The Great Divide: Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism

The Great Divide: Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christianity - an article by Jack Sauer

Introductory Note from Fr. Steven: In our "Orthodox Question & Answer Forum," you will find a fairly lengthy article outlining the major differences between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. One of our parents had posed this question to me recently. Yet, I did not write the response. It was written by one of our parishoners, Jack Sauer. I believe he initially wrote it as a class assignment. I found the article very informative and clearly written. I made only a few minor editorial corrections. What is so impressive about Jack's article is that the fact that he is (only) fourteen years old! In addition to proving that fourteen year olds are capable of spending their time constructively, and can be engaged in their Faith, it simply remains an impressive piece from someone of that age. Congratulations to Jack and may God continue to bless his endeavors to know his Orthodox Faith better! Perhaps we will hear from him again in the future.

For centuries, the Eastern and Western churches were united. They were governed by the same system and shared the same dogma. However, in 1054, the Roman Catholic Church split from the Orthodox Church. Since then, many differences have developed between the two churches. While some of the original Orthodox theology and practice remains present in the Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholicism has adopted many new theological, liturgical, and administrative practices which have subsequently created a great divide.

Theology is the basis of religion. Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism agree on many points of theology. The belief in the Holy Trinity, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin, and the belief in the Second and Glorious Coming of Christ are all taught by both churches. However, the two churches also have three major theological differences.

The first theological difference regards the Procession of the Holy Spirit. According to the Nicene Creed, which is recited in its original form in the Orthodox Church, the Holy Spirit "Éproceeds from the Father." They argue that Scripture states, "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." (John 15:26). This means that the Holy Spirit comes from the Father. However, at the Council of Lyon in 1274 AD, the Roman Catholic Church added what is known as the filioque (Latin for "and the Son") clause to the creed, making the entire phrase read that the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son." It is this form of the creed that is still recited and taught in the Roman Catholic Church. The Orthodox do not accept this change, since no mention of a second Procession is ever made in the Creed and no mention of a second Procession is made in Scripture. The Roman Catholics say that the dogma of a second Procession strengthens the dogma of the Holy Trinity, but the Orthodox argue that it disrupts the Trinity. Obviously the names "Father" and "Son" denote very clear personal distinctions, are in no sense interchangeable, and cannot in any case refer to the common nature of the two entities. Unfortunately the nature of the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father does not have such clear distinctions.

Along with the disagreement over the Procession of the Holy Spirit, there are also discrepancies over the concept of Original Sin. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that every person is born into the sin of Adam and Eve, that all humans carry a hereditary stain because of the sin. It teaches that all humans are guilty of this Original Sin, and Sin is indeed a crime to be punished. They teach that Adam fell from a state of perfection, and as such the Fall is incredibly severe in its consequences. The Orthodox Church believes that Adam did not fall from a great height of knowledge and perfection, but more from a state of spiritually incomplete simplicity. As such, he should not be judged to harshly for this action. The Orthodox teach that Adam turned away from the path of God and set his own will against the Divine will, and that all of his posterity retain his disobedience. In the Orthodox view, humans are born with the sin of Adam and Eve, and we suffer because of this sin, but we are not guilty of this sin. Instead, humans are born with Adam's corruption, mortality, and inclination to sin. Many theological differences have their roots in the disagreements over Original Sin, the most famous of which is the Roman Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Until 1854, the dogma of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches did not differ regarding the Virgin Mary. Catholics had long believed in the Immaculate Conception, but it was never officially a part of the church's dogma until the Pope made a decision on the issue in 1854. Since then, Roman Catholic Church has taught that Mary was born without Original Sin. They say that the only way for Mary to be able to bear Christ was if she was free from sin. The Orthodox do not believe in the Immaculate Conception. They believe that Mary was indeed born with the sin of Adam, that she was born with the propensity to sin but chose not to sin. She is the only human ever to refuse sin, which is why she was able to carry the Son of God.

The third theological difference between Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy is the teaching of Purgatory. Both churches agree that those who have not repented for their sins are condemned to eternal hell. However, the Roman Catholic Church believes in Purgatory, a state or place entered by those who have not made up for their venial, or lesser, sins while on earth. They have to be cleansed by some form of punishment (many Western theologians say by fire) before entering Paradise. There is never any Scriptural reference to Purgatory, and as such Orthodoxy discounts this teaching. The Orthodox instead believe that those who die and are meant to go to heaven pre-enjoy paradise, while those condemned to hell pre-suffer torment. All those who are dead continue to pre-enjoy or pre-suffer until the Second Coming of Christ and the Final Judgment of mankind.

Liturgical practice is another area where the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches share similarities and differences. Both of the churches are liturgical, meaning that they have a certain way that the service should be performed. This is the major similarity that the two churches share that separates them from many other Christian denomiations, such as Evangelicals and Baptists. Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy use the first part of the service, before the Epistle and Gospel readings, to pray for the congregation, the faithful, the clergy, and the departed. This is commonly called the "Liturgy of the People." After the readings, both churches prepare for the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Both Churches believe in the Seven Sacraments: Baptism, Eucharist, Confession, Chrismation, Marriage, Monasticism (Holy Orders), and Unction.

