I believe Roman Catholics are full of heresies, my personal opinion is that the majority of clergy and Bishops of the West did not speak Κοινή Ελληνική “Koine Greek”. Thus, they had to depend on a few clergy such as St. Jerome, who translated the Septuagint from Greek to Latin. In other words, they had to wait for the Creeds, etc., to be translated into Latin. As one who lives in a bilingual home, I know firsthand the difficulty of translating one language to another. By the way, St. Jerome was not a Greek scholar! I am willing to bet that there are mistranslated words in the Latin Vulgate etc. Also, you guys are the ones who changed the Words of Jesus. Jesus said " But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. In the East, we have maintained the words of Christ within our Creed. For some reason, the West decided that Jesus was wrong because a Bishop of Rome decided that he was Christ on Earth. Thus he could change the words of God. Jesus said "Τὸ Πνεῦμα Τὸ Άγιον "the Holy Spirit" will proceed from the Father "Πατὴρ" . He never said from the Father and the Son. Orthodoxy during our liturgies we repeat the words of Christ. "ὃ Πέμψει Ο Πατὴρ " Translation: He "God the Father" will send the Holy Spirit. So, may I ask a question if one is to believe that the Roman Catholic Creed, is equivalent to saying that Jesus and his True Holy Orthodox Church are wrong
@@Gregori-mi2vy8nc6y I am a simple layman who loves Jesus. I am not a theologian. The theological arguing between the two lungs of the Church are insurmountable only because of man, not Christ. If both churches allowed the Holy a spirit to be God, a way would be found for the reunion.
As someone who has crossed back to the Tiber after becoming EO, this is a brave act if faith. I ask for prayers for him and his family, and his congregation. His letter was well written and an answer to my heart that I made and make the right decision daily to stand as a Catholic.
How can it be possible to leave Eastern Orthodoxy , it’s patristic catholic is not , Orthodox Church has not changed from the Apostles , the Apostle Paul’s missionary work all his journeys Who do you think and when Christ appeared after his resurrection must have taught and explained how liturgy to be performed Holy Spirit Guides not one voice in Pope , pope never existed in early church , Bishop of Rome was considered the first among equals councils were held for any disputes or clarifications never one voice Christ is the head of the church Holy spirit leads I will never leave Orthodox Church I did once grave ! Error I have repented with lamentations and deep sorry thankful for the Blessed Lord’s mercy Catholic Church with so many innovations Vatican 11 denounced by many Catholic Bishops Latin Mass thrown out difficult to find church that does , on and on tue list goes if Catholic apologists were truly honest and looked and read history of Church but they avoid and make twits and turns Apostle Paul’s established so many churches not Blessed Peter I’m sorry with all due respect
@@andrewklados4096 I just think you may be wrong. A bit more research please. I did that’s why I’m saying it. 1 we know the fourth pope was Clement of Rome etc. 2 the Latin mass is well and kicking.
Wow, such courage of his convictions. God bless him and may Mary, Theotokos, keep him safe and at peace under her Mantle right beside Our Lord Jesus Christ.🙏☦️🙏✝️
The very fact you have to conceal his identity for his protection truly says it all. He’s so so courageous! Personally I’ve been thrown out of an orthodox church in the middle of liturgy simply for being catholic, once that was discovered, so I know full well the hostility and even potential physical danger that could’ve resulted from such a bold stance he made. God bless him and all our orthodox brethren who genuinely seek unity. 🙏 🙏
Catholics are the most hated. As a cradle Catholic from a Catholic country, I've never even heard of Protestants or Orthodox until I was older. Because Catholics don't even think about non-Catholics. Yet the Protestants and Orthodox are ridden with hatred towards us and our Church.
Benjamin, I too was recently thrown out of (or forcefully asked to leave) a Greek Orthodox Holy Liturgy. The monk knew I was Catholic and he asked me to sit near the door. But I stood closer up on this occasion to take some videos and hear the choir better. Well, as the Holy Mysteries were brought out, the monk got really upset at me and lead me out the door, saying I can only go in with his permission. I was definitely hurt, not only because of the lack of charity, but also because I believe that we share "one Faith, one Lord, one baptism," and there is no reason I can't at least adore the Lord in the Eucharistic Gifts, even if I'm not allowed Communion there. I do understand the closed Communion policy, but I think taking out catechumens and "heretics" during Communion should be obsolete because it violates the highest theological virtue, that of charity. Another Orthodox priest later apologized to me for such behavior, and of course I have forgiven that monk. But this is another reason I'm glad I chose to join an Eastern Catholic Church, since everyone is welcomed to stay, even Protestants, and no one is pushed away. Isn't that what our Lord did to the lost sheep of His day? Isn't that what God's heart is all about?
This same thing happened in India in a state called west bengal kalimpong. A protestant pastor in his sunday sermon announced that he is going to become a catholic and with him thousands of protestants became catholic...this happened during my grand father's time...this is a very true history and not a story...
The Catholic was never the true church,,, believe me it's most people pleasing and more world pleasing,, the true church are scared 😱😱😱 they are there but scared just like the 12
I’m so sorry however it is not Bless this priest ? Pope never in early church wanted power Bishop of Rome was considered first among equals councils there was not one voice many innovations in Catholics church Vatican 11 May the Blessed Lord have mercy 🥲 Catholic Churches have now resemble protestant churches big screen feel good women giving out communion also non deacons men giving out eucharist only priest is and always in Catholic Church all these modern innovation is egregious to our Blessed Trinity and savior to much to show and explain
I was, in a way, asking our Lord to bless this priest for his courage for speaking out on behalf of the holy Catholic church. No matter our internal problems within the church, it is my belief that the Catholic church is the true church. Thank you.
Man, that was beautiful and inspiring. I will add him and his family and congregation to my prayers. All power, honor, praise and glory to God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
What made me come back to the Catholic Church is the fact that as orthodox you are NOT allowed communion in Catholic Church but a Catholic can’t receive communion in orthodox church. God stopped me in the middle of my christmation. He made me pass out and I ended up in the ER. Later in prayers I received that I cannot feed the spirit of division. I was very anti Catholic but He only could change my heart. Also, I was a cradle Catholic.
“The Lord says to Peter: ‘I say to you,’ he says, ‘that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.’ . . . On him [Peter] he builds the Church, and to him he gives the command to feed the sheep [John 21:17], and although he assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet he founded a single chair [cathedra], and he established by his own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was [i.e., apostles], but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. So too, all [the apostles] are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he [should] desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?”- St. Cyprian of Carthage (The Unity of the Catholic Church 4; 1st edition [A.D. 251]).
