Is the belief in Stigmata a purely Catholic thing? Or do other churches, or any of the Oriental Orthodx Churches believe it is valid?
God Bless.
God Bless.
CotpicGirl said:I'm not sure what you mean by "uncreated light" and "floating".
CotpicGirl said:Is the belief in Stigmata a purely Catholic thing? Or do other churches, or any of the Oriental Orthodx Churches believe it is valid?
God Bless.
I don't see why it cannot be valid.
I think the CAtholic church has stigmatics because of the emphasis they place on christs crucifiction.
feo said:So is floating and bi-location two different things, or the same?
Irish Melkite said:Both are, I believe, primarily spoken of in the Latin Church, although it seems to me that there may be instances of bi-location attributed to some Eastern Saints as well.
Xpycoctomos said:this is true. I think God works miracles and gifts according to our "cultures" so that He may speak best to us. Stigmata is actually something not looked highly on WITHIN the Eastern Church. Actually, one criticism of stigmata is that generally the person not always... but Sty. Francis of Assisi is an example) have truly desired the gift of stigmata. In the east, supernatural gifts are not usually outward (and I will get to how the uncreated light and other things are not always outward) and NEVER desired. In fact, when wierd things happen, they are treated with fear and trembling and often ASSUMED they are from the devil until otherwise convinced (for often they have been of the devil). Often times the uncreated light and other seemingly "outward" signs of God's grace are not as outward as we'd think for they are many times only seen by those who are holy and rayerful and therefore in touch with God and His grace manifested through his servant. I once asked my priest if he had ever seen something like this. He got a very serious look on his face and said "no, I am worthy enough to see such a thing". This was actually before I was Orthodox. This struck me.
But, please understand, I am certainly no expert and I am not trying to imply that St. Francis of Assisi was demonically possessed. The West is so different in how it understands everything (even that early), experiences everything. Judging Western experiences with Eastern Criteria hardly seems fair to me. But i the end, I would venture a guess that stigmata would not usually be a WELCOMED event in the East but rather one to be very suspicious of.
John