Is the Catholic or Orthodox Church closer to what Jesus wanted?

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I’m trying to decide so far and am researching. According to scripture which position would be closer to what Christ intended and what would be the reasons as to why?

I was told by one orthodox minister, can’t remember if he meant bishop but he told me that there were two bishops before Peter or something when asking about the verse related to Peter being given the keys after reading about it.

Their side also thinks or argues the pope declaring then having ‘supreme authority’ over other churches originally comes from mainly ‘The influence of the Franks/Charlesmangne on Rome’ and ‘due to that’? Is this true?

He said “It was never intended for the pope to have supreme power over all churches, we have a patriarch but for practical purposes, and he does not wield that kind of power etc” and how it ‘Makes more sense for the church being structured this way’?

So far the main issue I’m having with the Orthodox Church is the language barrier because I don’t know Slavonic, and plus as said didn’t Jesus mention his ministry would be universal, spread to the ‘bounds’ of the world etc? The other is that the parishes that you can take communion in are so few, because not all churches who call themselves orthodox are in communion with each other. The Eastern is separate from the Greek as well as Coptic, all from each other mostly and cannot take communion with the other sects.

Really need help.
 
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MonasticKnight said:
I’m trying to decide so far and am researching. According to scripture which position would be closer to what Christ intended and what would be the reasons as to why?

I was told by one orthodox minister, can’t remember if he meant bishop but he told me that there were two bishops before Peter or something when asking about the verse related to Peter being given the keys after reading about it.

He said “It was never intended for the pope to have supreme power over all churches, we have a patriarch but for practical purposes, and he does not wield that kind of power etc” and how it ‘Makes more sense for the church being structured this way’?

So far the main issue I’m having with the Orthodox Church is the language barrier because I don’t know Slavonic, and plus as said didn’t Jesus mention his ministry would be universal, spread to the ‘bounds’ of the world etc? The other is that the parishes that you can take communion in are so few, because not all churches who call themselves orthodox are in communion with each other. The Eastern is separate from the Greek as well as Coptic, all from each other mostly and cannot take communion with the other sects.

Really need help.
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Man will always have a problem with authority, beginning with God’s authority. But authority, when wielded in the right way, not for the sake of pride/status, power, or material gain, etc, has the capability of unifying people around a central focus, in this case of preserving a unified body of truths. And I’d submit that such a central authority is necessary, wherever it may be located, if such unity is ever to be achieved. It’s one of the main reasons that Jesus established the Church, in fact. A Church, somewhere, has to be the place where the buck stops on doctrinal matters.
 
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Debating the problems with the RCC’s need of the Supremacy of the Pope on a RC forum is not really going to happen in a pleasant way, so maybe private messages or going to the Orthodox forum to ask is better. As for the comments about the language barrier, there are solutions to the problem that many have made and are making, including starting a mission Church, moving to another city, traveling once in a while and doing services at home in between, etc. The Holy Orthodox Church isn’t going to magically be present everywhere without the work of Her members. Various circumstances have led to the US being mainly Protestant and Catholic, but would you use the excuse that because you live in China you should be Atheist or in India you should be Hindu just because the Orthodox Church is not on every corner in your language?
 
MonasticKnight said:
. According to scripture which position would be closer to what Christ intended and what would be the reasons as to why?
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Both the RCC and the EO utterly and completely reject your premise that Scripture is the standard.

Scripture is the teaching tool promulgated and defined by the Church; the Church is not created or bound by Scripture.

(which is, of course, why the notion of sola scriptura is so silly . . .

hawk
 
Orthodox. Christianity can from the East originally not the west. Also it was more a political thing that caused the Great Schism. Definitely Eastern Catholicism or Orthodoxy is closer to the way the liturgy was celebrated at the beginning.
 
You’re on a Catholic forum, so I don’t know if you’re going to get a concise or unbiased answer.

Keep in mind that the Roman Catholic and Orthodox were one Church before the Great Schism.

Liturgically-speaking, I would honestly say Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholicism come a little closer to what we might have seen in the early Church. I hear that the Novus Ordo reintroduces some aspects of early Church liturgy as well. But keep in mind that the liturgy is something that has been refined and perfected over the centuries, so having a “return to form” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better.

Ecclesiastically-speaking, I would say that the Roman Catholic Church is closer to what is inferred from Scripture and testimony of the early Church Fathers. St. Ignatius and Iranaeus both mention Rome as the head of the Church.
 
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MonasticKnight said:
Really need help.
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Last Sunday, our family converted (& reverted) to Catholicism from Orthodoxy through public acceptance of the Creed.

Universal Jurisdiction of the Pope was made clear in Early Church Father’s writings, like St. John Chyrstostom. I’d recommend a book to you, Jesus, Peter & The Keys by Butler, Dahlgren, Hess. Catholic Answers website’s bookstore also sells a 3 volume set of Church Father’s, I forgot the name, but you should be able to find it with a quick search. I’m in a hurry or else I’d do the search and link it.

Good luck in your search for Truth. Pray more than you study, but definitely do study…lots!
 
For clarity to MonasticKnight, I would like to take the Orthodox Church out of the group that you are making that is not bound by Holy Scripture. We definitely are bound by Holy Scripture as is indicated by all of your Holy and God Bearing Fathers. We believe that the Holy Spirit in union with the Holy Trinity inspired the Holy Scriptures and that they contain God’s revelation to mankind for our Salvation. Nothing comes close to Holy Scripture and it is not merely a teaching tool. It is the Standard, but of course with the Church’s understanding and interpretation that is also inspired by God.
 
The Catholic Church is the one which Jesus founded. Although Scripture doesn’t have the only word on this (as it comes from the Church, not vice versa), if you are truly deep in Scripture, you will see this for yourself.
 
pacloc said:
We definitely are bound by Holy Scripture as is indicated by all of your Holy and God Bearing Fathers.
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I’m using “bound” in a very broad sense here: definitely not independent of scripture (which would, I presume, to be heretical), but the church does not derive its authority from scripture, and the deposit of faith is not limited to scripture.

Certainly no church can defy scripture, or make a Luther-style removal of the portions with which they disagree.
 
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