But the Catholics respect this claim of the Orthodox. That is why all Orthodox Christians are allowed to receive communion in the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church does not require Orthodox Christians to go through a second catechism process as they are already views as fully Catholics. It is unfortunate that the Orthodox Christians do not reciprocate this by banning Roman Catholics from their communion and prohibiting their own from receiving communion in a Roman Catholic Church. In God’s eyes they are one and the same church and Rome recognizes this.
Dear Lord Jesus, be his rock and continue to be his source of courage and true love. Continue to bless your humble servant and his family. May your light continue to shine on their path to eternal glory, Amen.
Prayers for the faithful man of God, what a champion man that Priest is, No matter the cost he did what is right, he knew how crucial it is for one to be in communion with the Holy See and with Christ Church, the Catholic Church. Thanks for sharing Michael, God bless
I would never be in communion with a church that changes the Sacred Scriptures and made up doctrines that were not Apostolic! Here are my thoughts. believe Roman Catholics are full of heresies, my personal opinion is that the majority of clergy and Bishops of the West did not speak Κοινή Ελληνική “Koine Greek”. Thus, they had to depend on a few clergy such as St. Jerome, who translated the Septuagint from Greek to Latin. In other words, they had to wait for the Creeds, etc., to be translated into Latin. As one who lives in a bilingual home, I know firsthand the difficulty of translating one language to another. By the way, St. Jerome was not a Greek scholar! I am willing to bet that there are mistranslated words in the Latin Vulgate etc. Also, Catholics are the ones who changed the Words of Jesus. Jesus said " But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. In the East, we have maintained the words of Christ within our Creed. For some reason, the West decided that Jesus was wrong because a Bishop of Rome decided that he was Christ on Earth. Thus he could change the words of God. Jesus said "Τὸ Πνεῦμα Τὸ Άγιον "the Holy Spirit" will proceed from the Father "Πατὴρ" . He never said from the Father and the Son. Orthodoxy during our liturgies we repeat the words of Christ. "ὃ Πέμψει Ο Πατὴρ " Translation: He "God the Father" will send the Holy Spirit. So, may I ask a question if one is to believe that the Roman Catholic Creed, is equivalent to saying that Jesus and his True Holy Orthodox Church are wrong!
This was amazing!! I’m going to have to listen to it again so I can take some notes. Thank you for reading this, and thank you for all the work you put into this channel. It has helped me tremendously.
This is one of the bravest and most loving things I’ve ever heard. I can feel the love and sadness and confidence he feels and how strongly many in his church must’ve reacted. I’m surprised he was able to complete such a speech without getting interrupted or attacked by someone there. I feel for all of them. I hope that more people will realize and bravely accept the need for full union in Christendom no matter how uncomfortable or upsetting it is for each of us.
@@ioanniskyparissiotes2128 This coward was posting the words of Jesus as originally recorded in Koine Greek. The language of the Septuagint, New Testament and the Early Church. Jesus warned us that some will depart from the faith , i.e., commit Apostasy. God bless you!
Thank you for posting this. I am a revert from the Eastern Orthodox church and one of the things that led me back to the Catholic church was the intellectual dishonesty of so many members bordering on Stockholm syndrome. I had often used that quote of St. Maximum the Confessor and they would it was a Latin addition. I would point out that I could not go to a nearby Greek Orthodox parish, or Serbian one and the answer was : Their communion isn't valid. I would want an icon of a saint blessed and be told: He is not on our calendar and each separate jurisdiction would claim that they were Orthodox and the others weren't. I felt like I was back amongst my Protestant relatives who. split their grandparents church into five separate parishes. I will be praying for that priest and his family.
St Maximus literally says the Filioque is ok, as long as the Latins do not say that the Son is the cause of the Holy Spirit. The Council of Florence then goes on to disagree with St Maximus the Confessor, and name the Son, along with the Father, as the aitia of the Spirit. So, yeah, St Maximus would disagree with the modern Latins.
Lol if you wanna talk about Stockholm syndrome, try looking at all the Tradtards who always try to find some way to defend Cope Francis no matter how blasphemous his statements could be. Papism is literally Stockholm syndrome if it were a religion
Wasn't there also a Ukrainian Orthodox Bishop also entering into full communion with the Church by entering the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church? I saw an article with a headline to that effect a good number of months back.
@@ButSeriouslyThough At the label of being Orthodox in Ukraine there is (historically) practically and ecclesiastically a traditional division in two: one subordinate to the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and other to the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). Then the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) and one can serously add to that the Ukrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church (UOGCC), albeit new and tiny, which is a dissidence that was born in 2009 from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church with very pro-Russian tendencies. The UOC-KP, the UAOC and only part of the UOC-MP participated in a synod, held in 2018, that formed the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU) at the pretext of unifying and ceasing those divisions. But already in 2018, Filaret (primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate) and Metropolitan Epiphanius (primate of the all-new Orthodox Church of Ukraine) had a split and the first returned to form an independent version of the UOC-KP. If this Ukrainian bishop/ priest came to full communion with the Successor of St Peter in 2019 by entering the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, coming from the UAOC, then he must’ve been part of the OCU since it absorbed the totality of the ancient UAOC. And the autocephaly of the all-new OCU is not really an obscure phenomenon, since it is recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate (5 January 2019), the Greek Patriarchate of Alexandria (8 November 2019), the Church of Greece (19 October 2019) and the Church of Cyprus (24 October 2020). All of them are Patriarchs/ Primates themselves and leaders of autocephalous churches according to EO’s ecclesiology. Honestly it’s a mess indeed but I guess it would be - at the very least - hugely imprecise to say he was “already” schismatic by Eastern Orthodox standards. By Dyerites online sure, but things are not that simple inside real-world EO (that means apart from online propaganda). God bless! From 🇧🇷 Brazil.
@@masterchief8179 Hey there, nice to see you in the comments! I say this as a while ago I've wanted to ask you a question relating to EO soteriology, but didn't get enough time for it. Basically, it's about how some EO, when receiving converts from other Christian denominations including Catholicism, basically rebaptise people by chrismating them - they don't use water to avoid scandal and to accommodate the convert, but they do believe the oil gives you the grace of baptism along with the grace of chrismation. In other words, the matter of a sacrament can be changed and the grace usually given by it can be given by different means. So while a minority of EO physically rebaptise converts by using water, many of those other EO who chrismate them instead also believe the grace of salvation usually given through baptism is actually given through the chrismation - the only difference is that there's no water and the grace of chrismation as distinct from baptism is also given. What do you think of this? Is there anything in the patristics to support such a view of economia - which is used to justify changing the matter of a sacrament, or literally having another sacrament give you the grace of others alongside it?
