What I find insulting is to be told: “Don’t worry, you already agree with me. You just don’t know it!”
I’ve spent lots of time looking through the declarations concerning contentious issues by both Eastern and Western authorities. I couldn’t find a real difference that couldn’t be explained by cultural misunderstandings. I even started a number of posts here asking anyone to prove me wrong in that conclusions, and i don’t feel anyone did. I’m not a theologian, but i am pretty smart and i feel like a have a good understanding of the issues.
So i stand by what i said; the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox (and the Oriental Orthodox, as well) Churches have identical theology in all areas essential to reunion.
I also stand by what I said: most members of both bodies just don’t know that. They’ve been taught “we’re right, they’re wrong” without learning too much about what “they” were wrong about. Thats how I was, and when I started to wonder why and started reading, I didn’t find any differences after all.
What we need is the “perfect storm” of leaders: the right patriarchs at the right time, and we could make some real progress.
John Paul II, whatever one thinks about his policies, helped the cause for reunion a great deal. By being slavic, by celebrating Byzantine Divine Liturgies, by returning relics, and by fighting communism, he did a great deal to bring East and West closer.
Benedict XVI has helped greatly by rededicating the West to the traditional understanding of our faith, which we share a great deal of with the East, and also by his support for the East, symbolized by his visit to Constantinople and his support for Christian minorities under Muslim rule, symbolized by the elevation of Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly to the College of Cardinals.
Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has helped greatly in his willingness to work with the Popes in Rome. The amount of time spent together by Pope Benedict and Patriarch Bartholomew is probably more than any Pope and Patriarch have spent in all the time from the Schism until now added together.
Patriarch Alexei of Moscow was the major “road block” in dialogue between East and West, but in a way he helped, too, because he made sure than any conversations which did take place were truly based on tradition and not wishy-washy ecumenical nonsense, which he rightly realized was a waste of time.
So we have a new Patrirach of Moscow being elected and enthroned in the coming weeks. I think the prospects for reunion in the next 100 years truly rests largely on him.
Benedict and Bartholomew have worked well together. If we receive a Patriarch of Moscow who can work well with these two, we could get some amazing dialogue and progress.
:extrahappy:
Let the OP decide.