The Various Orthodox Churches

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Whatever.

What is important to read is this:
usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/ecumenical-and-interreligious/ecumenical/orthodox/filioque-church-dividing-issue-english.cfm

Learned people are over this. It is time for others to get over it too.
That’s a rather unenlightened attitude. Siecienski is a learned person, and his monograph on the filioque controversy is excellent. Why would you attempt to dissuade anybody who is interested in learning more from reading a very thorough treatment of the topic? The usccb document just doesn’t cut it for those who are interested in more than just getting their feet wet.
 
Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox are closer to reunion than are Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics.
In 1054, rather than trying to solve their differences peacefully, a Roman Catholic papal legate Humbertus, left a letter of excommunication on the altar of the Orthodox Church, the Hagia Sophia. Some of the reasons given for the excommunication were:

Married Orthodox clergy.
They did not add the filioque to the creed: " cut off the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Son;"
" they grow the hair on their head and beards, they will not receive in communion those who tonsure their hair and shave their beards following the decreed practice of the Roman Church."
This is only half the story and one sided
 
Whatever.

What is important to read is this:
usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/ecumenical-and-interreligious/ecumenical/orthodox/filioque-church-dividing-issue-english.cfm

Learned people are over this. It is time for others to get over it too.
Keep try-harding. The statement you provided clearly states at the end that further discussion on the theology of the matter is needed, which Siecienski’s book provides. It’s obvious you didn’t even bother reading your own link that you provided. Otherwise you would have realized that it still remains a big theological issue for discussion, as its conclusion states. This does makes sense as to why you might be so dismissive of a neutral book on the issue since it might be too long for you.
The Internet mavens are also tiny minority, with far lass theological training. As to who ignores what - Crete will be illuminating. .
Says the internet maven who doesn’t like reading.
 
Perhaps.
But the OO are separated from the EO by the findings of an ecumenical council on the matter of a Christological heresy. There has been no such finding that separates the EO and CC. I suppose that the EO can always repudiate Chalcedon, but then what is left of the Church of the seven councils?
That’s a historically ignorant statement. Chalcedon didn’t just happen and then boom there was a schism. It took over a century after the council. And the fact of the matter is that much of the misunderstanding was due to linguistic barriers in theology. OO Christology isn’t monophysite and there is a growing consensus is that it is Orthodox.

Meanwhile, you won’t find an Orthodox theologian who professes the Filioque as Catholics understand it. At best, they might regard it as theologoumena.
 
Some of it has and at the same presents other issues I’d like to know about. Does this mean that the infamous “filioque dispute” is meaningless now? Do the Greek Orthodox Churches throughout the world recite their Liturgies in Greek?

With regards to the Pope, did the phrase “first among equals” come the West or East? Do the Eastern Churches (be they Catholic, Orthodox, Oriental, etc.) have any sort of figurehead equivalent to the Pope? Does the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople have any kind of special authority within the Eastern Orthodox Church, or does he act more or less as a spokesman for the Church?

If it’s a mere misunderstanding preventing Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy from reuniting, what’s stopping them? Is there more to it than that?
The Eastern Orthodox have what you call a conciliar form of government to help serve them. The Chutch of Rome operates on a first principal type of government. These two types of government is one of the main reasons why they will not reconcile. No one is going to give up their type of government for the other. You must understand that under a conciliar type of government which the Orthodox have been using for this past 2000 years they are not going to change it just because the Church of Rome says so. A conciliar type of government tends to give another missionary Church time to develop before giving it its maturity if you want to say to run its own affairs. For instance the Church of Constantinople would grant the Church of Russia its own affairs to run itself once it has achieved the status to do so. This is vastly different in how government is run in the Roman Catholic Church where the first principal type of government is always directed from the Vatican. There are advantages in either types of government and there are disadvantages. The disadvantages in the Eastern Orthodox conciliar type of government is now seen in the diaspora of its people for instance in North America where there is no central authority to govern all the Eastern Orthodox. This is now the present delimna which the Eastern Orthodox are facing. A first principal type of government would never have this type of problem. Perhaps if the Eastern Orthodox look towards the model government which is now serving the Church of Rome they would understand why a first principal type of government has its benefits and to try to adopt this type of government to help serve them as well. The advantages of a conciliar type of government is how government is shared. Yet even in a conciliar model which the Orthodox has each Orthodox juridisction has the same rights to govern itself just like the Church of Rome so that in effect you have too many people in charge in the Concilar model in the general sense instead of just one. The Eastern Church has too many bosses in the general sense. The problem though in the first principal type of government is that as it is being developed too much power can be seen in one person so that disagreements such as the Protestant reformers had would take effect. This is not the case now in the Church of Rome where it’s Papacy has arrive to deliver the best type of service.
 
