Fifth era of Catholic-Orthodox relations
I am not one to think that the reunion of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches are right around the corner. As I see it, relations between East and West have generally fallen into four approximately 500-year-long historical eras:
1) Complete union (0-500 A.D.) – from the time of Christ to Emperor Justinian
2) Weakening union (500-1000 A.D.) – from Justinian to the mutual excommunications
3) Deepening separation (1000-1500 A.D.) – from the mutual excommunications to the Council of Florence
4) Complete separation (1500-2000 A.D.) – from the Council of Florence to Vatican II
Now we are (hopefully) in the era of “deepening union,” which, if the past is any indication, could last 500 years before we could return to a “complete union” again. But every 500 years has to start somewhere, and it does appear that we are living at the beginning of a new era in Catholic-Orthodox relations.
Evidence of this deepening union abound. For example, there have been a number of articles recently on the “alliance” between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church. Relations between these two churches are vitally important for the overall cause of Christian unity, as they are the two largest and most influential Christian churches in the world. Historically, the Russian Orthodox Church has had little interest in ecumenical relations, but recently there seems to be a thaw in their attitude towards the outside world. Specifically, they appear to realize that the restoration of a Christian Europe is only possible by working together with the Catholic Church.
Last week, there was a wonderful cultural exchange when a concert was held in Rome featuring both Russian and Italian music. It was attended by Pope Benedict and Metropolitan Hilarion, the chairman of the Department of External Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate. Both Benedict and Hilarion are accomplished musicians and have worked together in the past – before Benedict became pope.
The destruction of the Christian Faith in Europe has been a terrible thing to behold and has had untold negative consequences. But as usual, God works good out of man’s evil, and one good from the de-Christianization of Europe is the rediscovery of the common beliefs of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. In many ways, I compare it to the “accidental” ecumenical benefits of the pro-life movement here in the United States, as Catholics and Evangelical Protestants worked towards a common goal and realized along the way that they have more in common than just opposition to abortion. Hopefully the common cause of Catholics and Orthodox against the secularization of Europe will have a similar result.
Those of us who are living in this new era are responsible for it truly being an era of “deepening union” and not a continuation of complete separation. Let us all fervently pray that East and West might again be united as one Body in Christ. We may not see that day ourselves, but our prayers can help make it happen one day.
I think you’re right, except that attitudes change alot faster nowadays, I think. We may have union in just a hundred years, or less.
I have followed Many Marian apparitions. Some approved and some still awaiting a final dicision. One of these is the apparition at Garabandal Spain. One of the things mentioned by the visionaries was that communism would come again and occupy Europe. The events leading up to this would all start to happen when the Pope returned from a visit to Russia, Moscow. I have heard that a trip to Moscow from Pope Benedict is no longer a matter of if but when. See this article http://www.topnews.in/popes-first-visit-russia-step-closer-2215254 Being that these apparitions haven’t been approved we don’t know if this is true or not. But I think it is interesting to note that the visionary said communism will come again inferring that it would go away. Who would have thought that a super power as strong as The USSR in the 60′s when the visions happened would go away so quicly. However this is what the visionary who was only between the age of 12-16 said would happen. I think it might be prudent to take a closer look at the apparitions of Garabandal and see what if any merit can be applied to them. If they are truly from the blessed Mother it would be kind of unwise not to heed her warnings. If it isn’t from the blessed Mother their is no harm in looking into them and seeing if we can learn something from them.
I agree with Eric, relations do seem to be warming up. The Church is not meant to be divided. By her nature, she is one and indivisible. Schism has wounded the Church, here children continually and individually return to her in the light of doctrine and in personal, spiritual union. One day that return will be seen in the end to institutional and juridical division.
As for David, there is great harm in “looking into” apparitions that do not belong to the Blessed Mother. Any well-sounding and half-correct “prophecy” may then be attributed to Our Lady. This is a reason the Church seeks to approve apparitions in the first place: that her children may never be drawn astray from the Virgin nor her Divine Son. There is some good to be found in almost every religion, that does not place them on even near-equal footing with the Church in the plan of salvation. We should, I suggest, stay as far away from unapproved apparitions (until some time as they are approved). If the Blessed Mother should wish us to hear her, the Holy Mother Church will recognize her voice. If they attributed to the BVM (as I assume from your post that they are) and they pan out not to be from the Blessed mother, then they are lies or the result of divination and we should have nothing to do with them, “prophetic” or not.
