“The issue that my bride ran into (and I think it is common on Catholicism) is that the laity have very limited recourse in situations like this.”
That is one of the main, let us say practical, differences between Orthodox and Latin ecclesiology.
One of the things that has always fascinated me is the split of ecclesiology that happened after the Western Empire fell apart and my ancestors wandered in to pick up the pieces.
The East had a strong Empire during this time frame, though the Church was present outside its borders as well. The West had no real Empire till Charlamange decided to play lets pretend, so the Pope could consolidate power easily.
I often wonder what might have happened has Belisarus been successful in retaking and then holding the Roman West. The germanic tribes coming in were not all opposed to the Empire, many had served in it and quite a few had risen in the ranks to positions of respect and power.
Would the West’s ecclesiology gone the path similar to Russian Orthodox? Was a form of Papal supremacy going to happen because of the language barrier no matter what? Just things of which I amuse myself with.