Just coming into this thread with one goal in mind, to try, once again, to understand why it is all other non-Catholic, pre-reformation, churches are not in communion with each other. Something that has perplexed this simple mind for a long time.

Forget the Filioque and the Latin Church. One of the questions in the OP dealt with inner communion with all other apostolic communions, which is why i started into this thread.

I cant for the life of me understand how arguing over the pope’s jurisdiction or wording in the creed continues to hide the elephant in the room, that is, communion among ALL others. How does “dropping the Filioque” from one communion solve an issue in other communions? How does removing certain authority from one communion resolve authority issues in other communions?

I understand the debates are needed, at least those debates that are kind, unlike some on here that are beginning to seem uncharitable, but if the Catholic church was completely removed from the face of the earth, using hyperbole here, how are all these same issues that are being discussed solved? Is the existance of the Catholic church preventing this?

Peace!!!
 
Just coming into this thread with one goal in mind, to try, once again, to understand why it is all other non-Catholic, pre-reformation, churches are not in communion with each other. Something that has perplexed this simple mind for a long time.

Forget the Filioque and the Latin Church. One of the questions in the OP dealt with inner communion with all other apostolic communions, which is why i started into this thread.

I cant for the life of me understand how arguing over the pope’s jurisdiction or wording in the creed continues to hide the elephant in the room, that is, communion among ALL others. How does “dropping the Filioque” from one communion solve an issue in other communions? How does removing certain authority from one communion resolve authority issues in other communions?

I understand the debates are needed, at least those debates that are kind, unlike some on here that are beginning to seem uncharitable, but if the Catholic church was completely removed from the face of the earth, using hyperbole here, how are all these same issues that are being discussed solved? Is the existance of the Catholic church preventing this?

Peace!!!
It has mostly to do with chronology of history. The EO and Catholic split happened much much later than the splits between EO/Catholics and OO or even the Nestorians and the EO/OO/Catholics. Due to the nature of the Filioque’s development, the Filioque never was a part of discussion with the OO, Nestorians, etc. because they went their own way long before it developed into an issue. So for them, just as much with the EO, they find it objectionable on much the same grounds.

Strictly speaking the EO issue with the papacy is not so much an authority issue than it is a theological issue. EO could feasibly agree to a pope so long as they form a constitution and create the said office. What EO dispute is the Catholic theological claim that the office of the papacy was divinely sanctioned by Christ.
 
A. Edward Siecienski is Eastern Orthodox
If we were to exclude work done by people on account of their religious persuasions, we’d have hardly any scholarship left but for a few figures like Runciman.
 
If we were to exclude work done by people on account of their religious persuasions, we’d have hardly any scholarship left but for a few figures like Runciman.
I’m just saying its a bit ambitious to claim the work is neutral knowing the religious disposition of the author. It will obviously affect the outcome of his work. To what degree is debatable but we can’t seriously call it neutral or else writings of James Likoudis can be called neutral too since we must ignore his religious affiliation.

I’m not saying the work isn’t worth the read but I’m saying that his outcomes should be considered in light of his religion. We can’t pretend he isn’t Eastern Orthodox and then by that pretense, call his work neutral. It obviously isn’t.
 
A. Edward Siecienski is Eastern Orthodox
Doesn’t matter. It is neutral. I don’t dismiss books by Catholics or necessarily consider them biased by virtue of their religious affiliation. Now I might be suspicious, but that by no means necessitates a conclusion.
 
It has mostly to do with chronology of history. The EO and Catholic split happened much much later than the splits between EO/Catholics and OO or even the Nestorians and the EO/OO/Catholics. Due to the nature of the Filioque’s development, the Filioque never was a part of discussion with the OO, Nestorians, etc. because they went their own way long before it developed into an issue. So for them, just as much with the EO, they find it objectionable on much the same grounds.
This is modern stance of the Oriental Orthodox churches due to the influence of the Eastern Orthodox on them during ecumenical discussions

Historical point of note - During the Council of Florence, among the Orientals (Armenians, Copts, Syriacs, Ethiopians, indians), only the Syriac Orthodox representative is recorded to have expressed a theological ambivalence about the filioque, though subsequently affirmed the faith of the Church of Rome on the matter after it was explained to him.