Your article puts the division into an interesting historical perspective, and of course God’s time is not our time, but still, I hope the Churches will reunite during my lifetime!
In the recent article on the Chiesa website, Metropolitan Hilarion, who recently visited Pope Benedict, was in Ravenna, once capitol of the Eastern Christian empire in Italy. Observing in the mosaics of this city “the splendor of a Church in harmony, not yet wounded by the division between East and West”, Hilarion commented that “If this harmony was real for our ancestors, it can be real for us as well. If we are not able to recreate the harmony evoked by the mosaics of Ravenna, the blame will be ours alone.”
One can only hope that the reunification happens soon! I am always reminded of the song, Lord Who At They First Eucharist:
“Lord who at they first Eucharist did pray
That all thy Church might be forever one
Grant us at every Eucharist to say
With longing heart and soul, “Thy will be done.”
O may we all one bread, one body be,
Through this blest Sacrament of Unity
For all thy Church, O Lord, we intercede
Make thou our sad divisions soon to cease;
Draw us the nearer each, to each we plead,
By drawing all to thee, O Prince of Peace
Thus may we all one bread, one body be
Through this blest Sacrament of Unity
We pray thee, too, for wand’rers from thy fold
O bring them back, Good Shepherd of the sheep,
Back to the faith which saints believed of old,
Back to the Church which still that faith doth keep
Soon may we all one bread, one body be,
Through this blest Sacrament of Unity
So Lord, at length when sacraments shall cease,
May we be one with all thy Church above,
One with the saints in one unbroken peace,
ONe with the saints in one unbounded love;
More blessed still in peace and love to be
One with the Trinity in Unity”
But how will this unity come about?
The Orthodox Church can say that the divisions result from the Catholic Church’s abandonment of positions held by all Christians during the first 5 centuries:
1. During the first 5 centuries, all important decisions were made by synods or councils. Later, the Catholic Church decided the pope could make important decisions on his own.
2. During the first 5 centuries, all Christians said (in the Nicene Creed) that the Spirit proceeded from the Father. Later, the Catholic Church added that the Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son.
3. During the first 5 centuries, all Christians celebrated the Eucharist with loaves of bread. Later, the Catholic Church replaced the loaves by wafers.
4. During the first 5 centuries, clerical celibacy was not mandatory. Later, the Catholic Church made it mandatory.
Since it’s the Catholic Church that moved away from the consensus of the first 5 centuries, can’t the Orthodox Church claim with some reason that it’s incumbent upon the Catholic Church to abandon these changes and return to the positions shared by all Christians during the first 5 centuries?
“…reunion of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches [IS] right around the corner”
In response to Archangel,
All of the noted arguments focus on ecclesiastical discipline more than theological divergence. We tend to look at the Eastern adherents of Christianity at the Schism as somehow all as equally united as their Western counterparts are under the Pope. We miss that the Pope holds the same place as each of the other Eastern Patriarch in addition to his universal and immediate jurisdiction. There are many liturgical differences among the Eastern Patriarchates just as there are between then collectively with the West.
#2 is easily reconcilable. The problem wasn’t really the words used inasmuch as the fact that they were added. Many of the orthodox hold the same or completely complementary belief. From the Father comes generation and the Holy Spirit is sent to be the power of the Son on earth. The Filioque was more of an excuse more than real reason for schism.
#3 Loaves of bread are a valid matter for the Eucharist, either form was probably used by the early Christians and a human tradition (as custom) was established differently in East and West. Maintenance of schism with this as its basis will hardly be justifiable.
#4 It is the law of the Latin Church that priestly celibacy be maintained. For their Eastern counterparts, this state is reserved for those who wish to become Bishops and ordained priests are not permitted to marry. Patriarchates have full legislative autonomy and this just happens to fall under “legal” and not “doctrinal” differentiation, once again.
#1 At the time the Pope was recognized as being the first among equals. This one will be a hard one to harmonize, because this one is more than merely administrative. It is dogmatic in every sense of the word. However, the end of division I doubt will be seen as submission. Unity and oneness is best realized in one head. I think as we start to look at the end of schism not as the embrace of two churches or two religions, but as the healing and renewal of the Church on earth, it wont be so hard to accept the ‘otherness.’ I would imagine, in purely political and/or temporal terms that should their have been no such thing as a pope, they would create one after unification. It just seals the deal, like icing on the cake, its why the British still have their Monarch today. There is visible, corporate, and real unity under a real and visible head. Maybe it would help if subsequent popes were selected from eastern rites, as any Catholic man is able to become pope under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
I love the term ‘accidental’ ecumenical bonuses-I would include the Mormon church in this accidental ecumenical benefits.I worked as a UN observer and the Mormons are surprisingly closer to us Catholics on social issues then I ever imagine.
