The schism between the Roman Catholic
Church and the Orthodox Church is conventionally dated 1054 when Cardinal
Humbert and two legates of the pope placed a bull of excommunication upon the
altar of the Church of Holy Wisdom at Constantinople (Ware 43), which divided
the then majority of Christians into the former under the pope and the latter
in the Byzantine Empire. The Orthodox Church latter expanded to other places in
the world. At present, the Orthodox Church is composed of four “ancient”
patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem which occupy
a specific position for historical reasons. The head of these patriarchates
bears the title of patriarch, with the Patriarch of Constantinople known as the
“Ecumenical” Patriarch who ranks first in honor in the Orthodox Church (i.e.,
“first among equals”).[1]
There are also ten other fully independent autocephalous churches with the
biggest in Russia.[2] Some of the heads of these
churches also bear the title of patriarch while others are either called
archbishop or metropolitan. In addition, there are several “autonomous” churches
which are self-governing in most respects but are not fully independent. Finally,
there is a large Orthodox “diaspora” in Europe, North and South America, and
Australia which are jurisdictionally belonging to one of the patriarchates or
autocephalous churches, with some of them moving towards self-governance (Ware
5-6).
The Orthodox Church is essentially a
family of self-governing churches which are bound together not under a
centralized hierarchy, but solely by the bond of unity in the faith and
communion in the sacraments. Each patriarchate or autocephalous church, while
independent, is in full agreement with the rest on all matters of doctrine and
in full sacramental communion (Ware 7).
The unity of faith in the Orthodox
Church can be summed up in the word “Tradition”, which means the rich
inheritance received in the past, and their belief in transmitting this inheritance
unimpaired to the future. Among the various components of Tradition, of the
most importance are the Bible, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed and the
doctrinal definitions of the seven Ecumenical Councils,[3]
which are considered something absolute and permanent. The other parts of the
Tradition include writings of the Fathers, definitions by local councils,
canons, service books and liturgical actions, holy icons, etc., which are not
as equally important as the first three (Ware 196). Nevertheless, Tradition in
the Orthodox Church is considered not static but dynamic. While inwardly
unchangeable (for God does not change), it is constantly assuming new forms
under the living discovery of the Holy Spirit, which supplement the old without
changing them (Ware 198). Moreover, to an Orthodox Christian, doctrine cannot
be understood unless it is prayed and lived. Faith and love, theology and life,
are inseparable (Ware 206).
The unity between Christ and His Church
is effected above all through the sacraments. Of particular importance are
Baptism where the new Christian is buried and raised with Christ; and the
Eucharist where members of Christ’s Body, the Church, receive His Body in the
sacrament, thereby creating unity of the Church. The other five sacraments,[4]
though of lesser importance, are also a source of spiritual grace received
through an outward visible sign (Ware 274-275).
The Orthodox Church believes in the
“one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church”, which is part of the Creed. As
mentioned above, members of the Orthodox Church are united by the same faith
and the sacrament of Communion (the Eucharist). Hughes Oliphant Old also said
that “the Church really is so much as the actual celebration of the sacrament
of Communion” (Old and Russell 233); while Letty M. Russell considered “the
Church as a community of Christ, bought with a price, where everyone is
welcome” (Old and Russell 241). While certainly there are similarities between
the Orthodox way and the Old/Russell descriptions of the “one” Church, the
difference lies primarily with the understanding of “communion” under the “one”
Church. Orthodoxy rejects the concept of “inter-communion” between separated
Christian bodies, and admits no form of sacramental fellowship short of full
communion (Ware 310). From another perspective, the Orthodox Church considers
itself to constitute the one true Church, even though it does not preclude
other non-Orthodox Christians to possibly belong to the Church through an
“invisible” bond (Ware 307).
Orthodoxy teaches that every Christian,
created in God’s image, must aim to “become god”, to attain theosis or
“deification” (Ware 230). The process of deification should begin in the
present life and not wait to the Last Day. Go to the church; receive sacraments
regularly; pray to God in spirit and in truth; read the Gospel; and follow the
commandments are ways for Christians to become god (Ware 236). Basically,
Orthodoxy not only believes in an ideal, invisible and heavenly Church, but
also the fact that this “ideal Church” exists visibly on earth as a concrete
reality. This does not mean that Christians on earth do not sin and are
perfect, but the Church on earth is a thing of heaven and cannot sin. There is
no separation between the visible and invisible, between the Church militant
and the Church triumphant, for the two make up a single and continuous reality,
of which Christ is the head. This Church is the icon of the Trinity, the Body
of Christ, and the fullness of the Spirit (Ware 242-243). Such an Orthodoxy understanding
of the “holiness” of the Church, though in some way similar to the Old/Russell’s
description in relation to the sanctification of the Church by the Holy Spirit,
presents a significant difference on the latter’s view of the gradual
transformation of the Church into the holy Church that God intends. According
to Old/Russell, the visible Church on earth should cultivate humility and must
strive for holiness, as none in this life can claim to have attained it (Old
and Russell 238). Moreover, in Russell’s opinion, the intention of holiness
extends far beyond the Church itself, for it is part of God’s purpose in
mending creation by weaving creation together in a bond of love and connection
with the margin of society (Old and Russell 245). And that we are living in the
hope that one day (i.e., not at present) we shall be the Church that God
intends (Old and Russell 254).
