Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical Catechism idea

  • Thread starter Thread starter catholic1seeks
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

catholic1seeks

Guest
What if there was a book/catechism that highlighted the shared faith between the Catholic and Orthodox traditions? I think that would be awesome. Or even if not a book, maybe an online paper or project. It ought to cover the same material as a catechism.

The idea is twofold: (1) a work of ecumenical dialogue and (2) a representation of apostolic Christianity. You could see it either way. Basically, the book/project would be an expression of the shared apostolic and ancient faith of Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy in particular.

Example… “The Teaching of the Apostles: A Catholic-Orthodox Catechism” or “Apostolic Faith: The Shared Beliefs of Catholicism and Orthodoxy” 🤔

Any ideas?

Would anyone be willing to work on or contribute to such a project?
 
Last edited:
That sounds like a very interesting idea and is something I would love to be able to contribute to. I wouldn’t be entirely sure where to start, but if it highlights shared beliefs it also would be good to show what differences exist as well.

For source material, what documents are regarded as authoritative in Eastern Orthodoxy? Do they have a catechism or something similar?
 
The downside is, at much as I would want to be involved, it wouldn’t necessarily be “official” so it would require additional steps to make it a worthy source of study and for others to consult.

But if people on CAF wanted to contribute, it might be a worthy start.

I think the first step is to have an outline, and then different people could research different topics — say, the Eucharist, Apostolic Succession, Christology, etc.
 
Also, I think it would take more than just, say, looking at the Catholic Catechism and looking at an Orthodox source and say “well these two points are in common, these points over here are in common,” etc. It would require a general understanding of the two traditions, some familiarity already with the major debates and history and practice and so on.
 
That’s true. At least many people on CAF have a general understanding of the Catholic tradition, but not everyone is that familiar with Orthodoxy. I think taking it one topic per person at a time, and researching that topic in the Orthodox tradition as well as asking practicing members of the Orthodox Church about it could yield some good results.
 
@veritatisstella One idea is simply to have a very bare-bones description per topic, and simply grow in detail from there. So for example:

The Deposit of Faith
The Apostolic Faith professes to received the truths about Christ and his Church from the Apostles, who passed on their teaching by word of mouth and letter. By the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can be sure of a faithful transmission in every age. Of privileged position are the Sacred Scriptures, which have been inspired by the Spirit and are especially celebrated in the Liturgy. The visible continuity of the Apostolic Faith is ensured by the succession of bishops, who were first appointed by the Apostles themselves and carry on their ministry of “feeding” Christ’s “sheep.”

The Holy Eucharist
In a sense, the Eucharist makes the Church. The Church gathers around the table of the Lord where we are fed by the very body and blood of Christ. From the beginning, the Apostolic Faith centered its life on this sacred mystery. While a mystery in the truest since, Catholics and Orthodox both acknowledge that the bread and wine truly become the body and blood of Christ. The Eucharist is the chief way that Christians become “partakers of the divine nature.”

The Mother of Our Lord
From the beginning, Christians have honored the saints. In particular, Christians identified Mary, the Mother of Christ, as having a privileged position in the communion of saints. As the New Eve, she contrasts the original, sinful Eve. Mary, without sin, was worthy to be the great Theotokos, the God-bearer. She continues to be our great intercessor, as the Apostolic Faith maintains that she was taken body-and-soul into heaven at the end of her life.
 
That would work well. It can’t go into endless detail if it is supposed to be a general comparison of both churches. For a lot of stuff just one description of what both churches believe would work well, but for other topics a basic description of the Catholic Church and a separate description of the Orthodox Church’s opinion would be required. For example, I believe the Orthodox Church has a concept of “aerial tollgates” which is similar to purgatory but not quite the same thing.
 
Well, I don’t want it to focus on differences and comparisons too much.

I want it to establish the basic consensus of what the “Apostolic” Faith is. The main goal is to see the shared faith of the two, especially as a representation of the original Christian faith.
 
If the main focus is God, Jesus as Redeemer, the Sacraments, and Mary and the saints most if not everything should be shared between the two I would think. Any differences would likely be minor and possibly not even contrary to the other faith. Depending on what they are it could be of interest to include them as somewhat of a sidenote.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top