I’m unable to discern whether Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy is the correct form of Christianity. … Do you not believe there are “deal-breaking” differences between the Latin church and yours? Was there anything in particular that convinced you?
Is Catholicism the “correct form” of Christianity? Yes.
Is Orthodoxy the “correct form” of Christianity? Yes.
Think of both as two brothers born of the same mother, and who therefore share the same family heritage. The brothers have their different personalities, ways of doing things, ways of seeing things, temperaments, etc. And yes, they have their disagreements, as brothers often do. But they are nonetheless brothers in the same household. In this case, the household is the Church (big C).
For myself, a Greek Orthodox who chose to be received into the Greek Catholic Church (which is synonymous with Byzantine Catholic, or Eastern Catholic, etc.), my decision was based on two major factors: 1) language and culture issues, and 2) being enabled to more practically share the Gospel.
In my view, the Orthodox churches here in the United States aren’t very good at effectively sharing the Gospel (and here I emphasize
effectively). In other countries and regions – such as in Greece, Russia, eastern and southeastern Europe, the Middle East, and so on – the Orthodox churches clearly have historical, cultural, and linguistic advantages, and thereby greater effectiveness at sharing the Gospel. Conversely, the Catholic churches have been far more effective here in the United States. In my experience, it can be boiled down to the fact that Catholics more easily integrate themselves into the cultures they evangelize, whereas the Orthodox churches tend to be more tightly encapsulated and become isolated bubbles that concentrate more on sustaining their mother culture (be it Greek, Russian, Slavic, Eastern Mediterranean, etc.) rather than integrating into the larger culture and thereby empowering themselves to share the Gospel more fully.
Where my own perspective and resulting decision was concerned, the Greek Orthodox Church – which I will always love – still remains largely captive to its cultural “Greekness,” and promotes it far more heavily than it should (and with an excess of pride that sometimes becomes disturbing). Don’t get me wrong. The preservation of cultural identity is important, and I particularly feel Greek culture, which includes the Greek language, is an immeasurable treasure that should never be lost. But the devotion to cultural “Greekness” has far too often gotten in the way of the priority of sharing the
universal message of the Gospel, at least here in America. I’ve found this also to be the case in many other Orthodox communities, including the Antiochian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, etc.
There is also the issue of “Orthodox religious hubris” that still afflicts most Orthodox churches (the hierarchies in particular), whereby they still continue to snobbishly pound their chests as they proclaim the superiority of their theological and ecclesial “rightness” over and above all other Christian traditions, particularly the western Catholic tradition. This, in my own experience as an Orthodox Christian, is the number one impediment to achieving a return to full reunion and communion of both “brothers.” This isn’t to say the Catholic Church doesn’t have its own areas of hubris to improve upon. It certainly does. But the Orthodox Church remains far less conciliatory and far less charitable than the Catholic Church in terms of fostering a return to full unity. (This doesn’t even get into the issue of the infighting and fracturing that many Orthodox Churches continue to engage in.)
And so those two major factors – Orthodox cultural encapsulation and religious hubris – are what informed my decision to be received into the Greek Catholic Church. Albeit imperfect, it is a living demonstration of the “unity of East and West” that we all must pray for and seek to fully achieve. But it was ultimately a decision whose foremost objective was to be more fully enabled to effectively share the Gospel here in American society and culture. That is our primary mission as Christians.
So for you, you will have to decide accordingly as your own experience informs you, and as the Holy Spirit moves you. But in the end, it isn’t about any one “correct form” of Christianity, in terms of Catholic or Orthodox. We ultimately must be united to Christ and our mission, and as a result must choose our path in such away that most effectively enables us to bear the light of Christ and fulfill that mission within whatever broader culture we call home.
I can only speak from my own Orthodox experience, and as an Orthodox (and yes, albeit I am Eastern Catholic, I am nonetheless still Orthodox, no matter the retort of nay-sayers who might be inclined to “strain gnats and swallow camels”).
