The Great Schism: When The Catholic And Eastern Orthodox Churches Split

Now it's time for a regular segment Words You'll Hear. That's where we try to understand stories in the news by parsing some of the words associated with them. Today's word is schism. We expect to hear that word this week as Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church, and Patriarch Bartholomew, head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, traveled to Greece to meet over the plight of refugees. But that meeting raises the question of why there's an Eastern and Western church to begin with. That divide is called the great schism. To help us understand this, we invited Monsignor Paul McPartlan to stop by our studios. He's a professor of systematic theology and ecumenism at the Catholic University of America...

Read the rest here.

This is really a rather unfortunate piece.

Images From a Bishop's Consecration

On June 21, 2008, Hegumen John (Berzins) of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America was consecrated to the episcopacy in the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Erie, PA. He was given the title Bishop of Caracas and will administer the South American parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

Divine Liturgy and the rite of consecration, and the rite of nomination held the evening before, were celebrated and performed by His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, President of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, His Grace Bishop Daniel of Erie, and His Grace Bishop Peter of Cleveland.

The election of Fr John as Bishop of Caracas took place at the recent Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, and, in accordance with the Act of Canonical Communion signed on May 17, 2007, was confirmed by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The divine services of June 21, as is customary in the Old-Rite Church of the Nativity in Erie, was performed in the ancient tradition. Participating were a multitude of clergymen who gathered in the city for the Orthodoxy in the 21st Century Conference, including Priest John Mirolub, Secretary of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Committee on Old-Rite Parishes.

Source

Click on images for full size view.

Marriage Discipline: East & West

There is a remarkable two part essay authored by the recently reposed Archbishop Elias Zoghby of the Melkite Catholic Church (in communion with Rome) that has been posted by Wei-Hsien Wan over at his blog "Torn Notebook." In this essay* the archbishop makes a strong case for the Eastern tradition of tolerance in the name of economy for the innocent victims of failed marriages with respect to second marriages. Since the difference in the discipline of the Eastern Churches as opposed to that of the Roman Church on the subject of second marriages is often cited as a major point of contention between East & West this essay is especially helpful and insightful. It is also all the more so coming from an Eastern hierarch in communion with the Pope of Rome. As he himself noted with sadness; most of the uniate Eastern Churches have abandoned the patristic discipline of the East in favor of that of the Latin Church.

I strongly recommend this essay which can be found here (part I) and here (part II). Out of respect for the poster of the essay I ask that any comments be made on his website.

A very big hat tip to Eirenikon for posting the link to this excellent essay.

* I believe that the essay was first presented at least in part, to the Second Vatican Council.