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Comparative Theology, Part 2

Servants Preparation Curriculum

Lecture 33, Servants Preparation Curriculum

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Comparative Theology, Part 2 – Orthodoxy vs Catholicism

Objectives:

To learn about the divisions of the church
To recognize the separation of The Catholic Church from The Orthodox Church
To study the similarities and differences of The Orthodox and The Catholic Churches

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The Division of The Church

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Important Dates

451 AD = Chalcedon Council
879 AD = Constantinople Council/Filioque

1054 AD = The Great Schism

The Roman Pope is the leader of the world
It is the official separation between the Eastern and the Western Christian world

1225 : Purgatory ( 13 century)
1870 : Infallible teaching authority of the Roman pontiff (1^st Vatican council)
1965, Pope Paul VI: cleared The Jewish from killing Jesus (2nd Vatican council)

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1054 AD = The Great Schism ( 11 century)

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Roman Catholic Eastern Orthodox

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Comparative Theology, Part 2 – Orthodoxy vs Catholicism

Objectives:

To learn about the divisions of the church
To recognize the separation of The Catholic Church from The Orthodox Church
To study the similarities and differences of The Orthodox and The Catholic Churches

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Pope Leo 1

The Chalcedon Council in 451 AD issued Leo’s Tome
Divided The Church into two churches
Pope Dioscours I refused to sign it

He was slapped on the face and lost his teeth and his beard

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Leo’s Tome/Law

Pope Leo claimed that Jesus had two separate natures, which existed together but were NOT united
Human Nature: feels pain, hunger, thirst, etc.
Divine Nature: walks on water, make miracles, etc.

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The Consequence of The Chalcedon Council in 451 AD

The Christians divided into two different groups
Orthodox: Jesus Christ has ONE compound nature

Composed of two united natures (divinity+ humanity) = Miaphysite
“He made it one with His Divinity without mixing, alteration or change” (Liturgy)

Catholic/Roman/Latin/Royal: Jesus Christ has two separate natures in one person

Then

Each group has their own bishops, priests, followers, etc.
The Catholic/Roman leaders started persecuting the orthodox

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The Similarities between The Orthodox and The Catholic Church

One God
Triune God/Holy trinity
Jesus is The Only Redeemer/Christ/Son of God
Jesus’ Second Coming
Jesus is The Final Judge
Heaven and Hell
Jesus’ Eternal Kingdom
Seven church Sacraments

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The Major Differences

Filioque/Procession of The Holy Spirit from The father and Son
Immaculate Conception of St. Mary
The Role of the Pope
Purgatory and Indulgences
Celibacy of Priests
Development of Doctrine/Belief

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The Major Differences

Sacraments (CC)
Liturgy
Worship towards The East
Family
Salvation of Non-Believers
The councils 3 vs. 21

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1. Filioque/The Son/879AD�(3^rd Constantinople Council)

We both agree on one God and Holy trinity

Orthodox church

Yes, we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father

Catholic Church

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son...

Filioque is a Latin word meaning "and the Son" which was added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed by the Church of Rome
Thus, the Latin/ Catholic added words to the Nicaean Creed

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1. The Rejection

Filioque objections

It is contrary to Scripture - John 15:26:
Jesus said to his disciples
"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me"

Thus, Christ never describes the Holy Spirit as proceeding from Himself, but specifically mentions the Spirit proceeds from the Father

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Division within the Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church accepted the Filioque ( Western half)

The Constantinople/Roman Orthodox refused the addition ( Eastern Half)

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2. The Immaculate Conception of St. Mary

The Catholic Church claims the conception of St. Mary in Anna’s womb was without sin

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2. The Immaculate Conception of St. Mary Cont.

Both Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism believe she is "Mother of God" (Theotokos, ) and "the Ever-Virgin Mary”
Both also believe in the intercessions of the Virgin Mary and all the saints

Catholics, however, believe that St. Mary was born without the original sin

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2. The Rejection

All humans were born with the original sin (Adam’s sin)
Anna (St. Mary’s mother) did not receive The Holy Spirit before the conception of St. Mary

St. Mary said:

“My soul magnifies the lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior” (Luke 1:47)

The only one without sin is Jesus Christ because since The Holy Spirit came upon St. Mary before conception
St. Mary is not God

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3. The Role of The Pope

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3. The Role of The Pope Cont.

The Division Between Roman and Constantinople Churches: 1054 AD

Pope Leo 9^th declared himself as the deputy of Christ on earth and immune against sin

He claimed that he is the head of all popes since he is the successor of St. Peter who is the chief of the disciples and founder of The Roman Church

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3. The Role of The Pope Cont.

The Latin/Catholic teach that the visible head of the Church is the Pope, the successor to St. Peter, who was appointed to that sacred position by the Lord Himself with the words, “...you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my Church..." (Matt. 16:18).
The Pope is, then, "the Bishop of the Catholic Church," her teacher, the vicar (agent, deputy) of Christ on earth

The Holy Spirit does not permit him to err/make mistakes
He is infallible (perfect/never make mistakes) on matters of morals and doctrine

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3. The Rejection

The Orthodox church does not elevate the Pope to an infallible state. He is subject to mistake and err just as any other human is
The Orthodox Church teaches that all bishops are equal, the only difference is an administrative duty
The Orthodox Church does not believe that St. Peter is the head of church or even the disciples
Jesus Christ said to St. Peter: away from me Satan
St. Peter denied Jesus Christ 3 times
St. James NOT Peter was the leader of the first council in Jerusalem - Acts 15
The Roman church was founded by St. Paul not St. Peter

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Away from me Satan

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4. Purgatory / 1225 AD

All good believers who die in God’s grace, are still imperfectly purified

After death, they undergo purification in purgatory (by fire and torture) to achieve perfect holiness

Examples:

You lived a good life with few lies, cursing, bursts of anger, sarcastic comments, a few insult/joking words, etc.

