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To: kosta50
Until such a Council meets, we have agreed and the Pope has been instrumental in this, along with a general movement towards Patristic mindset in the Western Church, to concentrate on our common theology (which is 99%) and leave the difficult issues that divide us still to a future Council which, by the way, cannot take place until the role and scope of papacy is agreed upon (under current discussion between the two particular Churches).

Thank you for your whole answer. Please forgive my ignorance, but is there one man who is the head of your Church? If such a future Council were to be called, who would be contacted on your side to set it up, and who would participate on both sides?

3,416 posted on 03/10/2006 1:37:24 AM PST by Forest Keeper
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To: Forest Keeper
Please forgive my ignorance, but is there one man who is the head of your Church?

The only head of the Church is our Lord Jesus Christ. On earth, the Church is where the bishop is, the clergy and laity. Each individual church is a full Body of Christ (i.e. represents fullness of faith and sacraments). This is the original Church organization.

A bishop is an Apostolic minister, whose spiritual authority can be traced by direct lineage to one of the twelve Apostles. Bishops who share the same faith (theology) are in communion with each other.

One of them is given the honor of being their spokesman and a chosen spokesman and representative of their communion, who is considered "first among equals," or "first in love" but not in authority; he has no legal authority over other bishops.

Ecclesisastical, theological and other church matters are decided by a synod or council of bishops, with the "first among equals" having the same vote as others. He has some privileges such as to convene a Synod, and he presides over a Synod, and his words are taken with reverence because of his role, and so on.

Orthodox Church is a group of "self-headed" (autocephalous) Orthodox Churches, each headed by a Patriarch or an archbishop. A patriarch is first among equals in a local (usually national) Church. Some national churches have what is known as Metropolitan in Slavic and Archimandrite in Greek churches -- basically an archbishop. The fourteen patriarchs are in communion with the Bishop of Constantinople, and together with him form a Synod of the Orthodox Church. He represents the Orthodox world, but is not the "leader" of the Orthodox Christians as he is often portrayed in the western media.

Hope this helps.

3,419 posted on 03/10/2006 3:46:17 AM PST by kosta50 (Eastern Orthodoxy is pure Christianity)
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