How to deal with rude comments from *some* Orthodox people

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One of my friends is converting to Orthodoxy, and I seem to be receiving quite some abuse for being Catholic, constantly being called a “Papist” a “heretic” and always condemning the Eastern Catholic Churches…some comments I can’t even write on here because they are so horrible. So I’m wondering if any of you who may have (had) this problem and how you have dealt with it?
I thought Catholics and Orthodox had some kind of foundation built on mutual love and understanding 😦
 
Sectarian comment founded on the belief that a convert is somehow a traitor is sadly frequent in a lot of cases. This is where turning the other cheek is important, along with understanding forgiveness and the stalwart defense of your truths come in. Pray for them and thank God you have people who hate you in His name. I would personally love to be despised for Christ, even by other Christians. Forgive them for they know not what they do. Ask Christ to forgive them as they really believe they are defending Him.
 
camkutz said:
One of my friends is converting to Orthodoxy, and I seem to be receiving quite some abuse for being Catholic, constantly being called a “Papist” a “heretic” and always condemning the Eastern Catholic Churches…some comments I can’t even write on here because they are so horrible. So I’m wondering if any of you who may have (had) this problem and how you have dealt with it?
I thought Catholics and Orthodox had some kind of foundation built on mutual love and understanding 😦
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Ask your friend to refrain from attacking the Catholic Church. If he or she continues after you ask them multiple times, personally I would end the friendship. They may not respect your faith, but they should respect your wishes to not attack your beliefs.
 
camkutz said:
One of my friends is converting to Orthodoxy, and I seem to be receiving quite some abuse for being Catholic, constantly being called a “Papist” a “heretic” and always condemning the Eastern Catholic Churches…some comments I can’t even write on here because they are so horrible. So I’m wondering if any of you who may have (had) this problem and how you have dealt with it?
I thought Catholics and Orthodox had some kind of foundation built on mutual love and understanding 😦
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Easy. Make sure you are not a papist or a heretic, inform him, then shake the dust from your feet. Deal with him charitably and he will remember this. If he is beginning to convert out of spite, he will find himself out of the Church and it’s graces. Like me, he might run into a dark place which he just can’t comprehend, until one day by God’s grace he will remember himself committing a wrong by being inconsiderate with a Catholic, and that might just be enough for him to second guess what he thought about the true Church.
 
camkutz said:
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 One of my friends is converting to Orthodoxy, and I seem to be receiving quite some abuse for being Catholic, constantly being called a "Papist" a "heretic" and always condemning the Eastern Catholic Churches...some comments I can't even write on here because they are so horrible. So I'm wondering if any of you who may have (had) this problem and how you have dealt with it?
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Yes, I have. When some people have a conversion experience like this, part of what makes it possible to cling to where they are going is to develop anger/hatred to separate them from where they came.

It is best to pray fervently for such persons, and sometimes it is necessary to take some time away from them to prevent further wounding while they go through the change.

I thought Catholics and Orthodox had some kind of foundation built on mutual love and understanding 😦

Personally I have not observe this, either here on CAF or in any of the writings I have explored. On the contrary, the hostility of EO toward Roman Catholicism is very similar to what many Catholics have against Protestants.

Yes, there is a common foundation between us, up until the year 1054, but increasing development of doctrine and a plethora of bad medieval popes seemed to drive a wedge that has continued to separate. From their point of view, the Latin Patriarch/Church left the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic faith and, just as we see Protestants continue to do today, has continued to drift further from the ancient and Sacred Tradition.
 
camkutz said:
One of my friends is converting to Orthodoxy, and I seem to be receiving quite some abuse for being Catholic, constantly being called a “Papist” a “heretic” and always condemning the Eastern Catholic Churches…some comments I can’t even write on here because they are so horrible. So I’m wondering if any of you who may have (had) this problem and how you have dealt with it?
I thought Catholics and Orthodox had some kind of foundation built on mutual love and understanding 😦
Click to expand...
Yes, I have experienced this. I was attending a class taught by a protestant convert to orthodoxy and he spoke some offensive anti-Catholic comments. I was shocked. It was the last place on earth I had expected this, after reading Timothy Ware’s admission that the two faiths have more in common than others. I was the recipient of more anti-Catholic remarks by two orthodox catechumens about to be baptized, in front of their priest, who did not correct their hateful, unChristian-like speech. Its what finally woke me up to go back to the Catholic faith. I now pray for the misguided people who think that to honor God they have to hate their Christian brothers.
 
