[quote:1541g2p6]Purgatory, Baptism, and Ecumenism seem to be areas of agreement. Different terms are used that’s about it.
On the other hand the Papacy and Filoque are real disagreements and not just a usage of different terms.

Hopefully we can continue the dialogue in these areas in a charitable manner.

~Victor[/quote:1541g2p6]

I agree with you up to a point on baptism (from my point of view RCs are too lax, but not wrong) and totally on ecumenism (where the misunderstandings are linguistic) but I cannot agree with you at all on purgatory. Not only has the innovation of purgatory been condemned several times in the east, but there simply is no room in my theology for a God who will forgive us, but only after he’s tortured us for a bit first. Nor is there room for the pseudo-god ‘Necessity’ that seems to bind the hands of the God of Scholasticism. I’m not surprised that you seem to have difficulty grasping the difference between Orthodox belief in the efficacy of prayer for the dead and Purgatory, because I’ve come across the same misunderstandings often enough before, but I honestly don’t know why.

I am happy to discuss any areas of disagreement calmly and rationally with you and other reasonable posters here. This excludes only one person whose posts I shall continue to ignore.

James