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" An aversion to brotherly communion is ... a bad sign."

This response is why I phrased the question the way I did, purposely staying away from a definition of the Church which would make any distinctions among Christians in the sense of who is in communion with whom. But in fairness, and recognizing that both Rome and Orthodoxy hold to the position that there is no salvation outside the Church (by the way, that may not mean what it appears to mean), it must be said that this particular concept of communion is very important to determining who is Orthodox, who is Roman Catholic and who is not. Intercommunion, sharing the communion cup at the Divine Liturgy, for the Orthodox at least, is the ultimate expression of unity of Faith and praxis. In part this arises out of our understanding of the nature of the Eucharist (Real Presence), but also because it is in fact the Eucharist around which our communities exist. because it is a symbol of unity of the community, intercommunion with anyone who is not Orthodox, including the Romans, for us would be hypocrisy, because it would pretend to a unity of Faith and praxis which in fact does not exist. The Romans, as I understand it and dsc please correct me if I am wrong, take a rather broader view and would, for example, allow me to receive communion from one of their priests. This is because Rome focuses more on the validity of the sacraments and less on the symbolism of them in this regard than we do. This difference in mindset is indicative of the different ways by which Rome and the Orthodox East approach the Faith. None of what I have said, however, should be taken to mean that Orthodoxy does not believe that there is grace in other confessions of Christianity. Absolutely Orthodoxy does. Indeed, because all human beings are created in the image and likeness of God, Orthodoxy believes that at some level, God's grace exists in all people. Christian or otherwise. What that means in terms of salvation is a matter for God.