Orthodoxy is IMPOSSIBLE to understand by reading (or Internet exchanges) alone. That is because of its radical incarnational nature. The only way to begin to understand Orthodoxy is by experiencing Orthodox worship. And there are English-language Orthodox churches all over the place, so that you can worship in your own language, rather than Greek, Slavonic, Arabic, Romanian, etc.
It was St. Athanasius who first said, "God became man so that man might become God". He is a Western saint, too. Martin Luther also taught that Christians become united with Christ through grace (see "The Freedom of the Christian Man"). But his various misunderstandings of how close or how far away the early Lutheran movement was from Orthodoxy (which he called "the Greek church") could be explained by his not ever experiencing Orthodox worship. However, that was not his fault, since there were no Orthodox communities in his area, and he was hemmed in by the ban of the Empire and the Roman church. Moreover, the Turk separated him from the Orthodox as well.
It was left to the second generation of Lutheran reformers to make contact with the Orthodox, but that is a whole other long story...
Much love to you, HS, haven't seen you much here lately. Hope things are going great for you and wishing you the peace from above.
" That is because of its radical incarnational nature.'
Please point us in the direction of material that will help understand that phrase. It is very compelling language, but understanding is necessary.
I think that Catholicism is also radically incarnational. We are a sacramental people whose whole basis for understanding ourselves and the world is through the incarnation itself. This is not to exclude Orthodoxy, of course. It is highly mystical, and I am sure that it must be experienced to be appreciated. The same is true, however, of solemn Catholic liturgies, not the ones that are all too conventional these days in the West. United to the Western (Latin) Rite are the Eastern Rite Churches. The late Holy Father called them the other lung of the Catholic Church, whose emphasis on experiencing the Lord through the solemn mystical liturgy is something that we should all seek. There is a rich tradition of mysticism in the Catholic Church, and I think that it is here that Catholics and Orthodox have so much in common. But I do have a deep and abiding admiriation for Orthodoxy. It is so solemn and liturgically rich. I am sure that we Catholics need to respond more to the example given us by the Churches of the East.