"Orthodox rejoice at lifting of excommunications"

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I can only say that is a VERY different reaction than they had at the Orthodox parish that I often attend, but ymmv.

salaam.
 
I have been reading about allot of the positive reactions from the Orthodox on the lifting of the excommunications.
 
larousser said:
What was the reaction you encountered?
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they thought the sspx sounded like a cult, and that the pope would be better off giving that attention/time/effort to the antiochenes since they actually wanted communion with the melkites…and were, on the whole, pretty normal, etc., etc.

that said the parish i attend is not particularly conservative by orthodox standards (think of the old rocor).

but i can think of a wide variety of possible reactions. certainly the one reported in the article makes sense among some orthodox (i am not surprised he was russian). there are some, certainly, who are going to think that the whole thing is crazy since the papacy as it exists is a corruption and perversion, etc., etc. and any group that would want reunion with rome is clearly just as bad. and there are lots of orthodox who think that vatican2 was a stark improvement.

salaam.
 
I think it’s only the ultra-ecumenical types who are disappointed. Why would the Russian Orthodox have a problem ? I’m sure they have more respect, even it’s begrudging, for the hard line Traditionals than the wishy washy liberals who want to apologise for everything, except the bashing of our sacred traditions.
 
Seamus_L said:
I think it’s only the ultra-ecumenical types who are disappointed. Why would the Russian Orthodox have a problem ? I’m sure they have more respect, even it’s begrudging, for the hard line Traditionals than the wishy washy liberals who want to apologise for everything, except the bashing of our sacred traditions.
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Indeed. In fact, it was my understanding (read it “somewhere” ya know) that the Orthodox were watching closely how the Vatican handled the SSPX situation. I can see why. The Russians and other Orthodox are very mistrustful as to how their legitimate traditions will be treated by Rome. They watch closely how an internal matter is settled to indicate how their larger issues may be handled in the future.

I have an acquaintance who is a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), a group of bishops, priests, and laity who broke away from the “mother church” in Russia in the aftermath of the Communist revolution over a number of doctrinal and disciplinary issues, including ecumenism and Church-state relations. In doing so, they created a canonically irregular situation which has intriguing parallels to the relationship of the Society of St. Pius X to the Roman Catholic Church.

Several years ago my friend mentioned that ROCOR was in negotiations with the mother church in Russia. “Do you think you can achieve reunion?”, I asked. “I hope so,” was his reply. The answer surprised me, for Fr. John had always spoken sternly, if not harshly, about the mother church in Russia. I had gotten the impression that reunion wasn’t much of a priority for him. “Our people are scared,” he said in answer to my query, “The Russian Church has met most of our demands and so now people are wondering whether they are still in the Church at all. Our reasons for existing are going away.” (And, in fact, since then they have reconciled.)

Again, the parallels are remarkable. May God grant that the outcome be the same.
 
Just a side note, the ROCOR is now known as ROA (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad) and is in full communion with the Patriarch of Moscow and all the other canonical churches within Orthodoxy as of 2008 I believe.
 
I totally agree that the Orthodox are watching closely. But they are not all watching closely for the same reasons.

I am not sure what “ultra-ecumenical” means in the Orthodox context:rolleyes: …but the Orthodox who want communion with their Catholic sister churches from whom they are now separated are not going to view the reproachment with the SSPX as a positive sign since the ecclesiology and vision of the Church represented by that group would make communion between Melkites and Antiochenes more difficult. Vatican2 was seen as a very positive step by most of those groups. *.

Just, btw, I suspect the reaction would be different than the one I experienced in an Antiochene parish that was more dominated by converts from Evangelicalism too. But that is not the demographic makeup of the parish I know, nor do I have much experience with those parishes. The parish I know is mostly cradle-Orthodox.

It is easy for the Moscow Patriarch on the other hand, or members of the old ROCOR, to see this as a positive move because they have no vaguely-near-term interest whatsoever in communion with Rome or some Eastern Catholic Church to which they are related (in fact Moscow is working its butt off to make sure such a communion does not come to fruition in the Ukraine). They see Rome, then, as securing a cultural boundary against modernity spit on the ground here. I think the same thing can be said about the Orthodox Jewish Rabbi who spoke out in favor of Rome mending fences with the SSPX. They are looking for practical allies in a culture war, not doctrinal commonality.

And this is why you will see a range of reactions from within Orthodoxy, I suspect.

I recognize that everything I am reporting is anecdotal, but so is the report of one French-Russian priest. It is just my suspicion that the range of responses are fairly broad, and depend on which Orthodox group you poll.

salaam.

p.s. 2007 is the correct date for the ROCOR returning to communion with their Patriarch. And it was a wonderful day. Ya Salaam!*
 
lol, I saw the title and though the Chinese bishops who were excommunicated yesterday were back in good standing due to some string pulling by the Orthodox 😃
 
The link in the OP does not work. Would someone please summarize what the article said?
 
Badaliyyah said:
I can only say that is a VERY different reaction than they had at the Orthodox parish that I often attend, but ymmv.

salaam.
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If you are Catholic why would you attend an Orthodox Church?

Also why do some Orthodox seem so exclusionary and clanish compared to the Catholic Church which is so poen and conciliatory towards the Orthodox. It seems like being pissed off is a hobby for them or something.
 
Badaliyyah said:
I am not sure what “ultra-ecumenical” means in the Orthodox context:rolleyes: …but the Orthodox who want communion with their Catholic sister churches from whom they are now separated are not going to view the reproachment with the SSPX as a positive sign since the ecclesiology and vision of the Church represented by that group would make communion between Melkites and Antiochenes more difficult. Vatican2 was seen as a very positive step by most of those groups.
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Can you substantiate those claims? I seriously doubt it.
 
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