There's a awful lot of different Catholic and Orthodox denominations listed on that page.
Yes, there are.
I wasn't talking about numbers. I was talking about theology.
To this day there isn't a Protestant alive who can tell me the THEOLOGICAL difference between, say, Episcopalian and Lutheran. But, the ones I speak with don't take umbrage. They simply don't KNOW the theological difference between the denominations. End of story.
Yes, there are a lot of Orthodox Catholics. When Rome chose LATIN as the language of the Church, the Greek speakers weren't terribly happy about it. Words are important. During the 1960's the pope then declared that the Mass could be said in the vernacular. It wasn't long before most of the Orthodox churches of the world reunited with Rome. The Russian Orthodoxy did NOT.
I was in Serbia this year and went to Mass in Belgrade. I could only understand "Jesu Christus" (or something very similar) and "Amen" in Serbian. I thought it would be SOMEthing like Russian. But, no, it was TOTALLY different.
http://newchristendom.blogspot.com/2012/10/orthodox-catholic-reunion-what-will-it.html
THINGS ORTHODOX AND CATHOLICS DO NOT NEED TO AGREE ON FOR REUNION:
#1. Beards. Get over it. No sane Jesus loving Christian would prevent reunion because of such a triviality.
#2. Celibate priests. This is not a matter of dogma for Catholics, but merely the practice of the Latin rite and not even the eastern rite Catholics such as the Maronites. And Orthodoxy would not need to change to accept this practice, they would merely need to allow some (Latin rite) Catholics to continue this practice. And the fact that Orthodox priests may not remarry, and that their bishops may not be married shows that they understand the Latin reasoning to a degree, and should be able to respect and tolerate the Latin Rite on this discipline.
#3. Charisms of religious orders. Some Orthodox criticize Catholic piety for having different religious orders with different callings, unlike the Orthodox who have a more singular vision of what religious life should be like.
#4. Leavened or unleavened bread.
#5. Statues in the round vs. icons only.
#6. Different types of miracles. (Orthodox saints do not have stigmata, while some other miracles seem to only happen to Orthodox or Eastern Catholic saints, such as miracles of uncreated light appearing). Either way, let's agree that we both have holy ones who have miracles, and not disrespect the other side for it's differences.
#7. Differences of devotional practices. This one actually get's me steamed up a little. I have heard Catholics roundly criticized by Orthodox for praying the Rosary or Stations of the Cross. Generally the critique is that prayer focusing on events is not spiritual enough, and the Orthodox are soooo much more spiritual in how they pray. This kind of attitude is toxic for everyone who touches it. Both sides have deep histories of very intense types of prayer, and getting into a spitting contest here is just petty. In defense of the Orthodox critics on this topic, I have often found that they have wrong information about Catholic practices anyway.
#8. Calendar issues. Fact: There are three calendars in use among Orthodox churches who are in communion with each other: Julian, Revised Julian, and Gregorian. This fact should be the end of the discussion if this issue is brought up in the context of reunion. It is currently a controversy in Orthodoxy, and it can continue to be a controversy in a reunited Church.
#9. Orthodox crabbing about "proselytizing" in "their lands". Give me a break. If I, as a Catholic, lived in a majority Orthodox country (in Eastern Europe or Russia), I would need to go to a Church in communion with the pope. It is as simple as that. The presence of Catholic Churches in these areas is totally legit, and Orthodox need to get over it. Was the way they got there in some cases not a good way? Perhaps. But the fact is that Catholics who wish to receive the Eucharist from priests in communion with the Apostolic See need somewhere to go. And the fact that Orthodox have churches in America and elsewhere shows that they do the same thing the Catholics have done, yet the Catholics don't gripe one bit about it. I am just fine with there being an Orthodox diocese in my area. Let's each make our case and let people decide which team is right. These a just a few things that it will not take to achieve unity. Unfortunately, that are often the ones most discussed as if they really are an impediment to unity. Anyone have any other items to add to the list?