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To: eastsider
The Orthodox generally do not discuss "validity" in the Western sense. The important question for the Orthodox is unity of faith. Thus, for example, in the 1890's an entire diocese of the (Nestorian) Church of the East entered the Orthodox Church by virtue of a confession of the Orthodox faith by its bishop.

At the time when St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, New Martyr of the Bolshevik Yoke was Archbishop of Alaska and All-North-America, there were extensive talks between him and the (Anglo-catholic) Bishop Grafton of Fond du Lac. There was sufficient agreement between the two bishops that St. Tikhon referred the question of the Orthodoxy of the Anglican liturgy as set forth in the BCP to the Holy Synod of Moscow. They proposed several changes, all of which were minor, except for the addition the eclepsis, the prayer invoking the Holy Spirit to cause the elements to be the Body and Blood of Christ.

Of course, Anglicanism itself does not have unity of faith. I think it conceivable that one of the Continuing Anglican bodies which has dropped the filoque might at some future time be able to join the Orthodox Church (the main problem in one case seems to be the uncanonical practice of allowing married bishops). I suspect, following the precedent of the ex-Nestorian diocese, there might well be no conditional baptism, ordinations or consecrations involved.

31,151 posted on 02/28/2002 4:56:07 PM PST by The_Reader_David
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To: The_Reader_David
the (Anglo-catholic) Bishop Grafton of Fond du Lac.

One of the long-running jokes in the formerly Episcopal Church was that Fon du Lac, properly translated, means "fond of lace." Yes, angelo, that's the same Fon du Lac.

31,184 posted on 03/01/2002 5:03:17 AM PST by trad_anglican
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