Sorry for taking things off topic but your term and comment in this regard are so true and most definitely the work of GOD. I would have dismissed outright as crazy-any suggestion that I as a catholic had so much in common with a Mormon a mere 6 months ago. The Holy Spirit is working in unusual ways beneath all of this division.
Complete union between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church is not far off. That is what Our Lady meant when she said Russia will be converted. Our Lady also prophesied a Russian invasion of Europe when it doesn’t seem possible. Ukraine is also connected to the Fatima prophecies.
Heaven’s not going to wait 500 yrs. We know this from Fatima.
[...] appear so close to ours (and in many ways are very close to ours). When I mentioned last week that it might take 500 years for Catholic-Orthodox unity to occur, I had a number of people scoff at such pessimism. But the fact remains that unity cannot occur [...]
Pingback by Orthodox leader: Please don’t call the Pope a heretic « Divine Life – A Blog by Eric Sammons — June 1, 2010 @ 9:24 amFOR THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH IN UNIFYING THE DATES OF EASTER
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand (Mk 3:24)
If we, the Body of Christ, are to be one, it can only be in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for we ought to have the words, “Through him, in him and with him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours Almighty Father forever and ever” written in our hearts by now.
Christ, offended, said in a message, “My Kingdom on earth is My Church, and the Eucharist is the Life of My Church, this Church I Myself have given you. I had left you with one Church, but hardly had I left, just barely had I turned back to go to the Father, than you reduced My House to a desolation! You leveled it to the ground! And My flock is straying left and right. For how long am I to drink the Cup of your division? Cup of affliction and devastation!” (Nov 14, 1991 TLIG)
This division, our intolerance with one another, our stubbornness and pride is not according to the Spirit of our Lord. These things prove that Love is missing. We need to fully repent. We need to ask for the grace of the Holy Spirit for a deep repentance. We need a true conversion of the heart, so that the Holy Spirit can lead us to unity, for “It is not just through words that unity among brothers will come, but through the action of the Holy Spirit. Unity will come through humility and love.” (Sep 30, 1993 TLIG)
Easter is the greatest feast we share, yet, it is divided and torn apart as one part of the Body of Christ celebrates His Resurrection, while the other part is entering His Passion. This division massacres daily our Lord’s Body. We see this massacre reflected on the whole earth, as well. “Every Easter season I must drink of the cup of your division since this cup is forced on Me. The more time passes for them to unite the dates of Easter, the more severe their sentence this generation will receive.” (May 31, 1994 TLIG)
Until the Church takes the first step towards unity by UNIFYING THE DATES OF EASTER, we will continue to watch and say, “The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls, never to rise again.” (Is 24:20)
Let us pray for the the Church to be One Body in Christ, glorifying one Lord, with one heart, celebrating His Passion and Resurrection with one mind, on ONE EASTER DATE, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
God bless you Eric Sammons.
I agree with you Eric and in fact the World Council of Churches is working on this with the hope that it will happen in 2012 as per the last meeting in Luvuv Ukraine. So those of you that are sincere and wanting to help this move forward, sign the world wide petition for the Unification of the dates of Easter onedate.org and be part of the voice of the people.
God Bless
Mary Ludwig – Australia
Dare I imagine that in my life time and after two fratricidal world wars the collapse of Communism and Nazism, the genocide of over 6 millions Jews & Gypsies and 75 million murdered under Russian and Chinese communists and the reek of present day Socialist/liberal secularism & mind numbing relativism that the two largest Christian Churchs after 1000 years of separation and acrimony, the Catholic church of 1.4 billion people and the Russian & other Orthodox churches numbering half a billion will be reunited or at least begin the slow process of REUNION. Under Kirill and Benedict 16 it has begun, it can’t come soon enough. That reunion will be the real REVOLUTION of the 20th & 21st centuries.
I humbly believe the process is underway. I am a Roman Catholic converting to Orthodoxy (OCA). I’ve just found out that I will not be received into the Orthodox Church by Chismation as other Christians in my parish will be. Instead, the Bishop told my priest that Roman Catholics may be received by making a good confession and then receiving Eucharist. I’m estatic! This is a huge change!!! In my heart, I believe full communion of East and West is not far off. Praise our Lord, Jesus Christ!