From the Catholic perspective, aren't Orthodox churches part of THE one church too?

[catholic1seeks]

Yes, I know they are in schism, and they aren’t in “full communion.”

However, Orthodox churches have a valid apostolic succession and priesthood, with a real Eucharist and celebration of the sacraments.

With a legitimate apostolic succession, the Orthodox are real churches. So aren’t they, well, essentially the Catholic Church too?

There’s only one church. I always knew that Christians of all stripes could be mystically (invisibly) related to the one church, since a baptism connects all Christians. But with the Orthodox, it’s a bit different, because we believe in one VISIBLE church in addition to the mystical body. And yet, Orthodox have the valid visible element–apostolic leaders, their bishops. So how do we conceive of the Orthodox relation to the one church?

Why couldn’t a Catholic freely attend an Orthodox Church, for example? (And not just in an emergency)

 

[AmbroseSJ]

My feeling is that they are adrift, having no use for a symbol of Church Unity (the Petrine Ministry) Therefore depending on your local Orthodox Church, the beliefs may vary somewhat. (Plus there are several Orthodox Churches) Also, the Orthodox (in my opinion) are drifting further with each passing age from unity in belief with the Roman Church. They for their part hold the Roman Church to be in Schism, and worse (meaning somewhat heretical.) Therefore it would be disingenuous to pretend we are one Church, although, technically they do have Apostolic Succession and the 7 Sacraments. But the physical and spiritual reality is that they ARE separated from us. IOW, it would be offensive to the Orthodox to partake in their liturgies while adhering to the Roman Church. Just my opinion though.

 

[Genesis315]

While they have real particular churches (a particular church being a bishop, his priests, deacons, and flock celebrating the Eucharist), they are not part of the one Church professed in the Creed. They do have partial communion with us on the basis of their baptism and the many elements of sanctification they have which properly belong to the Catholic Church (like the sacraments) in which the saving means of the Church can be present to those in good faith.

The second Vatican Council used a special phrase to distinguish between that permanent identity of the one Church we profess in the Creed–which is the Catholic Church–and these other communities which are related to the Catholic Church and even joined in some ways, but which are not that one Church. That phrase is “subsists in.”

Unfortunately, some misinterpreted this to think the Church of Christ was bigger than the Catholic Church and subsisted elsewhere too. The Church had to issue some clarifications:

The interpretation of those who would derive from the formula subsistit in the thesis that the one Church of Christ could subsist also in non-Catholic Churches and ecclesial communities is therefore contrary to the authentic meaning of Lumen gentium. “The Council instead chose the word subsistit precisely to clarify that there exists only one ‘subsistence’ of the true Church, while outside her visible structure there only exist elementa Ecclesiae, which — being elements of that same Church — tend and lead toward the Catholic Church”

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/c...con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html

Christ “established here on earth” only one Church and instituted it as a “visible and spiritual community”[5], that from its beginning and throughout the centuries has always existed and will always exist, and in which alone are found all the elements that Christ himself instituted.[6] “This one Church of Christ, which we confess in the Creed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic […]. This Church, constituted and organised in this world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of Peter and the Bishops in communion with him”.[7]

In number 8 of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium ‘subsistence’ means this perduring, historical continuity and the permanence of all the elements instituted by Christ in the Catholic Church[8], in which the Church of Christ is concretely found on this earth.

It is possible, according to Catholic doctrine, to affirm correctly that the Church of Christ is present and operative in the churches and ecclesial Communities not yet fully in communion with the Catholic Church, on account of the elements of sanctification and truth that are present in them.[9] Nevertheless, the word “subsists” can only be attributed to the Catholic Church alone precisely because it refers to the mark of unity that we profess in the symbols of the faith (I believe… in the “one” Church); and this “one” Church subsists in the Catholic Church.[10]

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/c...ith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html

 

[FrDavid96]

Yes, I know they are in schism, and they aren’t in “full communion.”

However, Orthodox churches have a valid apostolic succession and priesthood, with a real Eucharist and celebration of the sacraments.

With a legitimate apostolic succession, the Orthodox are real churches. So aren’t they, well, essentially the Catholic Church too?

There’s only one church. I always knew that Christians of all stripes could be mystically (invisibly) related to the one church, since a baptism connects all Christians. But with the Orthodox, it’s a bit different, because we believe in one VISIBLE church in addition to the mystical body. And yet, Orthodox have the valid visible element–apostolic leaders, their bishops. So how do we conceive of the Orthodox relation to the one church?

Why couldn’t a Catholic freely attend an Orthodox Church, for example? (And not just in an emergency)

The Catholic Church’s answer to your question is actually right here

http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-p...ments/hf_jp-ii_enc_25051995_ut-unum-sint.html

St John Paul II’s encyclical letter Ut Unum Sint

 

[2towers]

I think there are Catholics who feel this way. I have heard Catholics say east and west are the right and left lungs of the Church. Saying this to an Orthodox however, will bring a strong rebuke. I was told that was heresy by an Orthodox on a youtube thread.