@@AbsurdScandal Hello, brother! On the rebaptism of heretics St Cyprian of Carthage lost his theological dispute with Pope St Stephen in the 200s (even if he arguably did not recognize it later on) and this theological loss to Rome paved the way to the Augustinian victory over the later North African Donatists, that (again) misused St Cyprian’s words for their own cause on the theology of grace and the operation of the sacraments. The position of Cyprian was kind of resistant in North Africa. The Capadocian Fathers or at least St Basil had a proximate vision to that of St Cyprian’ strictness (we may give the Greek Eastern Orthodox that). But that can only mean failing to see the bigger picture. Rejecting the rebaptism of heretics, unless the level of heresy meant rejecting the baptismal formula - both concerning form and matter - and/or rejecting the Most Holy Trinity/ Trinitarian dogma - that is PRECISELY the doctrine of Pope St Stephen which became the dogmatic position of the Church pre-schism. If anything it is the Eastern Orthodox position that contradicts not a practice consolidated with antiquity but in all honesty a doctrine established as such in the realm of sacramentolgy. Notice I didn’t say St Cyprian accepted that the Pope St Stephen won his dispute. I said that Pope St Stephen’s doctrine has definitely won - and that’s pretty much it. When the Great Schism happened, the Capadocian Fathers (in this case St Basil more specifically) were used by the Greek in schism to reinterpret their church doctrine’s on many themes, inclusive rebaptism of heretics, to make them as divergent to the Latins as possible, further to what old convergences could have meant. So they didn’t notice the very heretics St Basil the Great dealt with primarily (= Macedonianism: a heresy that denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit) denied in themselves the Most Holy Trinity, which reinforces the Catholic position, not the Eastern Orthodox one. More so, the Council of Nicea have dealt with that SPECIFICALLY in two of its canons. And they prove that the position of the Church of Rome prevailed (just like on the Quatrodeciman controversy with Pope St Victor, that the “Synodal Letter” of Nicea established that all the Churches of the East should follow the Roman Easter: ”so that all our brethren in the East who formerly followed the custom of the Jews are henceforth to celebrate the said most sacred feast of Easter at the same time with the Romans”) . It’s not a mere accident of history, as Catholics always claim. In Canon 8 of Nicea, the Holy Ecumenical Council decided that the Novatian heretics (they called themselves the “purists” or the ‘cathari’) - curiously enough, Novatianism was declared a heresy by the Church of Rome using the letters of St Cyprian of Carthage concerning the “lapsi” (!) - MUST NOT BE rebaptized when coming to the Church. In Canon 19, on the other hand, the Holy Ecumenical Council decided that Paulianist heretics (the followers of Paul of Samosata, also known as “Adopcionists”) MUST BE rebaptized when coming to the Church. What was the difference between one case (Novatianism) and the other (Adoptionism)? That’s a quite evident dogmatic theology matter: although both groups were dogmatically declared heretics by the Popes and by the very Ecumenical Councils, Adoptionists had to be rebaptized because they rejected the Holy Trinity. For a Catholic, not only it is heresy to rebaptize “heretics” without further distinctions, but it is also sacrilegious and it disrespects the canons and the acts of the Holy Ecumenical Council of Nicea. I’m not refraining from my language here. It’s sacrilegious. So the use the chrismation as means to “avoid” the problem sounds as a cheap way to actually avoid scandal, maybe causing one that is even bigger - arguably coming even deeper into a full Donatist sacramentology. What if the newly received EO was already confirmed? As we know, _“The three sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders confer, in addition to grace, a sacramental character or seal by which the Christian shares in Christ's priesthood and is made a member of the Church according to different states and functions. This configuration to Christ and to the Church, brought about by the Spirit, is indelible; it remains for ever in the Christian as a positive disposition for grace, a promise and guarantee of divine protection, and as a vocation to divine worship and to the service of the Church. Therefore these sacraments can never be repeated”_ (Catechism, § 1121). All caution granted I am not as familiar with that thesis but if you say that the sacrament of Baptism does not imprint character (the “seal” or “σφραγίς”, as more usual in the Greek patrology) it would be contrary to the text of Mark 16, 16, at least the way I always understood it (and I think the Church of 2000 years too). As said, ”Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned”. Why is it that the text doesn’t sustain the parallelism “whoever is not baptized and does not believe will be condemned”? Not only because God himself is not bound to the sacramental disposition but also because a baptized person can lose belief but never lose the imprinted character of the effected sacrament, meaning the condition of being baptized, if it was valid (maybe albeit not licit). So the thesis seems problematic too because it will enter all over again the problem of rebaptism of heretics: if baptism and chrismation do not imprint character (the “seal”) but only grace, and we feel to arbitrate where grace is - meaning heretics can’t offer that nor any kind of seal - then the position of rebaptizing heretics that confer baptism as the Church does (correct form and matter, and in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit) would have prevailed, but only under a new clothing.
@@masterchief8179 1) What council of Nicaea are you referring to? Because the First Ecumenical Council doesn't have any extant acta - they're lost to history. Do you maybe mean Nicaa II held in 787 AD? 2) Well, to clarify the thesis - many EOs think that economia allows you to basically avoid using water to confer the grace of baptism, and instead the oil of chrism can be used as a replacement which can truly confer the grace of baptism but without water. Is there any patristic precedent for such a view of matter-replacement? Meaning that one can use another sacrament (or at least the matter of another) out of economia to bestow the grace that a different sacrament usually does?
Praise God! This priest walks the long road of "white martyrdom". It is a hard road, but one that ironically brings peace. There are more Orthodox who are being lead to enter Holy Union, and we must keep them firmly in our prayers. We who are on the other side, only by God's grace, are with them.
I am a catholic and let me tell you I find the orthodox church beautiful, the priests are still faithful and the love for Christ is still visible in their actions, unfortunately I have stopped seeing that in catholic priests. They are more interested in running education institution and run after society recognitions.
I will keep him in my prayers & coming home to the true faith, One holy Catholic & Apostolic Church. 🙏🛐💯 Catholic 🗝️🗝️ Prayers for all love you guys at R&T. The Ex Greek Orthodox family that converted to the Catholic church in my Parish they lost friends over there decision So prayers people need to be humble & pray for one another I Pray we get a Russian family in my Catholic parish next 🙏🛐
God bless this priest and his family. I'm so happy to hear that the Roman Catholic bishop in his diocese welcomed him in and allowed him to continue his pastoral ministry. I pray that the people who have trouble with this conversion continue to seek God, and seek the truth.
@@spiderdxn2263 You must have more information about this specific case than I have. I assumed it was a Roman Catholic bishop because there are five churches in my Roman Catholic diocese that are identical to Eastern Orthodox style and worship, but recognize the authority of the Pope and the magisterium.
