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Interesting. It is a beautiful faith. The differences seem more cultural than real to me--though denial of the Pope's supremacy is a stumbling-block to unity. All this may be moot if Catholicism continues to collapse into Protestantism as it is now in the process of doing.

It is imperative to examine a critical difference in the general approach to theology taken by the Eastern Orthodox church and Western Christendom. Orthodoxy asserts that there is no way for finite humans to understand or even to think of God as He actually is because He is infinite. In this sense they affirm the neo-Platonic conception that God is completely transcendent and that man is incapable of knowing Him.

You can see why, perhaps, it surprised me, though. Having read this repeatedly, over and over again, that it i disctinctly eastern trait. ( I can provide links if you like).

I will say up front I have not yet read the article. I promise I will, and perhaps revise what I am about to say.

Before the Great Schism there were five patriarchs: Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, and Rome. They were considered co-equal leaders of the Church. Rome was not "more equal" than the rest...they shared in the leadership of the Church. It was only with the growing political power of Rome, and the Roman patriarch, that the patriarch of Rome began to believe that he was the supreme patriarch. There is no justification in Scripture for this, and the Orthodox Church (represented by the other four patriarchs) resented his usurpation of power.

Therefore, the Orthodox Church has no problem denying the supremacy of the Pope...he is the one that broke fellowship with the other four, not the other way around.

It is late, and I don't intend to go any further right now. I hope you receive this in the spirit in which I have intended it - as mere explanation, and not condemnation.

grace and peace to you

All this may be moot if Catholicism continues to collapse into Protestantism as it is now in the process of doing.

An interesting way to look at it, I think. I'm sure you know that some Orthodox see the RC as the first protestants. My opinion is not worth much, of course, but I don't think it is the protestantism of it, the breaking away, that is as significant. Rather, to me, it is the photo of those nuns doing whatever they were doing, in a nutshell. I can't really put it into words any better than this. The clergy at church would say it is the spirit of the worship which concerns me, I think. And many protestants seem to have tremendous holiness in their worship, from my lowly knowledge of it.