Metropolitan Kallistos is found of saying the motto of the Orthodox Church is "Never explain and never apologize".
I usually counter by saying the motto of the Latin Church is "We may not always be right, but we are never wrong".
And therein hangs the tale.
Stuart,
Would I not be correct in saying that all of this is a carry-over from the monarchist mentality, which both churches adopted, each in their own way.
People who favor monarchism have this idea that it's a more stable, efficient form of government. In an actual monarchy, however, the very fact that the king was not chosen by the people necessarily means that his right to wear the crown is always somewhat in question. In order to counter this, therefore, a monarch must always project the image of himself as being in complete control, and his authority and judgment as being beyond question. In practice, this normally meant a king would never admit to having been wrong.
I don't think this was ever a good model for the Church, in which the leaders are to act as good fathers and lead by example. IMHO there's no need for them to hide behind an illusion of impeccability, since their authority really is from God, much like that of parents.
Peace,
Deacon Richard
