activity is necessary, and also of the idea that it is this uncreated activity (or energy) that is conveyed to man in the holy mysteries (which includes icons), and not some kind of "created" grace, which is an idea that arose only in the West during the 12th and 13th centuries. Only the uncreated can divinize a man. Now, as far as language is concerned, even St. Gregory himself -- at the councils that took place in the mid-14th century -- indicated that the particular mode of expression was secondary, as long as the theological truth (theologia) of the distinction was made. That being the case, so long as one distinguishes between essence, activity, and person in God (to use the most common Trinitarian expressions in English), there is unity within the Orthodox faith.
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For me personally, as a Byzantine Catholic, I believe that to be truly Orthodox one must be in union with the Roman See. Communion with Rome is important, just as Rome's communion with the other Apostolic Sees is important, but communion with a single Church or bishop does not in itself guarantee Orthodoxy.
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I dislike the word "union", which implies organizational integration. I much prefer the term "communion", which is a bilateral relationship of love, not one of subordination or assimilation.
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Glory be to Jesus Christ!!
I think it's always good to remember, too, that "communion" as relationship is not only horizontal but also must involve the vertical. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is always a bit borken, too, when we are broken away from each other. To me, that is the ultimate tragedy of the breaks in communion among the Apostolic Churches. May the Lord heal these breaks soon.
BOB
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