Bridge churches?

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Peter_J

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With regard to “uniatism”, the Orthodox frequently criticize the Eastern Catholic Churches for regarding themselves as a “bridge” from Orthodoxy to Catholicism.*

I find this criticism to be unfairly one-sided. I completely grant that the intention of the Union of Brest, and similar unions, was a “bridge” from Orthodoxy to Catholicism; but it’s equally easy to see the Eastern Catholic Churches as a “bridge” from Catholicism to Orthodoxy, and many Orthodox treat them as such. So shouldn’t the Orthodox be criticized for this (if you will) “reverse uniatism”?Just consider how often, when discussing Eastern Catholics converting to Orthodoxy, Orthodox will insert the word “back”, even when the Eastern Catholics in question are cradle Catholic. (Have you ever heard an Orthodox talk about Eastern Catholics “coming back home to Orthodoxy”?)

Just my two cents.
  • See, for example, the quotation below that contrasts Eastern Catholicism with Western-Rite Orthodoxy
A Pillar, not a Bridge. Eastern Rite Catholics long believed, as an Eastern church in the Roman Catholic communion, they enjoyed a special and “unique position” as a “bridge” to Orthodoxy. At its most hopeful and imaginative, this line of reasoning saw Byzantine Catholics as the first-fruits of a reunited Christendom, leading the way to undoing the Great Schism. More to the point, they often call themselves “Orthodox in communion with Rome,” a phrase most misleading. However, this vision has since been abandoned by Roman Catholic hierarchy. More than a decade ago, The Balamand Statement declared flatly, “‘uniatism’ can no longer be accepted…as a model of the unity our Churches are seeking.”
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At our most hopeful, Western Orthodox dream of whole denominations accepting the Orthodox faith in either of our Eastern or approved Western rites. We pray for it. Yet we do not see ourselves as a “bridge” to the Papacy. (He just never calls anymore.) And we certainly do not see ourselves as “Roman Catholics [or Anglicans, or Old Catholics] in communion with Orthodoxy.” We are simply Orthodox, and our appeal to other denominations will come only when they, too, have embraced the Orthodox Faith. We don’t feel primarily that we have left our homeland so much as that we have found it. We do not wish to distinguish ourselves from it, and even though we celebrate different liturgies than others in our communion, they impart the same theology, often in the same way with nearly the same words. (See here, here, here, here, and here.) To put a fine point on this conversation: Byzantine Catholics seem to look primarily outside their communion to the Orthodox Church for inspiration (including saints after 1569, or the appropriate date of union with Rome); Western Rite Orthodox look primarily within our communion. We are not a bridge; we are a pillar of the Church that we love. As one who has many friends and acquaintances in Byzantine Catholicism, it saddens me to see them looking longingly at a Church to which they do not belong.
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westernorthodox.blogspot.com/2007/05/western-rite-is-not-reverse-uniatism.html
 
I’m not sure I’ve ever heard that criticism. It is undeniable that the Eastern Catholics do act as a bridge of sorts for individuals.
When it comes to communion between our Churches as a whole, I think they lose that bridgeness, and instead become an obstacle, not because of anything inherent in them, but rather because they, and their history, give credence to our greatest fears about Roman Supremacy.
 
Eastern Catholicism is certainly a bridge for Roman Catholics into Holy Orthodoxy 👍 😉
 
ConstantineTG said:
Because they didn’t establish the Eastern Catholic Churches for that purpose.
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Perhaps a day will come when our criticisms focus a little more on current actions, and a little less on actions taken hundreds of years ago.
 
Peter_J said:
So why shouldn’t the Orthodox be taken to task for “reverse uniatism”?
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I am not sure what you mean, because of what exactly? Because many Eastern Catholics and Latin Catholics come to Orthodoxy by way of the Eastern Catholic churches?

If that is what you mean, the Orthodox did not set up the situation.
 
Peter_J said:
Perhaps a day will come when our criticisms focus a little more on current actions, and a little less on actions taken hundreds of years ago.
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But even currently, what does the Orthodox have to do with Roman Catholics pursing greater spirituality in Eastern Catholic Churches, and then realizing that the true expression of the orthodox faith is only found in the Orthodox Church? It is like saying it is Canada’s fault that the best and brightest form third world countries leave their homelands and migrate here for a better life. Should Canada lower her own standard of living just to protect the interests of other countries?
Credo_ergo_sum said:
Ah, couldn’t see from your comments or profile info. No criticism of course 😛
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Maybe that is my cue? 😉
 
ConstantineTG said:
Eastern Catholicism is certainly a bridge for Roman Catholics into Holy Orthodoxy 👍 😉
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ConstantineTG said:
Because they didn’t establish the Eastern Catholic Churches for that purpose.
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Hesychios said:
I am not sure what you mean, because of what exactly? Because many Eastern Catholics and Latin Catholics come to Orthodoxy by way of the Eastern Catholic churches?