Those churches may be in your area but they are probably not technically part of your diocese. Eastern Catholic Churches (Ukrainian, Byzantine/Ruthenian, Melkite, Maronite, etc.) have their own bishops and their own eparchies (dioceses). For example, for Byzantine Catholics the Eparchy of Phoenix covers much of the western US. If you go to a Byzantine parish in Seattle or Anchorage or Sacramento, the priest there belongs to the Byzantine Eparchy of Phoenix, not the Roman Catholic dioceses of Seattle or Anchorage or Sacramento. The Eparchy of Phoenix happens to be administrated by the Roman bishop of Phoenix, Bishop Olmstead, right now while we await our own bishop being appointed. But that means that even the priest of the Byzantine parish in Anchorage, Alaska is subject to Bishop Olmstead of Phoenix right now, not the Archbishop of Anchorage.
@@jeneriss those churches don’t belong to your Diocese. Eastern Catholics have separate hierarchies. They aren’t generally subject to Latin rite bishops. If you aren’t versed in all of this it can be confusing.
@@colleencarterduncan7559 YT will not post my original response to your comment. Thank you for your thoughtful response. The Eastern rite churches in my area are not all part of my Roman Catholic diocese, that's true, but some are. I tried to post a link to the information from the diocese of Lansing website that showed this, but I think the link itself is the reason why YT will not post my response comment. If you search Diocese of Lansing, MI Eastern Rite, I think you will find the page I tried to share with you. God bless you.
I'm actually working my way in the other direction and getting to a point where I am getting ready to convert from RC to EO. Thanks for sharing this- it didn't sway me, but I did enjoy it.
@@ReasonandTheology I'm in the same boat as Everett and you know man, that is the most solid response a guy could ask for... Prayers for your discernment. Pray for mine too please. That was really solid of you Michael. At the end of the day we all have our own mental makeup, our own experiences, all that goes into how we weigh the evidence and discern our path. This is not a claim of relativism, just simply to say that these are deep waters and some of us are only just learning to swim. Anyhow, thanks for sharing this, and I appreciated that response to the other seeker.
“The Lord says to Peter: ‘I say to you,’ he says, ‘that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.’ . . . On him [Peter] he builds the Church, and to him he gives the command to feed the sheep [John 21:17], and although he assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet he founded a single chair [cathedra], and he established by his own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was [i.e., apostles], but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. So too, all [the apostles] are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he [should] desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?”- St. Cyprian of Carthage (The Unity of the Catholic Church 4; 1st edition [A.D. 251]). Council of Nicaea II “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, proceeding from the Father through the Son” (Profession of Faith [A.D. 787]).
@@richlopez5896 the Councils between 325-381 First Council Of Nicaea 325 First Council of Constantinople 381 was the last official Church Council that settled on the Creed. The Creed reflected and rightfully so on the words of Jesus Christ. Jesus said "I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth “ἐκπορεύεται” from the Father", The Council of Constantinople affirmed the words of Jesus “Καὶ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, τὸ κύριον, τὸ ζῳοποιόν, τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον”! Translation But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father. During the Council of 381 The Council put in writing that the Creed agreed upon in 381 AD was never to be changed! The Council you quoted from 787 AD is a fraud on multiple levels, first it is a blatant disregard for the words of Jesus , second the Ancient Catholic Church in 381 put in writing that the Creed was never to be changed. “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, proceeding from the Father through the Son” (Profession of Faith [A.D. 787])". Lopez, I stand to be corrected , it was the 8th Ecumenical Council held at Hagia Sophia that the Church agreed that the Creed was not to be changed.
I understand the element of trolls, and keeping his name hidden under the idea of unwanted persecution. But the same time, he would be a tremendous encouragement. There's a reason why we don't hide our convictions. Our Lord calls us "to be the Light of the world." You can't be a light if no one knows your name. I think the secrecy is the wrong move. Especially since hes a priest and this is what he signed up for. We aren't called to save our skins from trolls. We are called to glorify God.
All Glory to God! What an amazing video and what a strong, amazing priest. I don't know him, his family nor his parishioners but I love them already. I will offer up my rosary for him, his family and for that small group of parishioners who returned to full communion with Rome and came HOME.
"Flee to the Roman Church. Take shelter under her guidance and protection." Catholics do not have to be theologians to find out who is right in arguments where several answers seem viable. Many of us are not intellectually astute or donot have the luxury of study while trying to make ends meet. Jesus gave us a secure rock on which we can be certain of the Truth by the safeguarding of the Holy Spirit: the Chair of Peter in the Roman Catholic Church. Jesus knew that Christians will be blown about by esoteric teachings and heresies in every age. He set in place the Magisterium of His Church with His authority to bind the faithful and give them the assurance to know that the Holy Spirit preserves the Chair of Peter from teaching error . (Even in cases when Peter himself is a heretic) The Church discerns and defines those matters that are necessary for salvation. She is His living authority on earth and we can concentrate on the daily work of carrying our cross and following Him faithfully. He will not allow the Church to bind us to anything other than His Will. This makes sense since Christ, the Good Shepherd, would not leave His sheep without His Voice to lead them.
It is called the Catholic Church. Roman only refers to the Roman Catholics. There are 23 Eastern Catholic Churches. I happen to be Byzantine Catholic and he can keep his liturgical traditions by being Byzantine Catholic and in full-union with Rome.
I feel kind of happy about this priest’s decision and it’s not the only time I’ve seen an Orthodox priest make this change. To the Orthodox people who feel disappointed or betrayed I can only say that it is in my opinion that Christ taught unity and these churches should not be divided. So, I rejoice in this priest’s decision.
I really don't know if the current behaviour of Orthodox Christians is a feature of US Orthodox Christians? Those in my continent are very cordial and have good relations with the Catholics.
I think it's a loud obnoxious minority. Unfortunately all it takes is one eCeleb and his hordes of "based" Ortho followers to make a lot of people look bad. God bless you, Jeremiah. As a Roman rite Catholic I have nothing but respect for you and all Orthodox Christians of good will.
Most Orthodox I know are lovely and welcoming to Catholics and others. The ones I've met who weren't were almost all converts from Protestant groups who are very anti-Catholic, and they brought their anti-Catholicism with them.
I understand that things are not perfect within world Orthodoxy. Far from it. But how does one overlook the antics of this present pope, who is causing alot of confusion and disunity in the western church?
I challenge the claim that he is causing a lot of confusion and the difference is between the man and the office. This is a distinction you should be familiar with if you are not a Donatist. Also, if it is a divinely established institution, you have no other choice than to be in communion with the pope.
@@ReasonandTheology if we were living prior to 1955, I would find these assertions much more convincing. I can't make myself believe that Francis is a true pope. I have much respect for the Roman see, and, unlike many of my Orthodox brethren, I believe that the papacy has more than a simple primacy of honor. But I feel that Vatican I took the whole matter too far. By the way, I respect Father's freedom to make this decision. I wish him well. I realize that it took alot of courage to do what he did. I was in a similar position year's ago.
