How do Catholics View Orthodox Christians ?

Catholics and Orthodox both claim the SAME Apostolic Succession. IOW, both churches orders are recognized and considered valid by both. They trace their Succession through the same Apostles, and were up until 1058 (?) the same Church. The Orthodox even recognize the validity of the Successor of Peter, but only up to the point of him being 'first among equals'. I'm really still not sure how this differs from the Catholic view of the Pope, but I haven't really made a study of it. *shrug* I have hope that eventually the schism can be healed, but until then we are still 'sister' churches.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but can't Orthodox receive the Eucharist in Catholic Mass, and vice versa?

To my knowledge, both Orthodox and Catholics are allow to partake in each other's Eucharist, since both groups acknowledge the same Apostolic Succession origin.

God bless!

-Jason

1054 and can partake in the others communion only if that is all that is available.

The Catholic Church allows Orthodox Christians to partake of Communion, and allows Catholics to take Communion at an Orthodox Church if there is not a Catholic Church nearby. The Orthodox Church differs a little, as it varies depending upon who you talk to if they will allow a Catholic to partake of Communion. I believe it varies from eparchy to eparchy depending upon the decision of the metropolitan.

The differences between the Orthodox and Catholic faith are not as great as they might appear to some, the different views on Original Sin and the Papacy being the roots of most of them.

The differing terminology regarding Original Sin makes it difficult for an Orthodox Christian to accept say, the Immaculate Conception of Mary, because in their view Original Sin is not so much a stain, as the entrance of death into the world. Thus we do not share the guilt of Adam's sin, only the penalty for it; death. To an Orthodox, then, Mary was nothing special because they believe we are all born free from every stain of sin. Note, though: I do not believe this has been dogmatically proclaimed, so dialouge in this area could prove fruitful.

The issue with the Papacy is similarly vague. They viewed the Pope as the Patriarch of the West and the greatest among equals of the Bishops of the Church: Primacy of Honor, but not Jurisdiction (which the Pope claims). After the Great Schism, this place fell to the Patriarch of Constantinople. Again, the Orthodox have no dogmatically defined ecclesiology, so there remain a great many possibilities for dialouge between the two Churches on this issue.

I believe there will be a reunification, and within the last few weeks, steps have been taken in that direction. Squalid Wanderer and brewmama, why don't you drop your opinions here, too.

God Bless,

Neal

P.S. It's good to see you here again, Missy.

The guidelines for those receiving Communion in a Catholic Church are listed in the back of the missal. Orthodox are allowed to receive Communion in a Catholic Church.

I view them as a sister church as they preserve the Seven Sacraments, believe in the Communion of Saints, believe in the Real Presence, pray for the dead (they just don't call it Purgatory) and believe in Apostolic Succession. The Eastern Orthodox have a great love for the Theotokus and, IMHO, venerate her more than the Catholic Church does.

There are two Orthodox churches in my area. One day I'm going to go visit one of them to see what the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom looks like.

Originally posted by jukesk9
There are two Orthodox churches in my area. One day I'm going to go visit one of them to see what the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom looks like.

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It's beautiful.  EWTN broadcasted one a while back.  I really do admire the Eastern Liturgies.

pax: the Chrysostom liturgy is beautifl and LONG. The Liturgy of St James is also interesting Its wonderful to be able to see how different and yet how the same these services are

I just saw this thread, or I would have answered sooner. I concur with most everything said, except that the Greek , Antiochian, and Russian churches I am familiar with will not allow a non-Orthodox to partake of communion; this includes Roman Catholics. Perhaps some other jurisdictions are different. From what I have seen, the national churches are not particularly interested in reuniting with Rome, although I think that in America this may be different. There is still some bad blood over the 4th Crusade.
As for myself, I am an ardent admirer of the current Bishop of Rome and his attempts to re-unite. I pray that one day it will happen.

Another point I wasn't clear about, isshenwhat, is what you said about Mary not being something special to us. I guess you mean that we don't have the IC doctrine? You're right about the difference in original sin, but we regard Mary as pure and spotless too, and certainly venerate her. We also regard her to have assumed into Heaven, although it's more a tradition than a doctrine. I have some beautiful icons of the Theotokos!

The liturgy is indeed beautiful and inspiring, but be prepared not to take the Eucharist, although you can go forward for a blessing and piece of fellowship bread. Also be prepared for a lot of standing, and not much kneeling, (except during Lent when there are a lot of prostrations)
Since Pascha is usually celebrated on a different day than Western Easter, you could visit a lot during Holy Week, it would blow you away!

You also should know that there are some Orthodox Churches that are Western Rite, and use either the Tikhon Liturgy (very similar to the old Anglican liturgy) or the Gregorian Liturgy- both in English. The service is much more traditional for Westerners, and will put you in mind of the pre-Vatican II mass, except no Latin.
If the church is ethnic ( Greek or Russian for example) than be prepared for a lot of non-English! Unless it's mostly converts, which is a lot of churches nowadays.

brewmama is correct. As far as I know, the Orthodox Church would not reciprocate Catholicism open communion.

It has to do with ecclesiology. While Orthodoxy isn't strictly Cyprianic, it is closer to that view than Catholicism in its understanding of the sacraments and how they relate to the Church.

isshinwhat was correct in identifying Hamartiology (theology relating to sin), and the Papacy, which touches upon matters of ecclesiology, to be two of the largest sticking points, as well as their Pneumatology regarding the filioque, although I have found Roman Catholic explication of this to be satisfactorily orthodox, even if I do disagree with the manner in which it was formally accepted into the creed (again relating back to the Papacy).

