"I didn't know if I could wear a robe, a beard and one of those funny hats! ;O) "
Who says we would have asked you to become a member of the clergy, Harley? :-)
"Where most make a mistake is to assume Reformed theology does not trace back through the western church. It does."
I have to agree with jk on this one -- while there are things in St. Augustine that are very friendly to a Calvinist-style monergism, I don't see even a thread of continuity even within the West. On the other hand, we Orthodox are very fond of most of the great pre-schismatic Western fathers, esp. SS. Ambrose, Hilary, Leo, and Vincent of Lerins.
Well it is interesting how we can read the church fathers differently just as we can read scripture. When I first heard of the Reformed theology I thought it was absurd and couldn't believe that it was ever taught by the Church. I did not study the Reformers for I felt that would taint my view. Instead I went back and read a number of the church fathers, scripture from the Reformed perspective, and studied church history. I was wrong.
The argument that the Reformed theology does not trace back to the early church just isn't believable in my mind simply because that is where I came to my understanding. The Reformers based many of their works upon the church fathers and constantly refers to them. The Orthodox minimizes these works and the Catholics ignores them. This goes back to my earlier argument that people pick and choose what to accept out of tradition to support their own conclusions. But there is a thread of continuity.