Exodus 2:14 Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses was chosen by God, just like Peter. We Catholics have faith in God not man.
I wish this priest would write a blog or a book or do UA-cam videos to show us what he learned on his search. I’d be very interested to learn from his personal journey to see his perspective.
I get a lot of Orthodox dislike you but they assume you’re a cartoon villain or something. It would be so un-slick to write a whole homily and present it as real haha. God bless Michael hope all is well
I truly feel joy when I hear a protestant comes back home to the Church and I do feel the joy that this Priest is coming back to the Church.. but it also gives me a sense of sadness that for 1000 years we have been separate from our orthodox Brothers. I hope that this schism will end and that the Catholic Church turns back to V1... DUES VULT!!!
Wow, this is so powerful. The current situation within Eastern Orthodoxy is unfortunate, but it's also no surprise. I hope many other Orthodox Christians find themselves on the same path as this priest. Lord, make us one.
@@chiefamongsinners16 The situation described in the letter in the video. Orthodoxies can’t even do an ecumenical concil. Lacks communion and an objective reference to it.
I’ve attended many Orthodox catechisms. I am Roman Catholic. I just happened to live in a house next door to an Orthodox Church and I just fell in with them due to geographic proximity. Frankly the more I study the theology the more confused I feel. Take for example Saint Bernadette. Study her life. She was an unschooled, poor peasant and she did not even know what the Trinity meant. She saw the mother of God. Look at Shepards just tending their flocks. They were also very unschooled but the were the first in the public domaine to receive news of Christ’s birth. As to the commentator giving his argument in favor of the Filioque clause, I would just ask if it even matters in God’s eyes how you recite this prayer. I think God looks at the heart of a person. Is a person trying to be peaceful and good. Jesus said in so many words in the Gospel that the most essential thing in religious teaching is to love God and one’s neighbor. Jesus did simply it. I don’t think of heaven as a place where you are let in through the gate or not depending on if you recited or did not recite a clause in a creed. I mean really. How would you feel if heaven turned out to be like a visit to the DMV to get your license renewed. You know how you wait in line with your ticket and you go to window number 4 when your number is called out. I just get bothered by all the complications of religion. It is supposed to help us and give us faith and proper guidance and not be divisive with all this theological debate.
If humility be the judge of sanctity, here speaks a saint confronting his deepest darkness. May he receive the light he seeks. Sad and happy at the same time. Sad because we too face the same darkness from time to time. Happy....? I am catholic and he has reassured me.
Thanks be to God for the conversion of this priest back to the One True Church. Jesus Christ is truly king, savior and shepherd. Lord Jesus Christ please show mercy to the entire Orthodox Christians and bring them home.
That is one powerful letter of resignation! If I’m perfectly frank, it may have gone further than what would seem appropriate for a liturgy, maybe? That said, this Orthodox priest is the FIRST EVER Orthodox I’ve heard to accurately state what Catholics believe, without condescension, or mockery, or ill will. Love all around and especially for his parish family.
Hello. I'm looking into Christianity and it is obvious to me that it is true. Historical claims Jesus made reduce viable options of churches to Catholic or Orthodox. It would be great if they were still united, but here we are. I am almost entirely convinced that it is the Orthodox that are true successors of the original, undivided church. This video and the letter were good and brave in speaking the truth, as clearly as the priest who wrote it could. It however does nothing to convince me of the actual historical facts. It appears to me that if Catholic church has any hope of being the true Church, Peter the apostle has to have supremacy, an not merely primacy over other apostles. As best as I understand it, Peter received the the keys and the power to bind and loose first among the apostles. That makes Peter first among equals, first among other apostles. This is the Orthodox claim. History appears to condemn the Pope who wasn't content with being the first among equals, but wanted to be a universal bishop. Four out of five original apostolic sees are still united in Orthodoxy and have rejected Bishop of Rome's claim to a supreme status. That makes historical claims for Catholic church to be true nearly impossible, as best as I can understand it. That leaves only a chance that Peter really was a "super/supreme" apostle as Catholic's only hope of being true. What am I missing? Is what I have written distorted or wrong? Or if it is true, how is Peter the supreme apostle and not merely a first among equals? If Peter wasn't the supreme apostle, how do Catholics justify that Peter's successor should be supreme in relation to other apostolic successors? I hope my seeking of help is honest and sharp, but not combative or hostile. Thank you for reading and your help, and have a nice day :)
@@ReasonandTheology Thank you for your reply. I will take a look. I hope you address my question in the first video of your playlist: Answering Orthodoxy: The Formula of Hormisdas with Michael Lofton ua-cam.com/video/8PIwVqtJ9Bg/v-deo.html
@@ReasonandTheology I listened to first six minutes of the first video and it was some random reply to some random twit or something like that so I stopped listening. If you have an actual reply, I'll be interested to find out.
Hi brothers and sisters. I am Catholic and its important for me to tell you all that I love the Orthodox Churches. They are Apostolic Churches and Apostolic Christians. Its important that we read the "High Priestly Prayer" Jesus prayed in John 17. Read it know. If we do not reunify, we cannot confront Islam and the darkness settling over our world. Pray for unity. What once separated us, is not cause for schism.
What concerns me is how the presenter is keeping the name of the priest anonymous in order to protect him and his family from harassment. This is not the first time I have heard of this. Surely if Orthodox Christians are representative of the true faith then the most peaceful and christian attitude would be to whole heartedly wish this priest well and respect his choice of conscience. The schism which occurred centuries ago was terminated by both the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in the year 1965. Rome accepts this but Orthodox do not even respect this declaration announced by their own ecumenical leader. I can understand a desire to preserve Byzantine rites but this certainly is done by many eastern churches which respect their own prayers and culture yet still respect God’s command of unity of his one church. This priest has made a wise and righteous decision yet he obviously fears unjust harassment from some Orthodox. I think this is something all Christians people should pray about and consider. Anyway who would harass this priest or his family for his decision is not correctly following the spirit of love and unity.
Great letter, courageous also considering the well-known anti-Roman bias in the EO churches. But I wonder: Since the Roman Catholic Church allows all Eastern Orthodox to receive the sacraments in the Roman Church (though the reverse is not done), can anyone in good standing in any Eastern Orthodox Church, simply on any given Sunday just decide to attend the Roman Mass and call themselves Catholic? No need for RCIA? Sounds too easy, But I really do not know.
@@christopherpavesi7245 Actually, it does. Tell any Catholic priest you are EO and ask if you can take communion. The answer is yes. Ask about Confession. Ditto. EO baptism and chrismation are accepted by the RC too. But the EO accept no Catholic sacraments and actively preach to their congregations to not approach the Catholic Church in any way like this. EO say RC is heretical, so untrue and part of innate bias.