First of all, this person is not Orthodox. He is a protestant in the process of converting to Orthodoxy, and it sounds like he is taking his conversion to fanatical extremes.

I converted to Orthodoxy to Judaism, so I can’t speak from personal experience, but I will say that is common for Protestants considering an apostolic Church to flock to Orthodoxy because of “Romophobia,” i.e. the fear of all things Roman Catholic.

I would say that these individuals choose Orthodoxy for the wrong reasons (it’s not Rome).

At any rate, there is no cause to think that Orthodox people as a whole view Catholics like this. And basing your view of Orthodox people on what you experience on internet forums is foolish. Were I to base my views on Catholics on what I see on these forums, I would gather that they are just as spiteful as they claim we are.

So, turn the other cheek, as others have said, let this person deal with their emotional baggage, and then maybe in a couple years of being Orthodox they will come to their senses and not hurl centuries-old invectives at a fellow Christian.
 
camkutz said:
So I’m wondering if any of you who may have (had) this problem and how you have dealt with it?
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Hi camkutz. Yes I have.

Let me first say for the record (although this probably goes without saying) that I don’t think there is anything intrinsic about converts to Orthodoxy that makes them more prone to be anti-blank than e.g. converts to Catholicism. Having said that, I might suggest asking your friend if he/she considers Catholics to be worse than Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, etc.

This is a semirhetorical question: he/she will almosts certainly say no, after which you might ask why he/she seems to single out Catholics and spend so much time criticizing Catholicism. (After that I guess you play it by ear – you might be thrown a curve like “I dont bother talking about Protestants because they are so obviously wrong already.”)
 
I would ask your friend if the polemical rhetoric was part of the training in the church, sanctioned by his priest, or just picked up somewhere else?
 
guanophore said:
Yes, I have. When some people have a conversion experience like this, part of what makes it possible to cling to where they are going is to develop anger/hatred to separate them from where they came.
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Yeah lucky for you guys Catholic converts never have that problem. Catholics also never make rude comments so it’s necessary to get advice from people who have encountered rude people.
 
Again I don’t know where in the world you find these people. Seems like there is more to the story than has been revealed. I’ve never met a single Orthodox in real life who would talk that way to a Catholic. But for whatever reason we tend to forget. People are people, whether Catholic or Orthodox or whatever. You don’t need to come onto a forum and ask how to deal with a rude “Orthodox.” You deal with rude Orthodox the same way you deal with rude Catholics or rude Protestants. Trust me we’re not that mysterious. 🤷
 
Seraphim73 said:
Again I don’t know where in the world you find these people. Seems like there is more to the story than has been revealed. I’ve never met a single Orthodox in real life who would talk that way to a Catholic. But for whatever reason we tend to forget. People are people, whether Catholic or Orthodox or whatever. You don’t need to come onto a forum and ask how to deal with a rude “Orthodox.” You deal with rude Orthodox the same way you deal with rude Catholics or rude Protestants. 🤷
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Or rude Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikh, Druze, Yazidi, Zoroastrians…

(But not rude Bahá’í. There is no such thing. 👍)

Also, what’s with the all the Orthodox threads popping up the EC forum? Y’all need to head on over to the Other Religions forum.
 
