Canonical Change vs Orthodoxy

[obvious_ron]

For those who made a canonical change to an Eastern Catholic Church, was Orthodoxy ever in your radar? If so, what was the tipping point that convinced you to remain Catholic? If not, what about Orthodoxy deterred you from even considering it as an option?

 

[ProdglArchitect]

Well. it probably has a lot to do with the fact that those Churches aren’t Catholic, and therefore are not the Church Christ founded…

They are not interchangeable. While Orthodoxy remains the closest to Catholicism, there are still severe doctrinal differences that make them incompatible.

 

[twf]

I haven’t transferred to an Eastern Catholic Church, but I do have great respect for their traditions and immensely enjoy their liturgies. For me personally, as a Protestant convert to Catholicism, remaining Catholic boiled down to this question: if I were to reject the primacy of Rome, who would I go to? How could I, as an average layman in the pews, pick between the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, or Assyrians? Why do I accept Chalcedon? Well because the Popes of Rome accept it. The Eastern Orthodox answer to that same question always strikes me as completely circular.

 

[Phillip_Rolfes]

I am in the process of making the canonical switch into the Maronite Church. All my paperwork is in, we’re just waiting to hear back from the bishops.

I did actually consider switching over to Orthodoxy (Antiochian Greek Orthodox to be exact). The biggest thing that kept me from doing so are many of the internal problems with Orthodoxy - problems such as nationalism, the lack of visible unity and various internal schisms, and the lack of willingness to address Western Christianity on its own terms rather than trying to force Western Christianity into an Orthodox mentality.

The biggest issue that I’ve had, I’d say, is the papacy. Although I’m not as much of a “papist” as many Roman Catholics would want us to be, I also don’t believe the Orthodox have sufficiently responded to the papal claims.

That being said, the Orthodox are fully Church and possess the full means of salvation. I long for the day when Catholics and Orthodox are again one, but I think that it’ll take a direct intervention from God to make that happen.