A man could be orthodox on every question, yet be lost.
That is true, for St James tells us clearly that faith without works is dead. But that does not give any man permission to be unorthodox.
Eastern Orthodox
8 articles from the existing collection.
Does the Catholic Church recognise the Greek Orthodox Church as part of itself?
No. As a matter of fact there is no one Greek Orthodox Church. There are many independent Greek Churches. They originated by rebellion against the Catholic Church in the ninth century, and have split up into many different allegiances. As long as they refuse to submit to the authority of the Catholic Church they are as much outs…
Have not the Patriarchs of the Orthodox Church admitted our Orders?
Firstly, there is no such thing as a united Orthodox Church. Nor can the admissions of one or two sections of that Church be quoted as the universal judgment of the Greek Church. Secondly, the Greek Bishops do not claim infallibility. They may say, “This is our opinion,” but they cannot add, “And our opinion is certainly true.” …
Are there not Oriental Churches united to the Catholic Church, yet without the law of celibacy?
Yes. They have been exempted from the law obliging all Priests of the Latin Rite. The Church has tolerated the ancient custom of marriage in those Eastern Churches which have sought re-union with her, allowing married men to be ordained amongst them, though marriage subsequent to ordination is forbidden. But in the Western Latin…
Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, refused the title of universal Bishop himself, and blamed John the Faster of Constantinople for his presumption in claiming such a title!
Gregory was Pope, and knew that he was Pope. Far from refusing the title, he showed that he was universal Bishop by excommunicating John the Faster, over whom he could not have had such jurisdiction had he not the privilege of being universal Bishop. In his 21st Epistle Gregory writes, “As to what they say of the Church of Chris…
Does not every Bishop swear to persecute and oppose all heretics, schismatics, and rebels against the Pope?
The Latin word persequor does not mean the same thing as the English word “persecute.” It means that the Bishop must vigilantly watch against the inroads of heresy, and that he will enforce in his diocese and amongst his Catholic subjects the laws preserving them from heresy, schism, or rebellion. Every Bishop swears that he wil…
Are not the Greek Churches Apostolic?
No. The mere fact that they are in schism involves secession from the Church of the Apostles, and a direct violation of the constitution of the Church. Prior to their secession the Greeks admitted the absolute necessity of union in die bond of Apostolic authority. The early Greek ecclesiastical writers afford sufficient evidence…
How does the Greek Church differ from the Catholic Church?
The Greek Churches are both schismatical and heretical. They are separated from the obedience due to the authority of Christ in His true Church. They acknowledge no infallible head. They may retain valid orders and the Mass—things which Protestantism lost—but they have fallen into errors concerning the Holy Trinity, the Immacula…