But the OC church does regard the Bishop of Rome as "greatest among equals," or am I worng??
Upvote
0
JeffreyLloyd said:But the OC church does regard the Bishop of Rome as "greatest among equals," or am I worng??
CopticOrthodox said:If we were to have reunion, Rome would again have first honour as the largest see and as the historical holder of that position, but while we remaine separate this position is meaningless. Pope Shenouda has said to Pope John Paul, if we're even one Church, you can have the big chair if you want & I'll call you boss. (I'm guessing that's my priest's way of paraphrasing it rather than an exact quote)
lookinguptoo said:So far most of your beliefs I too believe. I do differ on hell though where I believe it is a literal place, but I think we both agree that it hell is a terrible condition.
No, we don't believe in the Catholic definition of purgatory. However, we do believe that people will be purified either on this life or in the next. How we don't know. Except that God is a consuming purifying fire. When we face Him in heaven we will be purified of all our sins because nothing defiled can enter heaven.lookinguptoo said:Do you believe in purgatory?
No we don't use a rosary - but the Rosary came from the Orthodox prayer ropes and prayer beads. We say the Jesus prayer on our prayer ropes: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."lookinguptoo said:Also do you have a rosary and say hail Mary's?
lookinguptoo said:Your explanation on marriage is really beautiful.
I can not tell you how that touched my heart because I believe that too. I believe God marries us and we become one and unseperatable. I also think marriage is taken too lightly in the church. If church leaders would stand up for truth more, it would help solve a lot of problems. Now, many churches don't want to offend anyone so they say divorce is okay or marrying a nonbeliever is okay, etc. I could go on and on about this subject because it really breaks my heart when I think about it. No, I never wondered where the origins of the tradition of the bride and groom taking the cake and wine came from, but the information you gave is really beautiful.
lookinguptoo said:You wrote that even babies take communion but what if they spit it out? That seems unbearable to me to have the potential of it being spit out.
lookinguptoo said:As for Mary's death, I would agree that it is very possible that Mary had a death as you described. However, I don't know that because the Bible does not say it. Where do you get such a long story of her death when the Bible does not say it?
lookinguptoo said:Also, in regards to Mary, do you believe as the Catholics do that she had no sin?
lookinguptoo said:Also, why do you believe she stayed a virgin when she was married and had other children?
lookinguptoo said:Finally, CopticOrthodox wrote "Rome has first honor". This is surprising to me since Rome is the one that persecuted so many Christians and has such a brutal history. Why does not Israel have first honor since it was God's chosen land and Jesus was a Jew? It seems to me giving Israel 1st honor would be upholding the ancient ways better than anything else.
lookinguptoo said:....
Finally, CopticOrthodox wrote "Rome has first honor". This is surprising to me since Rome is the one that persecuted so many Christians and has such a brutal history. Why does not Israel have first honor since it was God's chosen land and Jesus was a Jew? It seems to me giving Israel 1st honor would be upholding the ancient ways better than anything else....
looking said:Finally, CopticOrthodox wrote "Rome has first honor". This is surprising to me since Rome is the one that persecuted so many Christians and has such a brutal history.
JeffreyLloyd said:I won't address this (I'm fighting not to), but can one of my dear Orthodox brothers or sisters address this question.
Why does Rome have "first honor," when Rome is so evil
(sorry I coudn't help it)
I know this may be a touchy subject but it is my understanding that death is the result of sin. If we were sin free then we would not have to die, but because we all sin, we all have to die. Jesus died because He took on the sins of all the world, not because He had any personal sins but because He mercifully became a sacrifice for our sins. Considering death is the result of sin, if you believe Mary died, then would that not confirm she sinned at some point in her life, maybe it was just a small sin but it was sin nonetheless?
2. Are the Orthodox allowed to read the Bible freely on their own?
3. Are you allowed to visit other people's churches?
4. It was written that one could lose their salvation. I wonder if you believe once salvation is lost that is the end. It is over for that person since there was only one final sacrifice for sins and only one baptism?
Oblio, I am still confused on this because it seems to me if Mary "was not divine" and was "subject to the consequences of the fall, namely death", and she was infected like a disease by the fall and sin, then in fact she would have sin.