The Assyrian Church of the east representative at Florence never had a problem with the the Filioque either. In fact to this day I don’t have knowledge of any objection from the ACoE to the Filioque. Many times it has been said the CC and ACoE hold the same faith and that The only thin holding us back from communion is the papacy (or more accurately how the Patriatch of the ACoE will still maintain his autonomy).
Strictly speaking the EO issue with the papacy is not so much an authority issue than it is a theological issue. EO could feasibly agree to a pope so long as they form a constitution and create the said office. What EO dispute is the Catholic theological claim that the office of the papacy was divinely sanctioned by Christ.
I think it’s both. Even the theological issue was put aside, the Eastern Orthodox habitually claim the Pope is supposed to have a mere primacy of honour with no authority. Look at the Russian Orthodox explanation of primacy to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
 
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Doesn’t matter. It is neutral. I don’t dismiss books by Catholics or necessarily consider them biased by virtue of their religious affiliation. Now I might be suspicious, but that by no means necessitates a conclusion.
It definitely isn’t neutral.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t a good work. Two different concepts.
 
-]/-]

It definitely isn’t neutral.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t a good work. Two different concepts.
Yes, it is neutral. He doesn’t rail against either side of the issue and sticks strictly with the history of the doctrine. He doesn’t discuss the merits or demerits of either position. I’ve read the book. Have you read the book?
 
I think it’s both. Even the theological issue was put aside, the Eastern Orthodox habitually claim the Pope is supposed to have a mere primacy of honour with no authority. Look at the Russian Orthodox explanation of primacy to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
That’s a mistaken understanding of the Russian Orthodox explanation of the primacy. Moscow clearly indicates that the EP has authority, but objects to some of its claims regarding that the EP claims that only it can grant autocephaly. Furthermore, there is great concern over the presumed runner up for the EP throne, Metropolitan Elidophoros Lambriniadis, who claims that the EP is the “first without equals.”

Additionally, EO accord the EP with authority specific to a presidential-like office, but compared to the papacy it is severely limited. To claim that this means the EP has no authority in EO is mistaken and false.
 
Yes, it is neutral. He doesn’t rail against either side of the issue and sticks strictly with the history of the doctrine. He doesn’t discuss the merits or demerits of either position. I’ve read the book. Have you read the book?
Look even interpretation of evidence is affected by your dispotion on the issue concerned. To deny this is to live in a vacuum. Reality however knows no neutral. That is a fact.
 
That’s a mistaken understanding of the Russian Orthodox explanation of the primacy. Moscow clearly indicates that the EP has authority, but objects to some of its claims regarding that the EP claims that only it can grant autocephaly. Furthermore, there is great concern over the presumed runner up for the EP throne, Metropolitan Elidophoros Lambriniadis, who claims that the EP is the “first without equals.”

Additionally, EO accord the EP with authority specific to a presidential-like office, but compared to the papacy it is severely limited. To claim that this means the EP has no authority in EO is mistaken and false.
He has no authority. The mere right of hearing appeals and a few subtle things he has constituted no real authority.

More importantly the primacy itself is devoid of authority. The supposed minor proven ages of the EP are granted not by virtue of his primacy because accordingly they can be taken away. So the primacy itself is devoid of authority in EO where are in Catholicism it entails authority. The issue (between the CC and EO) thus includes authority.
 
Look even interpretation of evidence is affected by your dispotion on the issue concerned. To deny this is to live in a vacuum. Reality however knows no neutral. That is a fact.
Your not making sense.

Sounds like post-modernism to me, whereby objective truth is simply an illusion. Everyone has dispositions, but if these dispositions necessitate a warped outcome, then it is impossible to arrive at an objective truth. Now someone of your position might claim that it comes close to the objective truth. However, logically speaking such a position necessitates having knowledge of the full objective truth for comparison to the so-called “biased truth.” Otherwise, how could one say that it is close to the objective truth? But then, how can one ever come to know the objective truth in order to compare to the “biased truth”? The rational simply doesn’t hold up.

Listen, I’m not denying that people have personal interests that could affect the outcome of their opinions or research. What I’m denying is that these personal interests necessarily make a work biased. Under your framework, for example, a man’s opinion on abortion, no matter how well reasoned it might be, is already impugned to some degree by virtue of him being a man and not a woman. The logic is very tribal and facile. Additionally, you’re making a rod for your own beating by pro-choicers, etc.

In the end, if you want to declare a work biased, then you must point specifically to some portion of Siecienski’s book where his religious affiliation quite clearly leads to a warped or erroneous conclusion. Otherwise, you have no case.
 
I’m just saying its a bit ambitious to claim the work is neutral knowing the religious disposition of the author. It will obviously affect the outcome of his work. To what degree is debatable but we can’t seriously call it neutral or else writings of James Likoudis can be called neutral too since we must ignore his religious affiliation.

I’m not saying the work isn’t worth the read but I’m saying that his outcomes should be considered in light of his religion. We can’t pretend he isn’t Eastern Orthodox and then by that pretense, call his work neutral. It obviously isn’t.
Specifically, what part of the book shows bias or non-neutrality?
 
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