One liturgical difference between the two churches is the Roman Catholic practice of granting a priest the ability to perform more than one Liturgy (Mass) on the same day (and even on the same altar), while Orthodox priests may perform only one Liturgy per day. Also, the Orthodox do not condone changing the Liturgy in any way. They teach that if a priest changes any part of the Liturgy, then he is not proclaiming the true faith and is therefore a heretic. While both the Orthodox Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the Roman Catholic Mass have the same basic structure described above, the Roman Catholic church has a less stringent set of rules for altering the Mass. Since the Second Vatican Council, priests have been allowed to alter the Mass "within reason," and as such, the presentation of a Catholic Mass may differ greatly from one priest to another.

The two churches also have many differences regarding the sacrament of Holy Communion. The Roman Catholic Church uses primarily unleavened bread in the Eucharist, while the Orthodox use leavened bread. This difference is rooted in the fact that the churches use different scriptural timelines to determine what type of bread Christ used at the Last Supper. The Orthodox Church follows the chronology of John's Gospel which places Last Supper on the evening before the beginning of Sabbath and Passover on which fell on Friday evening; Western Christianity on the other hand follows the chronology of the synoptic gospels which places the Last Supper and Passover on the same day. Additionally, in the Orthodox Church, the Body and Blood of Christ are placed in a chalice and the priest alone gives Holy Communion to the Faithful on a spoon, placing the Sacrament into their mouths. The Roman Catholic Church originally administered Holy Communion by having the priest place the Body onto the tongue of the recipient. Since the Second Vatican Council, they have taken to administering Communion by placing it into the hands of the faithful. Also, administering the Sacrament is no longer limited to the priest in Roman Catholicism. Those who have undergone training by the priest may distribute the Eucharist to the faithful. While the original form is considered acceptable, the new Roman Catholic method of administering Holy Communion is not approved of by Orthodoxy. The Orthodox argue that such a method defiles the Sacrament (as a point of fact, the new Catholic distribution method originated in Protestantism, where it was meant to show that the Sacrament is not really the Body and Blood of Christ). Both Catholicism and Orthodoxy believe that the Sacrament is the Body and Blood of Christ, but the Orthodox say that administering such a special Divine gift using the Roman Catholic methods is defiling and not respectful.

The third major liturgical difference regards to the Sacrament of Baptism. The word "baptize" means to immerse something in water, and there are scriptural references to Christ being immersed in the river Jordan by John the Baptist. Therefore, the Orthodox Church administers the Sacrament of Baptism by triple immersion into water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This practice is not only rooted in Scripture, but this is the only method ever mentioned in any ancient liturgy. However, the Roman Catholic Church has taken instead to performing baptism by sprinkling water over the head of the person. Many reasons were given by the Roman Catholics in support of baptism by sprinkling. None, according the Orthodox, justify such an innovation in a sacrament which is basic for the salvation of souls.

There are other smaller liturgical differences, which include:

· The Orthodox fast on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the entire year, abstaining from meat, dairy, wine, oil, and eggs. This was the original practice of the Church. Since the split, however, the Catholics has, over the years, changed to only fasting on Fridays, only from meat, and only during Lent.

· Orthodox do not kneel during the Divine Liturgy on Sunday; Roman Catholics kneel during the preparation of Holy Communion.

· Orthodox have no "Stations of The Cross;" Roman Catholics put the Stations of the Cross (depictions of the Passion of Christ) around their churches.

· Orthodox priests and deacons may marry before ordination; Roman Catholic clergy are celibate.

· Orthodox churches point East, so that the people pray facing the Holy Land. Roman Catholic churches do not necessarily face East.

· There are no orders of Orthodox monks (male and female) as there are among Roman Catholics (Jesuits, Dominicans, Benedictines, Cistericans, etc.). More recently, many Roman Catholic monks and nuns have put away their traditional habits to become more like the laity.

· Orthodox clergy wear beards; Catholic clergy are not required to do so.

Accompanying dissagreements over theology and liturgical practice are controversies regarding the administrative system of the Churches. Before the Split, the two churches were governed by a system in which an Archbishop ruled over a certain area of land, Bishops served under Archbishops, and other clergy served under Bishops. When theological controversies arose, the Bishops and Archbishops convened to discuss the controversies and then make a decision on them. These gatherings are known as the Seven Ecumenical Councils. The Orthodox follow all of the ancient Cannons laid down by the first seven Ecumenical Councils and still use the system of government employed by the old united church. The government of the Catholic Church is totalitarian in nature, with the Pope considered to be the supreme ruler of the church on earth. The Roman Catholic Church regards the Pope as infallible when he makes a decision on a question of faith, even to the extent that he has the power to overrule the Ecumenical Councils. The Orthodox regard the Ecumenical Councils as infallible, and they say, bluntly, that the Pope is only human and cannot possibly have wisdom beyond that of the Ecumenical Councils. The Orthodox view the Pope as a first among equals, but not as the supreme leader of the church.

While the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches share common roots, the passage of time has lead to the evolution of two distinctly different churches. Roman Catholics adopted many new dogmas which were rejected by Orthodoxy, and after many of these occurrences, a great divide formed between the Churches. However, Jesus said, ". . . and there will be one fold, one shepherd" (John 10:16). This prophecy will one day be fulfilled, and the church will unite under the true teachings and word of God. May the Lord Jesus hasten the coming of that day.