Orthodoxy and Catholicism

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Giga1992

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I am Orthodox, and was wondering what the Catholic position on the Orthodox Church is. Can anybody tell me?
 
Giga1992 said:
I am Orthodox
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That doesn’t tell us quite enough to answer your question. There are several churches who use the term “Orthodox.”

Are you a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church under the leadership of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (Bartholomew I)?
 
I like a lot about the Orthodox! 🙂

You may also want to read a couple things, like Chapter III of Vatican II’s Decree on Ecumenism which talks about the Eastern Church.

There is also an article by the late Fr. Richard Neuhaus that is very optimistic about Catholic and Orthodox relations. You can see that article here.
 
Giga1992 said:
I am Orthodox, and was wondering what the Catholic position on the Orthodox Church is. Can anybody tell me?
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The Catholic Church sees the Orthodox Church as having valid sacraments and apostolic succession.
 
I believe that you are allowed to receive Holy Communion at a Catholic Church, and vice versa (although I’ve been told the Orthodox wouldn’t allow it).

There has, for some time now, been a committee studying reunification of the Church. They have made some headway, I understand. But I heard an Orthodox priest say the biggest challenge would be cultural on the part of the Orthodox. I dunno. I think that with God, everything is possible. 🙂
 
DavidFilmer said:
That doesn’t tell us quite enough to answer your question. There are several churches who use the term “Orthodox.”

Are you a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church under the leadership of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (Bartholomew I)?
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Just to clarify, we do not believe His All-Holiness is the head of the Orthodox Church; we believe Christ is. The Patriarchate of Constantinople is not really analogous to Rome for the RCC.

In Christ,
Andrew
 
Yea, we consider the Patriarch of Constantinople to be the First among Equals, just as the Pope was prior to 1054. We recognize no head of the Church other than Christ. Anyway, to be more specific, I am Russian Orthodox, and our “leader” (I don’t like using the term, because our leader is Christ) is Patriarch Kyril.
 
Giga1992 said:
Yea, we consider the Patriarch of Constantinople to be the First among Equals, just as the Pope was prior to 1054. We recognize no head of the Church other than Christ. Anyway, to be more specific, I am Russian Orthodox, and our “leader” (I don’t like using the term, because our leader is Christ) is Patriarch Kyril.
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The Catholic Church recognizes the Orthodox Churches as having valid apostolic succession and sacraments. The Orthodox Churches are properly termed Churches-- as opposed to those groups that do not have valid apostolic succession and are termed ecclesial communities.

The Catholic Church views the Orthodox Churches as being in schism in relation to the Catholic Church. (And, yes, the Orthodox see it as the other way around… 🙂 )
 
What do you mean? And yes, to answer a previous question, it is the Orthodox Church that prohibits taking communion at Catholic churches, and prohibits Catholics from taking communion at Orthodox churches.
 
Giga1992: What it basically boils down to is that the Catholic Church considers the Orthodox to be essentially Catholic (orthodox) in Faith, but erring in ecclesiology. It is somewhat like the situation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate.

Most older Orthodox Saints are considered Saints by the Catholic Church, and our Eastern Catholic Churches often celebrate the same Feast days for them. So, from the Catholic side at least, the divide is not considered nearly as great as it is from the Orthodox side.

Peace and God bless!
 
I see, thank you very much for that. I have been wondering for a while now.
 
I actually advise against reading the works of James Likoudis on this topic. He is very polemical, and doesn’t always represent the full Catholic perspective on the issue. He certainly doesn’t represent the perspective of Eastern Catholics, and is often at odds with us.

Peace and God bless!
 
Giga1992 said:
I am Orthodox, and was wondering what the Catholic position on the Orthodox Church is. Can anybody tell me?
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We look forward to eventual reunification with you!

For example, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

**838 **“The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter.” Those “who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church.” With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound “that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord’s Eucharist.”
 
Giga1992 said:
What do you mean? And yes, to answer a previous question, it is the Orthodox Church that prohibits taking communion at Catholic churches, and prohibits Catholics from taking communion at Orthodox churches.
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Not exactly correct.

The Catholic Church permits Catholics to receive at Orthodox Churches in the event of an emergency or if a Catholic Church is not available in the reasonable vicinity.

Whether the Orthodox priest will be receptive to giving communion to a Catholic is less certain as you suggest.
 
Ghosty said:
Giga1992: What it basically boils down to is that the Catholic Church considers the Orthodox to be essentially Catholic (orthodox) in Faith, but erring in ecclesiology. It is somewhat like the situation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate.

Most older Orthodox Saints are considered Saints by the Catholic Church, and our Eastern Catholic Churches often celebrate the same Feast days for them. So, from the Catholic side at least, the divide is not considered nearly as great as it is from the Orthodox side.

Peace and God bless!
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I don;t think that what is said here is correct. I beleive that the E. Orthodox Church teaches that the Catholic Church has erred on various issues such as the filioque, the Immaculate Conception, the infallibility of the Pope, the doctrine of original sin, and in fact, some Orthodox go so far as to deny the validity of the Catholic Sacraments, including Baptism. So there are serious differences and I don’t see why these should be glossed over by saying that the E. Orthodox Church is essentially Catholic. Also from the Catholic point of view, the Orthodox are wrong in allowing divorce and remarriage and in allowing artificial contraception. Further, I don;t know if the Catholic Church accepts all of the E. Orthodox saints, for example, St. Photius. And the E. Orthodox certainly do not accept some of the Catholic saints, for example, Saint Josephat.
 
Ghosty said:
I actually advise against reading the works of James Likoudis on this topic. He is very polemical, and doesn’t always represent the full Catholic perspective on the issue. He certainly doesn’t represent the perspective of Eastern Catholics, and is often at odds with us.

Peace and God bless!
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I thought that he was a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church at one time? How is he at odds with you?
 
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