Posted by Panayiota on April 17, 2001 at 20:14:44:
In Reply to: Why did Orthodox separate from Catholics? posted by Zaha on April 17, 2001 at 18:25:51:
: Even though my grandpa was Greek Orthodox, I barely know some things about it. Can someone tell me when is it that Orthodox separate from Catholics and which are the main reasons?
: Thanx!
: Zaha
I can help you with this one, Zaha. I'm a Greek who, as an adoptee, was raised as a Polish Catholic. (I know that sounds pretty unique, and it is!) Some of this knowledge goes back to my high school Church History class, which was a very long time ago (!), so I'll do the best I can to remember.
The split between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church is call the "scism." It happened way back in 1054. Anyway, there were several reasons for the split, none of them really of any consequence of creed -- that is, Catholics and Orthodox believe in essentially the very same things. Now remember, this is a Catholic talking... Orthodox may have a different take (like the arguement of who left who... I like to think of it as a split down the middle, and frankly, I wish we were back together).
The biggest reason for the scism was the refusal on the part of the Orthodox to recognize the Pope of Rome as its supreme authority. Instead, their authority, I believe, is the archpatriarch of Constantinople, and I'm not sure he is viewed quite like Catholics view the Pope (that is him being able to decree things to be infaliable).
The lighter issues (that really AREN'T issues so much --just differences):
The use of levened, rather than unlevened bread for the Eucharist
The allowance of married men to become ordained
The way we make the sign of the Cross (Romans do it with the whole hand, and over the chest from left first, than right. Orthodox would say we Romans do it backwards. Also, Orthodox use their two fingers touching their thumb, as a symbol of the Trinity.)
There is a slight difference in our Nicene Creeds -- it comes at the part about the Holy Spirit. Orthodox say he proceeds from the Father THROUGH the Son. Catholics say the Spirit proceeds from the Father AND the Son. Sounds minor, but the theological difference is major to some.
Romans have used statues in the West. Orthodox use icons, or paintings, instead, seeing the statues as bordering on idoltry.
To see that these are much lesser issues, you need to know that Catholicism has within it many "Rites" or "Churches" that we say are in FULL COMMUNION with Rome... that is, they accept the authority of the Pope. This includes the Byzantine Catholic Church, which resembles Orthodoxy in just about every way (with a few minor doctrinal differences). If you walked into a Byzantine Catholic church (such as an Ukrainain Catholic Church), chances areyou wouldn't see the difference between it and an Orthodox church!
I practice as a Roman AND as a Byzantine, which in Catholicism is perfectly acceptable. I love it! It gives me a chance to practice the Romanism I grew up with (and certain parts I really enjoy) AND experience the Eastern Orthodox church and all it's traditions that I feel apart of ethnically! If you want to learn more, I invite you to visit www.byzcath.org! Sorry for the long answer, but yours was a simple and yet complex question! I hope some Orthodox join in on the discussion!