Dear Zemo,
"The Church is in fact a republic. If is not, then why did the Apostolic bishops go to ecumenical councils and base their decisions on the vote of the majority?
"Even the Pope is bound by the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils - arrived at by ballot."
That may be the Orthodox view (and even there, I'm not sure I've ever run into any Orthodox who said the Church is a "republic"), but it is not the Catholic view.
In that Mr. Dreher is commenting on the CATHOLIC Church, and not Orthodoxy, it seems irrelevant what Orthodox think the Church is.
sitetest
Church bishops meet, hold a discussion then approve via a vote in the affirmative or negative a matter of church policy. That is very much like a republican system.