Holy Orders in the East and the West
Over at Called to Communion there is a wonderful article by an Eastern Catholic recounting the difference between the Orthodox and Catholic viewpoints on Holy Orders, and noting that this difference convinced him to remain Catholic. It has the very provocative title “I love the Orthodox too much to be Orthodox (or How I learned to stop worrying and love the atomic bomb of Holy Orders)“. It begins:
In a previous blog post, I wrote about the joys and similarities which bind together the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. As tragic as our lack of full communion with one another is, there is a bond which unites us even now while our sacramental reunion is mostly a hope for the future. This bond is so deep in my estimation that it is with much fear and trembling that I write this post. But to be honest to my conscience and to my understanding of the Apostolic Churches that are not in full communion with one another, I must state it loud and state it clear: I love the Orthodox too much to be Orthodox.
This paradoxical statement is not for shock purposes-it is wholly and entirely true. As one who is in communion with Rome via an Eastern Catholic Church, I find this to be an inevitable conclusion.
Some orthodox rebaptize believers? I did not know that. A few years ago, my wife and I thought about Orthodoxy before ultimately leaving the Episcopal/Anglican Church for Catholicism (a reversion for me); if I’d known this, my contemplation of Orthodoxy would have been much shorter.