Eastern Orthodoxy Questions

[patricius79]

I’ve seen this quotation around. An EO poster claims it is a forgery.

Is it a forgery, or is it a true quotation?

[quotation from St. Methodius]
“It is not true, as this Canon states, that the holy Fathers gave the primacy to old Rome because it was the capital of the Empire; it is from on high, from divine grace, that this primacy drew its origin. Because of the intensity of his faith Peter, the first of the Apostles, was addressed in these words by our Lord Jesus Christ himself ‘Peter, lovest thou me? Feed my sheep’. That is why in hierarchical order Rome holds the pre-eminent place and is the first See. That is why the leges of old Rome are eternally immovable, and that is the view of all the Churches” (Methodius —N. Brianchaninov, The Russian Church (1931), 46; cited by Butler, Church and Infallibility, 210) (Upon This Rock (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1999), p. 177).
catholicbridge.com/catholic/orthodox/pope_orthodox_church_fathers.php

Thanks,

Pat

 

[Wandile]

I’ve seen this quotation around. An EO poster claims it is a forgery.

Is it a forgery, or is it a true quotation?

[quotation from St. Methodius]
“It is not true, as this Canon states, that the holy Fathers gave the primacy to old Rome because it was the capital of the Empire; it is from on high, from divine grace, that this primacy drew its origin. Because of the intensity of his faith Peter, the first of the Apostles, was addressed in these words by our Lord Jesus Christ himself ‘Peter, lovest thou me? Feed my sheep’. That is why in hierarchical order Rome holds the pre-eminent place and is the first See. That is why the leges of old Rome are eternally immovable, and that is the view of all the Churches” (Methodius —N. Brianchaninov, The Russian Church (1931), 46; cited by Butler, Church and Infallibility, 210) (Upon This Rock (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1999), p. 177).
catholicbridge.com/catholic/orthodox/pope_orthodox_church_fathers.php

Thanks,

The testimony was actually discovered by the Russian Orthodox scholar A. Pavlov and first published in the Russian review Vizantiiskii Vremennik, t. iv. 1897; pp. 147-154). There is no reason to doubt its authenticity other than a few far fetched theories I have come across. Certainly I haven’t noticed any scholar critique its authenticity ans not any non Orthodox scholar thats for sure.

The quote was also referred to in the lengthy papal encyclical on Saints Cyril and Methodius, written by Pope St.John Paul II

Also it should be noted that St. Methodius had a very close relationship with Rome, lived there for a while, and enjoyed a lot of friendly cooperation with the Latin church. I believe that he is the one who transferred the relics of Pope Clement to Rome from the East.

 

[Tomdstone]

I’ve seen this quotation around. An EO poster claims it is a forgery.

Is it a forgery, or is it a true quotation?

[quotation from St. Methodius]
“It is not true, as this Canon states, that the holy Fathers gave the primacy to old Rome because it was the capital of the Empire; it is from on high, from divine grace, that this primacy drew its origin. Because of the intensity of his faith Peter, the first of the Apostles, was addressed in these words by our Lord Jesus Christ himself ‘Peter, lovest thou me? Feed my sheep’. That is why in hierarchical order Rome holds the pre-eminent place and is the first See. That is why the leges of old Rome are eternally immovable, and that is the view of all the Churches” (Methodius —N. Brianchaninov, The Russian Church (1931), 46; cited by Butler, Church and Infallibility, 210) (Upon This Rock (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1999), p. 177).
catholicbridge.com/catholic/orthodox/pope_orthodox_church_fathers.php

Thanks,

Pat

AFAIK, the Eastern Orthodox would accept the primacy of honor of the Roman pope in a united Church, but they would not accept his infallibility or his universal supreme jurisdiction.