Augustine,

Thank-you very much for your post. I found myself nodding my head and saying “yep”, “exactly”, “yep” as I read through it. It’s so nice to see another person typing a big long reply…makes me feel like less of a freak! As for what Vic said, I can’t help but feel a little disillusioned. We’re invited to give apologetics for our beliefs as Orthodox…but the second we do, the second we say too much and point to much at the very real and accessible common history, we are told that we are attacking? The sad thing with this statement is that we really shouldn’t have been invited to discuss at all, because though the act was one of friendship and goodwill (and I personally appreciate it), the friends who invited just are not going to get us to believe what is clearly innovative. Regardless of arbitration, no Orthodox looking at Church history and at the Fathers will honestly say, yes, the Pope rules over the whole Church…yes, the other bishops have their authority only through the pope; yes, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father [i:372dahmz]and the Son[/i:372dahmz]. We will not say these things, not because we mean to attack your Church, but as Orthodox, we mean to defend what our Church has always taught. Our words, regardless of how good-willed or attacking, will always be seen as the latter by those who just don’t want to hear them.

Peace,
Ted