I recently finished some intense discussions with a few Catholics from another forum as well as James Likoudis, a well known convert from Orthodoxy to Catholicism, over a Cyprianic proposal for a compromise ecclesiology. The results were that Catholicism was unable to make any sort of compromise and that any reunion for Catholicism and Orthodoxy will have to come on Catholicisms own terms. I do not see Orthodoxy making a complete capitulation to Catholic ecclesiology and thus I cannot see reunification in the near future.

If any are interested in the above discussion, I can supply them with the results.

Another point I wasn't clear about, isshenwhat, is what you said about Mary not being something special to us. I guess you mean that we don't have the IC doctrine? You're right about the difference in original sin, but we regard Mary as pure and spotless too, and certainly venerate her. We also regard her to have assumed into Heaven, although it's more a tradition than a doctrine. I have some beautiful icons of the Theotokos!

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I meant that she wasn't special in regards to her birth only, brewmama. I appreciate the traditions of the Orthodox regarding the Blessed Virgin, and apologize for not making myself clearer. I find it interesting that the Orthodox do not really differ on the meaning of the IC, but rather the need to proclaim it because of the differing concepts of Original Sin.

Squalid... Could you perhaps PM me or start a new thread explaining for me in detail why the Orthodox will not, in most cases, reciprocate inter-Communion since the mutual excommunications were lifted. Thank you in advance.

Neal

According to the Catholic Church, Orthodox Christians may receive communion in the Catholic Church. However, Orthodox Christians are not permitted to participate.

Why not?

Here is a good article on the topic. I would post the url, but I'm such a Newbie that I can't. It explains the topic much better than I ever could.

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Holy Communion and the Church
Can we(Orthodox) receive Holy Communion in a Roman Catholic Church?
by Rev. Dr. Stanley S. Harakas

There is a very close relationship between Holy Communion and the Church. Baptism, Chrismation, and Holy Communion define us as members of the Church. In Baptism we die and are resurrected with Christ to a new existence, what Saint Paul calls a "new creation." He said, "Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17) As soon as we are baptized, we are chrismated, that is, we are anointed with the "seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit," and with that we assume our place as laypersons in the Church. Immediately following that, we manifest our membership in Christ and the Church by receiving Holy Communion.

Through Holy Communion we are not only united with Christ by receiving His Body and Blood, but also with all the other members of the membership in the Body of Christ, the Church. Saint Paul put it this way: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread." (1 Corinthians 10:16)

The next step to understand is that one of the ways the Church disciplines its members for violations of the Christian way of life is to "excommunicate" a member, for either a limited, life-long or permanent time. Excommunication means that the member may not receive Holy Communion. A person who has sinned grievously, for example, may be prohibited from receiving Holy Communion for a year or more. A person who has entered into a marriage outside the Church is prohibited from receiving Holy Communion until his or her situation is regularized in some way. A person who is a schismatic—having separated himself from the canonical Bishop—or who has been condemned for holding and promoting false teachings may be excommunicated per-manently. That is, the person is no longer a member of the Orthodox Church.

This same practice occurs when groups, large or small, separate themselves from the Church. This occurs when there is a division, such as occured about a thousand years ago, between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics. Because we are divided on issues of faith and order, there is no sharing of Holy Communion. Until steps are taken that will make it possible for the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics to overcome their differences on issues of faith and order, it is inconsistent and contradictory for us to share in each other’s Holy Communion. Sharing in Holy Communion means that these obstacles have been overcome, and that therefore we are united in faith and order. Holy Communion, then, manifests that union. That is why the Orthodox Church is in ecumenical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, working toward a legitimate and theologically proper reunion. Sharing in Holy Communion is not the means to reunion, it is the end result of reunion.

A Difference About Our Differences
What I’ve outlined above is the position of the Orthodox Church, which sees the differences between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism as dealing with both doctrine (the Filioque) and church order (the Pope). However, while the Roman Catholic Church acknowledges our division, they hold that the division is only one of church order. Consequently, they feel that the division is less severe than the Orthodox do. As a result, since their Vatican II Council (1962- 1965) they have approved that Orthodox Christians may receive Holy Communion in their parishes under certain circumstances.

The Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church hold essentially the same teaching about the relationship of Holy Communion and Church membership. The difference is that the Roman Catholic Church sees their differences with the Orthodox Church as consisting of secondary features, that do not break the unity of faith with them. The Orthodox, however, understand their differences as including substantial differences on issues of doctrine and beliefs. These will need to be overcome, as far as the Orthodox are concerned, before the time can come so that we can implement our unity in faith, by sharing in Holy Communion as members of one re-united Church.

Conclusion and Practice
So, until that takes place, you ought not receive Holy Communion in a Roman Catholic Church. As an Orthodox Christian, among the many things that happen when you receive Holy Communion, is that you manifest your identity as an Orthodox Christian and affirm your membership in the Orthodox Church.
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The same question was asked awhile back and I wrote this thread in response:

http://www.christianforums.com/threads/30872.html

Well I admit that makes sense. Thanks for the response. Oh, and Karpousi, it's easy to post a url. You just copy it and paste it like anything else.