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Questions And Answers On The Orthodox Faith Orthodoxy & Catholicism
Mark Braun
St. Thomas The Apostle Church
Waldorf, MD The Orthodox and Catholic Churches have the core dogmas of the Christian Church that were articulated by the Seven Ecumenical Councils in common. As you rightly pointed out, the Catholic Church does have Apostolic Succession - the Bishops of the Catholic Church trace their line of succession back to the Apostle Peter. By the nineth century, disagreements between the Churches of the Eastern Part of the Empire and the West (The Church of Rome) began to arise. The chief issue of contention, was the role of the Bishop of Rome in the Universal Church. At the First Ecumenical Council, it was decreed that the Church of Rome would enjoy a primacy of honor, first among equals. It was intended to be a primacy of honor not of authority . This important issue is the greatest source of tension between our two churches today. As Orthodox, we hold dearly to the Apostolic understanding of the Conciliarity of the Church which guarantees a unity of love between the churches which is reflective of the unity of the Holy Trinity. During the scholastic era in the West, the Church of Rome deviated from Orthodoxy in attempting to systemize theology and over-dogmatize in regards to the matters of faith. This is seen in the doctrines of The Immaculate Conception and Papal Infalliability, which are alien to the faith and spirit of the Apostolic Faith. Another issue today is modernism in the worship of the Post Vatican II Catholic Church which is of grave concern to The Orthodox Church. At every Liturgy, we sing in the Orthodox Church: We have seen the true Light, we have received the Heavenly Spirit, we have found the True Faith... Our sung theology, rightly implies that we believe the Orthodox Church to be the True Church, faithful at all times throughout Her 2000+ year history to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Apostles. We can historically trace numerous divergences from the teachings of the Early Church Fathers in the Roman Church. While other Christian groups have maintained many elements of the apostolic faith, we believe that the eternal truth of God's revelation in Jesus Christ is preserved in its full integrity in the living tradition of the Orthodox Church, under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. |
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