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4. Purgatory / 1225 AD

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4. The Rejection

The Blood of Christ sanctifies us from all sins

Jesus Christ’s last words on The Cross: “It is finished” (Mark 19:30)

He meant he completed the godly justice
Man is not subject to the devil anymore and this is proved by:

Descending to Hades and releasing The Old Testament’s righteous people
Jesus Christ said to the right thief: “today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43) without the need of a purgatory

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“today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43)

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4. Indulgences

A grant by the Pope to reduce the amount of punishment in purgatory

The Pope will give the extra virtues of the saints to the current people

It varies based on the type of sins

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4. Indulgences Cont.

The Indulgence money was used to build great cathedrals

“St. Peter’s cathedral”

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5. Celibacy of Priests

The Catholic Church requires their priests to live a celibate/Single life in order for them to better focus on the worshippers

Started on 1074 by Pope Gregory VII
Orthodox Clergy/Priests grow their beards; Catholic clergy are generally beardless

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5. The Rejection

Most married priests understand family problems far better than celibate priests

Celibacy is voluntary and not imposed

Not all priests tolerate celibacy

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5. The Rejection Cont.

Hundreds of Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Flood NY Courts

The federal investigation of the Catholic Church: What we know so far

Justice Department investigating Catholic Church in Pennsylvania

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6. Development of Doctrine

In order to justify new doctrine, erected in the last century, a theory of "doctrinal development”

Roman Catholicism, pictures its theology as growing in stages, to higher and more clearly defined levels of knowledge.

On this basis, theories such as the dogmas of "papal infallibility" and "the immaculate conception" of the Virgin Mary are justifiably presented to the Faithful

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6. The Rejection

The Christian Faith is steady and constant ALL the time

The faith, once delivered to the saints, is now what it was in the beginning (Jude 1:3)

Orthodoxy of the 21^stcentury believes precisely what was believed by the Orthodox Church of the first century

“One faith, One LOD, One baptism" (Ephesians 4:4)

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7. Sacraments, Baptism

By pouring, sprinkling, or anointing water

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7. The Rejection

Jesus Christ was baptized by immersion

Baptism is symbol of death and resurrection

Baptism is an entirely new dye with a new color which can NOT be achieved except by immersion in a solution

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8. Sacraments, Communion

Wafer not bread
Sometimes no blood is given
The priest comes down to handle the communion
Sometimes the assistant may handle the communion

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Catholic

Orthodox

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8. The Rejection

Jesus took bread in His hand

Jesus used the 3^rd cup of wine for communion

The believers go up to take communion as a sign of respect

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9. Sacraments, Confession

The Catholic Church practices confession in an indirect/non-confrontational

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9. The Rejection

Confession should be done as a one-on-one session like a physician and patient interaction

The priest should be familiar with the confessor’s life and family

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10. Liturgy

Similar, but there are some differences:

The Creed: proceeds from The Father and The Son
The Commemoration of Saints does not include the post-Nicaean Council

Pope Dioscours I

The Commemoration of Saints does not include our Orthodox Saints and Fathers of Monasticism
We mention three councils, they have many (21)

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11. Worship Towards the East

They do not worship towards the East
They erect altars in any direction

We build our altars towards the East because Jesus Christ:

Was born in the East
His 2^nd coming will be from the East
He is the Sun of our Righteousness

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12. Family and Divorce

Strict on Divorce
They do not believe in divorce for any reason but separation of the spouses
Our Orthodox church follows Jesus' directions and allows divorce for adultery

“Furthermore, it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery” (Mathew 5: 31-34)

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12. Family and Divorce Cont.

Liberal on marriage
They allow marriage with non-Catholics
They allow marriage with non-Christians

Rejection:

We allow marriage only with Orthodox Christians to keep the faith and integrity of the family

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13. Salvation of non-Believers

They think God mercy will include all sinners, so they accept everyone
Salvation of homosexual

Rejection

We believe that belief in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on The Cross is a must for salvation

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Comparative Theology, Part 2 – Orthodoxy vs Catholicism

Objectives:

To learn about the divisions of the church
To understand the separation of The Catholic Church from The Orthodox Church
To study the similarities and differences of The Orthodox and The Catholic Churches

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Summary

Filioque/Procession of The Holy Spirit
Immaculate Conception of St. Mary
Role of the Pope
Purgatory and Indulgences
Celibacy of Priests

Development of Doctrine/Belief
Sacraments (BCC)
Liturgy
Worship towards The East
Family/Divorce

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Our Ultimate Goal is Unity Between The Churches

cease the schism of the church

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Memorization Verses

“Examine them all; hold on to what is good” (1 Thessalonians: 5:21)

Lecture 33, Servants Preparation Curriculum