If that is what you mean, the Orthodox did not set up the situation.
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My apologies. I think I see now what you’re both saying: that Eastern Catholicism is a bridge from Catholicism to Orthodoxy, but not by Orthodox doing (which is a tad different from what I said, namely that Orthodox sometimes treat Eastern Catholicism as a bridge from Catholicism to Orthodoxy).
 
It seems that if what people in this thread are saying is true, it is more accurate to say that Eastern Catholics sometimes treat Eastern Catholicism as a bridge to Orthodoxy.
 
dzheremi said:
It seems that if what people in this thread are saying is true, it is more accurate to say that Eastern Catholics sometimes treat Eastern Catholicism as a bridge to Orthodoxy.
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I believe the Orthodox have a hand in it.
 
Yes, so I’ve read. That much is obvious by your starting this thread, I’d say.
 
Peter_J said:
I believe the Orthodox have a hand in it.
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We don’t discourage it, but I’ve never seen any evidence of Orthodox actively encouraging the use of Eastern Catholic Churches as a bridge.

As far as I (personally, not speaking for anyone else) am concerned, it is just as easy to come from Western Christianity to Orthodoxy as it is to go from Western Christianity to Eastern Catholicism, to Eastern Orthodoxy.
 
I have seen (this should be verifiable) individuals expressing an interest in Orthodoxy … usually also expressing frustration with the Latin rite … with the almost inevitable result that Latin Catholics here at CAF encourage the person to “check out the eastern Catholic churches, it’s just like Orthodox but with the Pope!”. And of course some people do just that.

So there we have it. The Eastern Catholic churches are being used as a ‘short stop’.

Sometimes what happens instead is that the EC become a halfway house, where Holy Orthodoxy is taught and sometimes even encouraged … a place where people can get accustomed to it, easing the transition.

I know a few cradle Eastern Catholics who have become Orthodox, but these are not so common. It is far more common to see cradle Latin Catholics (and even a few cradle Protestants) who start in the Latin church, spend some time in the Eastern Catholic churches, become extremely frustrated for any number of reasons, then 'dox.
 
Hesychios said:
I have seen (this should be verifiable) individuals expressing an interest in Orthodoxy … usually also expressing frustration with the Latin rite … with the almost inevitable result that Latin Catholics here at CAF encourage the person to “check out the eastern Catholic churches, it’s just like Orthodox but with the Pope!”. And of course some people do just that.

So there we have it. The Eastern Catholic churches are being used as a ‘short stop’.

Sometimes what happens instead is that the EC become a halfway house, where Holy Orthodoxy is taught and sometimes even encouraged … a place where people can get accustomed to it, easing the transition.

I know a few cradle Eastern Catholics who have become Orthodox, but these are not so common. It is far more common to see cradle Latin Catholics (and even a few cradle Protestants) who start in the Latin church, spend some time in the Eastern Catholic churches, become extremely frustrated for any number of reasons, then 'dox.
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You summarized the problem here very well. Those cradle Latins like myself who move East generally do so because of a growing love and appreciation of Eastern spirituality. Some of course move because of complaints with the Latin Rite, others just attracted by the beauty of the Eastern praxis. Then we’re told its “like being Orthodox but in communion with the Pope”. And this is where the problem begins. We start learning about Orthodox spirituality, often from Orthodox sources like books and websites. Then we realize the parish is nothing more than a “Roman Catholic parish with an Eastern Liturgy”. There is a big disconnect then with the spirituality you are pursuing and the one being practiced in the parish. Most people are there because they belong to the traditional ethnicity of the mother Church. People like myself are there for the Eastern spirituality. But when you start learning more about their culture (not that it is a bad thing) than things like Theosis, and there’s more Peroggy Supper Nights than Vespers, you know you are in the wrong place (btw, I love perrogies, so it isn’t necessarily a bad thing). And after a few years in the Eastern Catholic parish trying to grow in the Eastern praxis, you are left wanting and spiritually unfulfilled. And where else would you find genuine Eastern praxis but in an Orthodox parish. Especially if there is a notable priest in your area who is a good teacher of genuine Eastern faith.
 
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