Posted on 02/25/2015 6:11:56 AM PST by BlatherNaut
Yesterday, on February 23, it was reported that Pope Francis formally declared Gregory of Narek to be a Doctor of the Universal Church. Gregory of Narek was an Armenian priest, monk, and poet who is greatly revered by Armenians but virtually unknown otherwise. So far as I can tell, he is the first and only non-Catholic among only 36 doctors of the Church. He lived and died in the bosom of a schismatic jurisdiction, and he was most likely an adherent of the Miaphysite heresy. Traditionally, a Doctor of the Church is chosen only among recognized Catholic saints.
Is this a problem? Well, the words of the Catholic Encyclopedia are somewhat consoling:
“It is not in any way an ‘ex cathedra’ decision, nor does it even amount to a declaration that no error is to be found in the teaching of the Doctor. It is, indeed, well known that the very greatest of them are not wholly immune from error.”
And yet, and yet …. this is setting a potentially disastrous precedent. Gregory of Narek may have been a man of extraordinary sanctity; he may have been a great teacher; and it may be a laudable thing that his works become known to the larger Christian world outside of the Armenian community. But if a man is declared a “Doctor of the Universal Church”, the faithful have the right to assume that he is, at the very least, a Catholic. Furthermore, as Ann Barnhardt drives home, granting this title to a non-Catholic Armenian priest sends an unmistakable message to all the faithful: heresies that amount to attacks on the First Commandment are no big deal; heresy itself is no big deal; and schism is no big deal.
At this point in this sorry pontificate, given what we know about Pope Francis and his many expressions of religious indifferentism, it is safe to assume that he has an ulterior motive. Bypassing what must be dozens if not hundreds of qualified orthodox Catholics (Dom Prosper Gueranger is already de facto a doctor of this stature), Pope Francis instead chose an obscure mystic who died in schism and presumably held to the heresy of his co-religionists at the time. Why this choice? Let me make a little prediction: By this act, Pope Francis is preparing the faithful for the canonization of the first non-Catholic “Catholic” “saint”. Anyone care to guess who that might be?
What does that have to do with this discussion? The issue is doctrinal.
The discussion mentions Miaphysitism.
However, I will leave you to argue doctrine among yourselves.
have a nice day.
You’re right that their salvation is not the issue of this discussion, but it is interesting that the 21 who died believed the same doctrine as our new “doctor of the church”.
yeah.... they were posted between when I wrote and when I posted...
Oh come on...they were posted well before you did.
COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON 451
Ecumenical IV (against the Monophysites)
Definition of the Two Natures of Christ *
148 Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all teach that with one accord we confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in human nature, truly God and the same with a rational soul and a body truly man, consubstantial with the Father according to divinity, and consubstantial with us according to human nature, like unto us in all things except sin, [cf. Heb. 4:15]; indeed born of the Father before the ages according to divine nature, but in the last days the same born of the virgin Mary, Mother of God according to human nature; for us and for our deliverance, one and the same Christ only begotten Son, our Lord, acknowledged in two natures,’ without mingling, without change, indivisibly, undividedly, the distinction of the natures nowhere removed on account of the union but rather the peculiarity of each nature being kept, and uniting in one person and substance, not divided or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son only begotten God Word, Lord Jesus Christ, just as from the beginning the prophets taught about Him and the Lord Jesus Himself taught us, and the creed of our fathers has handed down to us.
Therefore, since these have been arranged by us with all possible care and diligence, the holy and ecumenical synod has declared that no one is allowed to profess or in any case to write up or to compose or to devise or to teach others a different faith.
http://www.catecheticsonline.com/SourcesofDogma2.php
Miaphysitism (sometimes called henophysitism) is the Christology of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Miaphysitism holds that in the one person of Jesus Christ, Divinity and Humanity are united in one “nature” (”physis”), the two being united without separation, without confusion, and without alteration.
Miaphysitism has often been considered by Chalcedonian Christians to be a form of monophysitism, but the Oriental Orthodox Churches themselves reject this characterization, a position which the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches have begun to take more seriously.
http://orthodoxwiki.org/Miaphysitism
No, really... I’m at work, and I write only when I’m waiting for a program to execute. So there can be a considerable lapse between when I start and finish writing even a brief post.