@usdadsasda Not intolerance, but active engagement. RC does this especially to the EO. Also Lutherans. Rarely is theology the sticking point; papal authority always is. Says a lot. But engagement continues.
@usdadsasda That's undeserving of any comment since it is just allegation and is wrong anyway. Please investigate before alleging and bring facts to bear. Influence? Silliness.
All Eastern Orthodox sacraments are considered valid because they have a valid priesthood. They are however not in communion with the Holy Catholic Church and can not under normal circumstances recieve sacraments from a Catholic Priest. Under risk of death the sacraments could be administered to a schismatic but that is an extraordinary circumstance.
I’ve been a guest in an Orthodox Church for 12 years. I am Catholic but just couldn’t renounce my heritage. The pastor there was very open and as he accepted me, so did everyone else. There was tension but kept in check. This pastor just retired and within days my flower decorating ministry was cancelled by the new pastor and I’ve heard he is very opposed to anything western. I am Catholic but this Orthodox church was my direct neighbor and just a good fit. There is no Catholic Church geographically as near. I’ve noticed over the years some very deep seeded resentment towards Catholics from the Orthodox side. I’ve come to be able to sympathize with their very closed view. Yet, I do believe firmly that this division is wrong and both sides need to work very hard at reconciliation.
How wonderful would it be when the day that both the western and eastern churches unite again! And with unity and great confidence we can invite our protestant brethren to come back home!
May God bless the Orthodox and bring them to reunion with Rome. May this faithful priest find peace in his new assignment.
I believe Roman Catholics are full of heresies, my personal opinion is that the majority of clergy and Bishops of the West did not speak Κοινή Ελληνική “Koine Greek”. Thus, they had to depend on a few clergy such as St. Jerome, who translated the Septuagint from Greek to Latin. In other words, they had to wait for the Creeds, etc., to be translated into Latin. As one who lives in a bilingual home, I know firsthand the difficulty of translating one language to another. By the way, St. Jerome was not a Greek scholar! I am willing to bet that there are mistranslated words in the Latin Vulgate etc. Also, you guys are the ones who changed the Words of Jesus. Jesus said " But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. In the East, we have maintained the words of Christ within our Creed. For some reason, the West decided that Jesus was wrong because a Bishop of Rome decided that he was Christ on Earth. Thus he could change the words of God. Jesus said "Τὸ Πνεῦμα Τὸ Άγιον "the Holy Spirit" will proceed from the Father "Πατὴρ" . He never said from the Father and the Son. Orthodoxy during our liturgies we repeat the words of Christ. "ὃ Πέμψει Ο Πατὴρ " Translation: He "God the Father" will send the Holy Spirit. So, may I ask a question if one is to believe that the Roman Catholic Creed, is equivalent to saying that Jesus and his True Holy Orthodox Church are wrong
@@Gregori-mi2vy8nc6y I am a simple layman who loves Jesus. I am not a theologian. The theological arguing between the two lungs of the Church are insurmountable only because of man, not Christ. If both churches allowed the Holy a spirit to be God, a way would be found for the reunion.
Never!!!
@user-ln2xo4mv1l Christ desires one united church. Rome calls for union. Interesting that so many Orthodox do not
As someone who has crossed back to the Tiber after becoming EO, this is a brave act if faith. I ask for prayers for him and his family, and his congregation. His letter was well written and an answer to my heart that I made and make the right decision daily to stand as a Catholic.
I pray for this new catholic priest, I hope to know his name soon.
How can it be possible to leave Eastern Orthodoxy , it’s patristic catholic is not , Orthodox Church has not changed from the Apostles , the Apostle Paul’s missionary work all his journeys Who do you think and when Christ appeared after his resurrection must have taught and explained how liturgy to be performed Holy Spirit Guides not one voice in Pope , pope never existed in early church , Bishop of Rome was considered the first among equals councils were held for any disputes or clarifications never one voice Christ is the head of the church Holy spirit leads I will never leave Orthodox Church I did once grave ! Error I have repented with lamentations and deep sorry thankful for the Blessed Lord’s mercy Catholic Church with so many innovations Vatican 11 denounced by many Catholic Bishops Latin Mass thrown out difficult to find church that does , on and on tue list goes if Catholic apologists were truly honest and looked and read history of Church but they avoid and make twits and turns Apostle Paul’s established so many churches not Blessed Peter I’m sorry with all due respect
@@andrewklados4096 I just think you may be wrong. A bit more research please. I did that’s why I’m saying it. 1 we know the fourth pope was Clement of Rome etc. 2 the Latin mass is well and kicking.
Wow, such courage of his convictions. God bless him and may Mary, Theotokos, keep him safe and at peace under her Mantle right beside Our Lord Jesus Christ.🙏☦️🙏✝️
i deeply wish the Orthodox and the Catholic Church would get together
Too many differences and deep ones at that,quick unity at any cost is the anti christ at work.May of Romes teaches is heresy.
The very fact you have to conceal his identity for his protection truly says it all. He’s so so courageous! Personally I’ve been thrown out of an orthodox church in the middle of liturgy simply for being catholic, once that was discovered, so I know full well the hostility and even potential physical danger that could’ve resulted from such a bold stance he made. God bless him and all our orthodox brethren who genuinely seek unity. 🙏 🙏
I came here to say that. Insane. People are badgering the Bertuzzis as well.
Catholics are the most hated. As a cradle Catholic from a Catholic country, I've never even heard of Protestants or Orthodox until I was older. Because Catholics don't even think about non-Catholics. Yet the Protestants and Orthodox are ridden with hatred towards us and our Church.
Did you give yourself away with a Roman Catholic "left to right" sign of the cross? :D
Benjamin, I too was recently thrown out of (or forcefully asked to leave) a Greek Orthodox Holy Liturgy. The monk knew I was Catholic and he asked me to sit near the door. But I stood closer up on this occasion to take some videos and hear the choir better. Well, as the Holy Mysteries were brought out, the monk got really upset at me and lead me out the door, saying I can only go in with his permission. I was definitely hurt, not only because of the lack of charity, but also because I believe that we share "one Faith, one Lord, one baptism," and there is no reason I can't at least adore the Lord in the Eucharistic Gifts, even if I'm not allowed Communion there. I do understand the closed Communion policy, but I think taking out catechumens and "heretics" during Communion should be obsolete because it violates the highest theological virtue, that of charity. Another Orthodox priest later apologized to me for such behavior, and of course I have forgiven that monk. But this is another reason I'm glad I chose to join an Eastern Catholic Church, since everyone is welcomed to stay, even Protestants, and no one is pushed away. Isn't that what our Lord did to the lost sheep of His day? Isn't that what God's heart is all about?
@@lvaks appeal to emotion. Orthodox are not allowed to pray or congregate with heretics.
