The Pope and Christian Unity (Teachings of the Orthodox Church) Christianity. Orthodoxy. Catholicism. Sense of life. Articles for Christians.
“I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.                “You shall have no other gods before me.                “You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.                “You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.                “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.                “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.                “You shall not murder.                “You shall not commit adultery.                “You shall not steal.                “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.                “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
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The Pope and Christian Unity (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)
   

QUESTION:

I was raised in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. For the past 4 years I have attended a Roman Catholic Church. I found the people in the Orthodox Church to worship Ukraine more then God. I believe within the Catholic Church there is more unity, love, and worship. I believe that Romanians, Carpatho-Russians, Russians, etc. have the same problems.

The Bible states that Christ said to Peter, "on this rock I shall build my church". Why do we refuse to accept the Pope and work together to glorify God. Why must we see others faults first and seek unity second.

ANSWER:

A thorough examination of the "On This Rock" passage of Scripture is far beyond the scope of an e-mail, as it involves a variety of interpretations, theological perspectives, and historic realities which would comprise a veritable volume to discuss and debate. I can state, however, that the Orthodox view and attitude of the Roman Papacy is not a matter of refusing to accept the authority of the Pope but, rather, a matter of historic reality. The bottom line is that, during its 2000 year existence, the Orthodox Church had not been subject to the administrative authority of the Pope of Rome, and this is borne out in the extant decrees of the early Church councils. These councils, while acknowledging the Pope as the "first among equals," in no way envision the Bishop of Rome's "primacy of honor" as a "supremacy of jurisdiction." The papal claims to supremacy are of much later origin, and there are many who would argue that such claims have done far more damage to the unity of Christendom than anything else. [If one looks at the hundreds upon hundreds of Protestant groups that grew out of Roman Catholicism -- there is little parallel here within Orthodox Christianity -- one might also question the papacy as a point of unity.

While Orthodox Christians do indeed pray and hope for "the unity of all," and while it is unfortunately that there are some Orthodox Christians who are less than charitable in addressing non-Orthodox confessions, the fact remains that the unity one seeks must be a genuine unity rooted in Jesus Christ as the Great Archpastor and High Priest, as Saint Paul writes, and not in an administrative "Vicar."

I might suggest that you reconsider your experience of the Orthodox Church by visiting other parishes, speaking with other Orthodox Christians, and opening yourself to the possibility that the experience you had, obviously in a specific parish, is not necessarily the experience of the Orthodox Church as a whole. I my own parish I have faithful of every possible ethnic background. Many of them hold their ethnic roots in high esteem, but none of them, including the immigrants, put their ethnic roots before their Orthodoxy. By the same token I have personally visited Catholic communities, both of the Latin and Byzantine Rite, in which the ethnic flavor is as heavy as it sometimes is in some Orthodox congregations.

God bless you, and I hope this helps -- or at least gives you a somewhat different framework in which to evaluate your experiences.







Published in January 2011.









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