As for the catholic mark in the Orthodox
context, it basically refers to the unity of the orthodox faith in its family
of sister churches headed by individual patriarchs, archbishops or
metropolitans. Despite decentralized in structure, the separated communities of
the Orthodox Church can be integrated into Orthodoxy without compromising their
internal autonomy. Orthodoxy desires unity in diversity, not uniformity;
harmony in freedom, not absorption; with all sharing the same faith and
sacraments (Ware 309). On the other hand, besides referring to the orthodoxy of
faith in Christ, which essentially means “the Word truly preached and the sacraments
rightly administered” in the Protestant world, the understanding of catholicity
for Old/Russell also refers to the universality of Christ’s presence in the
whole world. And in interpreting the orthodoxy of faith, Old/Russell is not suggesting
that the right doctrine is to be defined by those who rule over a particular
community, but on the responsibility of churches in all parts of the world to
live out a story of faith that witnesses to God’s love for the world. In other
words, emphasis is put on the “right practice” than the “right belief” of the
communities of the faithful as they seek to be connected to the world around
them (Old and Russell 246). Having said that, the firm belief of the Orthodox
Church that man, in both flesh and spirit, is created in the image of God (Louth
219) draws it closer to Russell’s point that the concern of the Church today is
Christ’s presence among the poor, marginalized and outcast (which is universal)
and stressing the importance of the Church as a sign of justice, since all men
regardless of whether they are rich or poor, influential or unimportant, clever
or idiotic, are made in His image.
Orthodoxy insists upon the hierarchical
structure of the Church, upon the apostolic succession, the episcopate, and the
priesthood (Ware 239). Each local church is constituted by the faithful,
gathered around their bishop and celebrating the Eucharist. The universal
Orthodox Church is constituted by the communion of the heads of the local
churches, i.e., the bishops, with one another, again by the celebration of the
Eucharist (Ware 245). Obviously, the understanding of apostolicity of
Old/Russell in the Protestant world is very different. The apostolic witness is
understood in terms of the quality of life of those who continue to live out
the biblical story of Christ and the apostles in their own time, rather than
the passing on of ordination or commissioning of the apostles through each
generation of leadership. According to Russell, the Church’s apostolic mark is
the sign of participation in God’s mission: traditioning, sending, and
liberating action in the world (Old and Russell 246), particularly among the
underprivileged.
Despite that the bishop of the Orthodox
Church is the divinely appointed teacher of faith, the guardian of the faith is
not the episcopate alone, but the whole people of God, i.e., bishops, clergy
and laity together. In other words, all the people are stewards of the truth,
but it is the bishop’s particular office to proclaim it. According to
Orthodoxy, “infallibility” of the Church belongs to the whole Church, not just
the episcopate in isolation (Ware 250). When this is compared to the Roman Catholic’s
perspective, the role of the Church’s infallibility, as Roch Kereszty suggests,
is to maintain the virginity of the Church to ensure that the integrity of the
Church’s faith can never be fully separated from her immaculate, spotless
holiness. According to Kereszty, it is the Marian character of the Church,
i.e., resembling Mary in her faith in and love of God, to enable the Church to
move ahead on her journey to holiness. The Magisterium, on the other hand, is
an indispensable but not central truth of Catholic ecclesiology. It only serves
as a necessary temporary means to protect and safeguard the virgin Church against
adultery and corruption (Kereszty 389).
Clearly the Orthodox Church also honors
the Blessed Virgin Mary as the most exalted among God’s creatures. She is the
Mother of God, Ever-Virgin and All-Holy (Ware 257). Certainly Mary serves as a
perfect role model for Orthodox Christians to follow as well as a source of
intercession in their process of deification. In this regard, the Marian
character or the “virginity” of the Church is relevant to Orthodoxy as and when
her members strive to safeguard the orthodox faith of the Church in resemblance
to the Mother of God. Despite the existence in differences between the Roman
Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church on the understanding of Church
authority, particularly on the pope’s primacy over the Church as the Vicar of
Christ, the precedence of the Marian character of the Church over her Petrine
character (i.e., the hierarchical authority of the Church) is basically in
agreement between the two in respect of the Church’s infallibility against
error and corruption. This perhaps can draw us closer to full communion one
day. Of course it needs the prayerful support of the whole Church, which
ultimately is always the inspiration of any hope of unity (Ratzinger 89).
Bibliography
Coogan, Michael D. The
New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha.
N.p.: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.
Kereszty, Roch. "The Infallibility of the Church: a
Marian Mystery". Communio:
International Catholic Review 38 (Fall 2011): 374-390.
Louth, Andrew. Introducing Eastern Orthodox Theology.
N.p.: n.p., n.d. Kindle file.
Old, Hughes
Oliphant and Russell, Letty M. “Why Bother with Church? The Church and Its
Worship”. In Essentials of Christian
Theology edited by William C. Placher. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John
Knox, 2003: 221-255.
Ratzinger, Joseph.
Church, Ecumenism, and Politics: New
Endeavors in Ecclesiology. San Francisco: Ignatius, 2008. Print.
Ware, Timothy. The Orthodox Church: Timothy Ware. Harmondsworth:
Penguin, 1963. Kindle file.
[1] Before the schism, the pope ranked first in honor.
[2] These are Russia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Cyprus, Greece,
Poland, Albania, and Czech Lands and Slovakia.
[3] These Ecumenical Councils coincides with the first seven Ecumenical
Councils of the Roman Catholic Church.
[4] The seven sacraments of the Orthodox Church are largely the same as
those of the Roman Catholic Church.
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