This same thing happened in India in a state called west bengal kalimpong. A protestant pastor in his sunday sermon announced that he is going to become a catholic and with him thousands of protestants became catholic...this happened during my grand father's time...this is a very true history and not a story...
What a brave man and a noble priest. May God grant, in His infinite mercy, blessings upon him, his family, and his former parish.
How beautiful. May Our Lord give him strength to continue his journey. A wonderful man.
Although the Catholic church has many of its own problems, it is the true church. Bless this priest for his courage and conviction!
The Catholic was never the true church,,, believe me it's most people pleasing and more world pleasing,, the true church are scared 😱😱😱 they are there but scared just like the 12
I’m so sorry however it is not Bless this priest ? Pope never in early church wanted power Bishop of Rome was considered first among equals councils there was not one voice many innovations in Catholics church Vatican 11 May the Blessed Lord have mercy 🥲 Catholic Churches have now resemble protestant churches big screen feel good women giving out communion also non deacons men giving out eucharist only priest is and always in Catholic Church all these modern innovation is egregious to our Blessed Trinity and savior to much to show and explain
I was, in a way, asking our Lord to bless this priest for his courage for speaking out on behalf of the holy Catholic church. No matter our internal problems within the church, it is my belief that the Catholic church is the true church. Thank you.
How can Catholic Vatican be true Church when it is created 300 years after Orthodix Church !?
Man, that was beautiful and inspiring. I will add him and his family and congregation to my prayers. All power, honor, praise and glory to God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
What an absolute Chad. Takes real bravery and conviction to say this in front of your congregation.
Gotta respect the ortho chads! Chad so hard you become Catholic!
What does the term “chad” mean?
@@buzsnyder it refers to a stereotypically manly guy who works out alot and is very confident.
@@buzsnyderthe meme started on a podcast called Exodus Americanus.
Glory to Jesus Christ forever.
Pray for this brave and holy priest.
And pray for a reconciliation and reunion between east and west.
God bless this priest, May the Divine Assistance be with him always.
Prayers for this priest and his family. Thanks be to God!
God is still at work, welcome home father.
What made me come back to the Catholic Church is the fact that as orthodox you are NOT allowed communion in Catholic Church but a Catholic can’t receive communion in orthodox church. God stopped me in the middle of my christmation. He made me pass out and I ended up in the ER. Later in prayers I received that I cannot feed the spirit of division. I was very anti Catholic but He only could change my heart. Also, I was a cradle Catholic.
“The Lord says to Peter: ‘I say to you,’ he says, ‘that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.’ . . . On him [Peter] he builds the Church, and to him he gives the command to feed the sheep [John 21:17], and although he assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet he founded a single chair [cathedra], and he established by his own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was [i.e., apostles], but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. So too, all [the apostles] are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he [should] desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?”- St. Cyprian of Carthage (The Unity of the Catholic Church 4; 1st edition [A.D. 251]).
That was a huge draw for me to Orthodoxy-that it was serious about its exclusive claim to being the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
catholicism is superstitious and heretical. bad choice to leave orthodoxy for roman superstition.
But the Catholics respect this claim of the Orthodox. That is why all Orthodox Christians are allowed to receive communion in the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church does not require Orthodox Christians to go through a second catechism process as they are already views as fully Catholics. It is unfortunate that the Orthodox Christians do not reciprocate this by banning Roman Catholics from their communion and prohibiting their own from receiving communion in a Roman Catholic Church. In God’s eyes they are one and the same church and Rome recognizes this.
But now you are anti protestants? Just asking because many Catholics want communion with the eo but not Anglicans.
Hat's off to this priest. I can't imagine the bravery it took to say this. Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear Lord Jesus, be his rock and continue to be his source of courage and true love. Continue to bless your humble servant and his family. May your light continue to shine on their path to eternal glory, Amen.
Welcome home to this brother and his family! Glory to God!
What a powerful testimony. I wasn't Orthodox but the teachings and history of the Early Church are why I became Catholic.
Praise God for this courageous Priest!
Praise the Lord.
Amen 🙏
Prayers for the faithful man of God, what a champion man that Priest is,
No matter the cost he did what is right, he knew how crucial it is for one to be in communion with the Holy See and with Christ Church, the Catholic Church.
Thanks for sharing Michael, God bless
I would never be in communion with a church that changes the Sacred Scriptures and made up doctrines that were not Apostolic! Here are my thoughts. believe Roman Catholics are full of heresies, my personal opinion is that the majority of clergy and Bishops of the West did not speak Κοινή Ελληνική “Koine Greek”. Thus, they had to depend on a few clergy such as St. Jerome, who translated the Septuagint from Greek to Latin. In other words, they had to wait for the Creeds, etc., to be translated into Latin. As one who lives in a bilingual home, I know firsthand the difficulty of translating one language to another. By the way, St. Jerome was not a Greek scholar! I am willing to bet that there are mistranslated words in the Latin Vulgate etc. Also, Catholics are the ones who changed the Words of Jesus. Jesus said " But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. In the East, we have maintained the words of Christ within our Creed. For some reason, the West decided that Jesus was wrong because a Bishop of Rome decided that he was Christ on Earth. Thus he could change the words of God. Jesus said "Τὸ Πνεῦμα Τὸ Άγιον "the Holy Spirit" will proceed from the Father "Πατὴρ" . He never said from the Father and the Son. Orthodoxy during our liturgies we repeat the words of Christ. "ὃ Πέμψει Ο Πατὴρ " Translation: He "God the Father" will send the Holy Spirit. So, may I ask a question if one is to believe that the Roman Catholic Creed, is equivalent to saying that Jesus and his True Holy Orthodox Church are wrong!
Glory be to God!
I wasn’t expecting to cry over this but tears are falling - how hard it must have been for him to make this decision
Baptized Latin Catholic, Melkite ☦️ Greek Catholic by CHOICE!
You are so blessed
Why is the Catholic Church THE CHURCH? Because like our Lord, she welcomes everyone and if you leave her, she doesn't hound you.
This was amazing!! I’m going to have to listen to it again so I can take some notes. Thank you for reading this, and thank you for all the work you put into this channel. It has helped me tremendously.
Thank you!
This is one of the bravest and most loving things I’ve ever heard. I can feel the love and sadness and confidence he feels and how strongly many in his church must’ve reacted. I’m surprised he was able to complete such a speech without getting interrupted or attacked by someone there. I feel for all of them. I hope that more people will realize and bravely accept the need for full union in Christendom no matter how uncomfortable or upsetting it is for each of us.
Τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ῥητῶς λέγει ὅτι ἐν ὑστέροις καιροῖς ἀποστήσονταί τινες τῆς πίστεως, προσέχοντες πνεύμασι πλάνοις καὶ διδασκαλίαις δαιμονίων
@@Gregori-mi2vy8nc6y πες το στα αγγλικά, δειλέ!
