"The thing is that the Catholic Church isnt' made of separate Churchs in the same way as the Orthodox communion, we are made of separate traditions, but not separate communites/Churchs.
Excellent point! However, the Catholic Church views itself as Western and Eastern. "
This exchange points up a basic difference in ideas about what the Church is. Orthodoxy teaches, along with St. Ignatius of Antioch, that the fullness of the Church is found the local Eucharistic Community, the bishop surrounded by his clergy and flock. National or Patriarchial Churches are Mystically the Church by virtue of their intercommunion with the local communities and all the Patriarchial Churches and National Autocephalous Churches together are similarly , Mystically, the Church by virtue of their intercommunion. It all comes back to the Eucharistic Community at the local level as representing the absolute fullness of the Church, existing within the hierarchial framework established by the Apostles. In theory, all the Patriarchial Sees, National Churches, Metropolitanates and dioceses in the world save one tiny one somewhere could cease to exist and yet the Church, in its fullness would still exist and be not one whit diminished. Which I find incredibly neat!
With my very limited experience, Kolokotronis, I do find this to be the case in the Maronite Catholic Church. The directives followed come from the Patriarch. Granted, the Maronite Patriarch is in full communion with the Magisterium and is also a cardinal in the College of Cardinals (making him papabile). The distinctions are there and are respected.
For my part (and once again, I will remind all that the experience is most limited), our parish falls into one of 2 US eparchys.
To cite an example for our Orthodox brethren of just how this works, allow me to cite the example of the Holy Father declaring this to be the Year of the Eucharist for the entire church. (BTW, our bishop was enthroned in April 2004. Present at his Enthronement Ceremony, was the Papal Nuncio who read the the pope's announcement of Gregory John Mansour as Bishop of the Brooklyn Maronite Eparchy. Bishop Mansour is only the 2nd American born bishop to be named to this post.)
In October 2004, Bishop Mansour issued his "First Pastoral Letter On the Occasion of the Year Dedicated to Jesus Christ in the Eucharist". His beautiful 8 page document ends with the reminder:
"May our Lord find in us a worthy temple for His dwelling, and like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, may we once again "come to know Him in the breaking of the bread" (Luke 24:13)."
This beautiful treatise on the Holy Eucharist is enshrined in a booklet, distributed to all parishioners at the Divine Liturgy. On the back cover of the booklet, Bishop Mansour has enrobed his message in a Maronite context, with these words:
"Fire and Spirit are in the womb of her that bore You; Fire and Spirit are in the river in which You were baptized; fire and Spirit are in our baptism, and in the Bread and the Cup is Fire and Spirit" (St. Ephrem).
I have no idea what the Roman Rite churches in our community have done, under the leadership of Bishp Hubbard, to address this important message, nor do I care. Each week's edition of The Evangelist (the diocesan newspaper) is like a wake up call, in that the articles posted "wake me up" to what I left behind.
The Maronite Catholic Church functions in her own way, subject to the Bishop, who is subject to the Patriarch, who is in turn subject to the Holy Father. One cannot begin to compare the two very distinct approaches in delivery of the same message.
As I am wont to do, I have swerved off onto some tangent, but I expect you have caught the drift and can discern the distinctions that separate an Eastern from a Western Catholic approach to the same dissemination of fundamental truth. Does any of this make sense?
A bishops "owes" his authority to an Apostle who received it from God. Just as the Church was where the apostles were with their flock, so it is with the bishop.
The idea that somehow all the churches make up a Body of Christ in a physical sence, and are akin to our body parts is insane! Compating churches to eyes, finger and hands of one and the same body...no, I am sorry.
We are talking transcendental God, not a circumscribed human! What happened to Orthodox apophatic knowledge? The Holy Spirit is here, there, and everywhere; yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever.
The Church is where the bishop is. The fact that bishops "commune" and defer to each other in honor is a different story altogether.
When we say that the bishops are in communion, it means they share one and the same faith; like drinking out of one and the same cup. Why convolute things? If you teach Trinity and I teach three separate gods we can't be un communion even if we celebrate the Eucharist and everything esle exactly the same way.