Sour priest forbids bashing of other faiths, especially the faith we came from. If you become Orthodox, or Roman Catholic or whatever because you hate your current church you are converting for the wrong reasons
 
camkutz said:
One of my friends is converting to Orthodoxy, and I seem to be receiving quite some abuse for being Catholic, constantly being called a “Papist” a “heretic” and always condemning the Eastern Catholic Churches…some comments I can’t even write on here because they are so horrible. So I’m wondering if any of you who may have (had) this problem and how you have dealt with it?
I thought Catholics and Orthodox had some kind of foundation built on mutual love and understanding 😦
Click to expand...
You can get this type of treatment from both sides. I have also to deal with my Orthodox brothers and sisters who can make remarks about Rome in a very dismill way. I have found out that in most cases the Orthodox who do this actually do not want to know the Church of Rome in a way that would help them. Criticisms to me are actually negative when it involves both of our Churches. Now on the other side of the coin I find that certain Catholics can be very negative towards the Orthodox as well. The ball can be played in both courts. I oftened believe that when people throw out these criticisms it is certain that there is a lack of charity involved. I grew up Catholic in the beginning but with a Greek Orthodox baptism. It was not until I was 28 years old that my father told me about this baptism and a Church (Greek Ortthodox) I had never heard about. I began to search my roots within Orthodoxy and I knew that this Church was doing something to me. There was this burning love that one senses when one finally finds the girl that God will send. It was good that The Lord had not given to me the Orthodox Church right off the bat.

I grew up Catholic first and yet I had always found it lacking. The fullness of the Catholic Church was in me and yet this lacking or unfullment was present. This did not mean I did not appreciate or love the Catholic Church. It meant that for God I needed to go beyond what I already knew in the first 28 years of my life. This fulfillment arrived when I had discovered the life and ministry of the Orthodox Church. This enabled for me to have both the Catholic and Orthodox faiths within me. I must say I treasured both! Yet it was the Orthodox Church which had made it complete.

It is not right that we critized each other Church’s as some do. This is very uncharitable. Catholic doctrine and worship can be appreciated if you appreciate what the Holy Spirit is doing in that Church as the same Holy Spirit is also teaching you and as the same Holy Spirit is also teaching the Orthodox Church. The problem with our unity is perhaps not listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying to us.It is my hope that Catholics and Orthodox will someday integrate both of their theologies to the benefit of each Christian. I have to dismiss any rude comments because I appreciate and love both Churches despite what some from either Church will say about the other.
 
chimo said:
You can get this type of treatment from both sides. I have also to deal with my Orthodox brothers and sisters who can make remarks about Rome in a very dismill way. I have found out that in most cases the Orthodox who do this actually do not want to know the Church of Rome in a way that would help them. Criticisms to me are actually negative when it involves both of our Churches. Now on the other side of the coin I find that certain Catholics can be very negative towards the Orthodox as well.
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I’ve seen a few negative comments from Catholics towards Orthodox on the internet, but not many. On the other hand, I’ve read pages and pages of negativity from Orthodox toward Catholicism.

It seems to me that in general Catholics are very respectful of their Eastern Orthodox brethren, but the respect is less often reciprocated.
 
chimo said:
You can get this type of treatment from both sides. I have also to deal with my Orthodox brothers and sisters who can make remarks about Rome in a very dismill way. I have found out that in most cases the Orthodox who do this actually do not want to know the Church of Rome in a way that would help them. Criticisms to me are actually negative when it involves both of our Churches. Now on the other side of the coin I find that certain Catholics can be very negative towards the Orthodox as well. The ball can be played in both courts. I oftened believe that when people throw out these criticisms it is certain that there is a lack of charity involved.
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Well said, Chimo. It is a two-way street. (And for that matter Anglicans, Lutherans, etc have been known to make those kinds of comments as well, but I digress.)

Having said that, let me add: Dr. Anthony Dragani coined the term “Byzantine bitterness” (something I believe I’ve been guilty of at times) many years ago, in response to the question “Why does there seem to be so much hostility toward Latin Catholics by SOME Byzantines?” on the EWTN website (and later included it in the FAQ on his website). I know this thread is asking about Orthodox negativity, but (noting that we’re on the Eastern Catholicism section :cool:) anyone who hasn’t read this before might find it good reference info.
 
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