Question on Christian Unity for Protestants/Orthodox

[10gr8kids]

I don’t see an agreement on what Christian unity is. People will approach the idea of unity differently.

After reading through this thread, I see what you meant. I would have thought that we can already fellowship and come together to do acts of charity without fighting. Where I live Catholics are very outnumbered and we already do charitable works together. I thought this was normal, maybe not.

When I pray for unity, it is unity in all truths. This will only be achieved through Divine intervention.

 

[aidanbradypop]

After reading through this thread, I see what you meant. I would have thought that we can already fellowship and come together to do acts of charity without fighting. Where I live Catholics are very outnumbered and we already do charitable works together. I thought this was normal, maybe not.

When I pray for unity, it is unity in all truths. This will only be achieved through Divine intervention.

You raised a valid point. For me, we can be united in our Christian faith. Lots of ways for this to happen but I also believe that one should not have to sacrifice beliefs to be united.

 

[Coquelicot]

Sure, but your first comment was very brief, and, given that you’re new here, I don’t know anything about you. The question was designed to tease out some more information.

Since you’re interested in unity with those with whom you share unity of doctrine, and you don’t share absolute unity of doctrine with the rest of the Orthodox, then either you’re not interested in unity with the rest of the Orthodox (which, I would guess, is pretty jolly unlikely) or you’re interested in unity with those with whom you share a certain, significant degree of unity of doctrine, or possibly particular doctrines.

So, are there churches outside of Orthodoxy who are sufficiently close for you to be interested in unity with them, or just individuals, or does it come under the heading of “must share beliefs X, Y, and Z”?

I see. Well, to be more clear: I believe I do share unity of doctrine with the rest of the Orthodox. By doctrine I mean what is authoritative- what the Church has taught must be believed, what is held in the Councils, etc… I don’t expect unity on every theologoumenon, but the essentials as the Orthodox Church has determined them to be essentials: yes.

Anyway, outside of Orthodoxy am I interested in unity with any churches? I guess I’d say sure, of course. I’m interested in unity with anyone who desires to become Orthodox, if by unity we all (in this thread) mean one church with the sharing of sacraments. I don’t think there’s any churches outside of Orthodoxy that are sufficiently close for me to think that we share the same faith and therefore ought to share sacraments as everything stands right now, but as I said earlier- I do hope and pray for the unity of all Christians, as Christ did.

 

[Mystophilus]

the essentials as the Orthodox Church has determined them to be essentials

I didn’t realise the Orthodox had done so. Is there a list which you could point out to me?

 

[Vanez]

Unity could be attempted as enforced conformity, but it would never work, and so the more practical approach would be tolerated diversity, which is manageable but not at all easy.

At present, the Anglican Communion contains churches which celebrate gay marriage and churches which believe that homosexual activity is inherently sinful. We do not “mix doctrines”, but we do (generally) accept that those people over there who believe some very strange things are still Anglicans. We do sometimes have shared services, and we also do that with the Catholics, despite the far-reaching differences between their beliefs and ours.

I have been to a service attended by Anglicans, Catholics, and at least one Orthodox priest: a greater proportion than usual did not go up to the receive the Eucharist, but we all managed to worship together without any wars breaking out or anyone spontaneously bursting into flames.

Thanks for telling me about Anglican churches. I have never stepped into Anglican church and have never met an Anglican in my entire life. But i pray my Jesus prayer on Anglican’s rosary

 

[JonNC]

This is an honest question begging an honest answer.

How open are you to dicussing Christian unity?

What are your thoughts on this topic?

Thanks in advance, and God bless.

Unity is my constant prayer.

I believe unity is possible. It will not happen as a result of compromise, however, as that is a false unity. It will not happen as a result of one side or another relenting or submitting. IT will come as a result of dialogue that, through the Holy Spirit, bring about a convergence of beliefs.

Jon

 

[LutheranScholar]

Okay, are you interested in a partial union with Christians of other denominations, a union which would allow all parties to retain their distinct identity, as in a confederation?

A union? No, I don’t think so. An alliance between the different Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox Churches, would be preferable. When the Southern Confederacy was just getting started during the Civil War, there were issues between the states and their loose central government because the states didn’t want one powerful unifying government like the one that they just left. If there were even a loose union, human nature being what it is, inevitably one of the churches would try to claim hegemony over the others.

 

[Peter_J]

and we would know that it was successful when people were comfortable making sarcastic comments about their own churches in front of the people from *other *churches.

“Hostility has come more from borderline people whether within the Church of England or without it: men not exactly obedient to any communion. This I find curiously consoling. It is at her centre, where her truest children dwell, that each communion is really closest to every other in spirit, if not in doctrine. And this suggests that at the centre of each there is something, or a Someone, who against all divergences of belief, all differences of temperament, all memories of mutual persecution, speaks with the same voice.”
-C.S. Lewis

 

[Peter_J]

(Naturally, I’m tempted to write tons more posts, responding to this that and the other thing. But I’ll resist. )