OK...so do you still think the OP was “silly”?
No! You wrote, “what’s silly is that you posted this before reading subsequent posts that explained quite clearly the status of the church that “St” Gregory was a member of at the time he was alive.” And I agreed.
My apologies. I see you wrote “yeah....” in that first post to me. I thought it was a sarcastic yeah.
IF this is accurate, the Armenian Church ordains women as deacons and permits divorce and remarriage.
Women in the Armenian Church[edit]
The Armenian Church does not ordain women to the priesthood.[28] Historically, however, monastic women have been ordained as deacons within a convent environment.[29] While they are truly ordained, these women deacons do not minister in traditional parish churches or cathedrals to lay worshippers.[30]
Women are generally not allowed at the altar of the Armenian church, although in practice exceptions are made to allow for altar girls and lay readers, especially when a parish is so small that not enough boys or men are regularly available to serve.
Women commonly serve the church in the choir and at the organ, on parish councils, as volunteers for church events, fundraisers, and Sunday schools, as supporters through Women’s Guilds, and as staff members in church offices.
In the case of a married priest (Der Hayr), the wife of the priest generally plays an active role in the parish and is addressed by the title Yeretzgin.
In limited circumstances, the Armenian Church allows for divorce and remarriage.[citation needed] Cases usually include either adultery or apostasy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Apostolic_Church#Comparison_to_other_churches
Hmmm.....perhaps this non-Catholic faux doctor of the church declaration has more to do with ordaining women and allowing divorced and remarried to receive communion? I mean, “St” Gregory of Narek believed it!
That would be my guess.
It’s just too incredible to believe that anyone on FR would ever cede a point, huh? ;-)
When the subject is communio in sacris in the Orthodox Church your mileage is likely to vary a bit. A lot depends on who is approaching for communion and in which jurisdiction it’s happening. In some parts of the Middle East EO’s and OO’s have been taking communion in each others’ parishes for centuries and nobody bats an eye. Here in the US there is a more or less informal tolerance among the big three jurisdictions, those being the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), and the Antiochians.
But it’s not universal. I am 99% sure that the Russians and the Serbians don’t go for it. And I am also pretty sure that the Jerusalem Patriarchate doesn’t, although their presence here in the States is pretty thin. The JP has had notoriously chilly relations with the OO’s over disputes about access to the various shrines in the Holy land. And of course there is no concelebration among the clergy.
As for Catholics, the doctrinal differences are much more profound and Catholics are not normally communed by us. I have a hard time in this country imaging a situation where a Catholic might be in danger of death and the only priest available was Orthodox. But I suppose that given a true case of in articulo mortis we would hear confession and give communion. At least I would hope so. File that under the heading of Oikonomia.
The only exception that I am aware of, is among Maronite Catholics in Lebanon and that tragic country we used to call Syria. For cultural reasons that seem to trump doctrine, the local Orthodox and Maronite Catholics have been quietly intercommuning since forever. But again there is no concelbration among the clergy.
I'm not surprised. I'm told the penance of choice among the Russians is kneeling on beans for a week or so. Greeks and Arabs don't do that. We're the fun division of Orthodoxy!
LOL! Well, I will admit that the Greek parish I currently attend is not quite so tightly wound as the OCA (Russian tradition) I came into the Church through. No kneeling on beams that I recall. But the Greek fasting calendar seems to have more wine and oil days.
On the other had just about every Russian priest I’ve ever heard express an opinion on the subject has been very adamant that “Beer is not wine!” :-)
“No kneeling on beams that I recall. But the Greek fasting calendar seems to have more wine and oil days.”
Yeah...don’t be fooled. That’s just for the poor Xenoi who don’t know any better!
LOL. Yeah.... ;-)
In my earlier post I was referring to divorced and remarried, but it is important to note that yes, generally speaking, the Orthodox do not allow Catholics to communicate in their churches. And I happen to agree with their stance.
On the contrary, JPII’s 1983 Code of Canon Law now allows Orthodox to receive communion in Catholic churches. Yet another post-Vatican II change that goes against the Traditional Catholic Faith.
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