“As a general proposition and over the past few years, Orthodoxy and the Latin Church have arrived at a point where it has been determined that it is destructive of potential harmony for either side to seek to convert the other.”
Yes, very true. The Late Patriarch of Moscow, Alexei II was on record as saying there would never be communion between East and West so long as the Church of Rome sought to proselytize in Russia.
“...the Synod in Antioch very recently did some rather substantial “harumph”ing” on this very subject, in which +Philip joined.”
Well aware on my end of the Byzantine intrigue to which H.E. +Philip has treated both his Archdiocese AND the Holy Synod in Antioch. My family and I began the process of conversion about 6 weeks before the Feb 24 bomb went off. In my own opinion, it comes down to Philetism on the part of a small group of old-country priests in the Midwest. And the Laity have fought back pretty hard about the whole deal, as they have throughout Church history when the Hierarchy got something wrong. The Latins have one thing right for sure in all this: mandatory clerical retirement at 75 (and Cardinals lose their vote for Pope at 80).
“As a catachumen...”
{cue the commercial bumper of “Dark Shadows” here as the trump card is played} Dumm-duhhhmmm-DAAAAAAAAAUUUUUMMMMM!!!!
Please tell me you didn’t mean that as snottily or elitist as it sounded. Because if it was, you just lost my personal deference to your “wisdom.”
“In my own opinion, it comes down to Philetism on the part of a small group of old-country priests in the Midwest.”
Really? One of the reasons that we will not see an autocephallous American Orthodox Church in our lifetimes is that there are some persons, very loud persons, in the churches of the various jurisdictions, virtually all relatively recent converts, who really think they know Orthodoxy and Orthopraxis better than the Patriarchial Synods and that their Western, American very, very protestant praxis and phronema is superior to the 2000 year old praxis of The Church in the East. The Synods and most of the laity and monastics and lower clergy disagree, thank God!
“Please tell me you didn’t mean that as snottily or elitist as it sounded. Because if it was, you just lost my personal deference to your “wisdom.””
I meant it as instruction and correction to a catechumen. What effect that has on your opinion of me is entirely your affair, Yudan.