@@ioanniskyparissiotes2128 This coward was posting the words of Jesus as originally recorded in Koine Greek. The language of the Septuagint, New Testament and the Early Church. Jesus warned us that some will depart from the faith , i.e., commit Apostasy. God bless you!
@@Gregori-mi2vy8nc6y schismatics cannot bless
@@ioanniskyparissiotes2128 , I am pleased to know that you grasped the concept of "Σχίσματος"!
Thank you for posting this. I am a revert from the Eastern Orthodox church and one of the things that led me back to the Catholic church was the intellectual dishonesty of so many members bordering on Stockholm syndrome. I had often used that quote of St. Maximum the Confessor and they would it was a Latin addition. I would point out that I could not go to a nearby Greek Orthodox parish, or Serbian one and the answer was : Their communion isn't valid. I would want an icon of a saint blessed and be told: He is not on our calendar and each separate jurisdiction would claim that they were Orthodox and the others weren't. I felt like I was back amongst my Protestant relatives who. split their grandparents church into five separate parishes. I will be praying for that priest and his family.
St Maximus literally says the Filioque is ok, as long as the Latins do not say that the Son is the cause of the Holy Spirit. The Council of Florence then goes on to disagree with St Maximus the Confessor, and name the Son, along with the Father, as the aitia of the Spirit. So, yeah, St Maximus would disagree with the modern Latins.
Lol if you wanna talk about Stockholm syndrome, try looking at all the Tradtards who always try to find some way to defend Cope Francis no matter how blasphemous his statements could be. Papism is literally Stockholm syndrome if it were a religion
I’d rather he left to become “anything else” than to stay Orthodox with his heart not all in! 🌺☦️🌺
wow that was powerful, amazing Homily. God bless you Father
Wasn't there also a Ukrainian Orthodox Bishop also entering into full communion with the Church by entering the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church? I saw an article with a headline to that effect a good number of months back.
I believe that was a priest from the (post-2019) Orthodox Autocephalous Orthodox Church, so, already schismatic by Eastern Orthodox standards.
@@ButSeriouslyThough At the label of being Orthodox in Ukraine there is (historically) practically and ecclesiastically a traditional division in two: one subordinate to the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and other to the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). Then the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) and one can serously add to that the Ukrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church (UOGCC), albeit new and tiny, which is a dissidence that was born in 2009 from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church with very pro-Russian tendencies. The UOC-KP, the UAOC and only part of the UOC-MP participated in a synod, held in 2018, that formed the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU) at the pretext of unifying and ceasing those divisions.
But already in 2018, Filaret (primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate) and Metropolitan Epiphanius (primate of the all-new Orthodox Church of Ukraine) had a split and the first returned to form an independent version of the UOC-KP.
If this Ukrainian bishop/ priest came to full communion with the Successor of St Peter in 2019 by entering the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, coming from the UAOC, then he must’ve been part of the OCU since it absorbed the totality of the ancient UAOC.
And the autocephaly of the all-new OCU is not really an obscure phenomenon, since it is recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate (5 January 2019), the Greek Patriarchate of Alexandria (8 November 2019), the Church of Greece (19 October 2019) and the Church of Cyprus (24 October 2020). All of them are Patriarchs/ Primates themselves and leaders of autocephalous churches according to EO’s ecclesiology.
Honestly it’s a mess indeed but I guess it would be - at the very least - hugely imprecise to say he was “already” schismatic by Eastern Orthodox standards. By Dyerites online sure, but things are not that simple inside real-world EO (that means apart from online propaganda).
God bless! From 🇧🇷 Brazil.
@@masterchief8179 Hey there, nice to see you in the comments! I say this as a while ago I've wanted to ask you a question relating to EO soteriology, but didn't get enough time for it.
Basically, it's about how some EO, when receiving converts from other Christian denominations including Catholicism, basically rebaptise people by chrismating them - they don't use water to avoid scandal and to accommodate the convert, but they do believe the oil gives you the grace of baptism along with the grace of chrismation. In other words, the matter of a sacrament can be changed and the grace usually given by it can be given by different means. So while a minority of EO physically rebaptise converts by using water, many of those other EO who chrismate them instead also believe the grace of salvation usually given through baptism is actually given through the chrismation - the only difference is that there's no water and the grace of chrismation as distinct from baptism is also given.
What do you think of this? Is there anything in the patristics to support such a view of economia - which is used to justify changing the matter of a sacrament, or literally having another sacrament give you the grace of others alongside it?
@@AbsurdScandal Hello, brother! On the rebaptism of heretics St Cyprian of Carthage lost his theological dispute with Pope St Stephen in the 200s (even if he arguably did not recognize it later on) and this theological loss to Rome paved the way to the Augustinian victory over the later North African Donatists, that (again) misused St Cyprian’s words for their own cause on the theology of grace and the operation of the sacraments.
The position of Cyprian was kind of resistant in North Africa. The Capadocian Fathers or at least St Basil had a proximate vision to that of St Cyprian’ strictness (we may give the Greek Eastern Orthodox that). But that can only mean failing to see the bigger picture. Rejecting the rebaptism of heretics, unless the level of heresy meant rejecting the baptismal formula - both concerning form and matter - and/or rejecting the Most Holy Trinity/ Trinitarian dogma - that is PRECISELY the doctrine of Pope St Stephen which became the dogmatic position of the Church pre-schism. If anything it is the Eastern Orthodox position that contradicts not a practice consolidated with antiquity but in all honesty a doctrine established as such in the realm of sacramentolgy. Notice I didn’t say St Cyprian accepted that the Pope St Stephen won his dispute. I said that Pope St Stephen’s doctrine has definitely won - and that’s pretty much it.
When the Great Schism happened, the Capadocian Fathers (in this case St Basil more specifically) were used by the Greek in schism to reinterpret their church doctrine’s on many themes, inclusive rebaptism of heretics, to make them as divergent to the Latins as possible, further to what old convergences could have meant. So they didn’t notice the very heretics St Basil the Great dealt with primarily (= Macedonianism: a heresy that denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit) denied in themselves the Most Holy Trinity, which reinforces the Catholic position, not the Eastern Orthodox one.
More so, the Council of Nicea have dealt with that SPECIFICALLY in two of its canons. And they prove that the position of the Church of Rome prevailed (just like on the Quatrodeciman controversy with Pope St Victor, that the “Synodal Letter” of Nicea established that all the Churches of the East should follow the Roman Easter: ”so that all our brethren in the East who formerly followed the custom of the Jews are henceforth to celebrate the said most sacred feast of Easter at the same time with the Romans”) . It’s not a mere accident of history, as Catholics always claim.
In Canon 8 of Nicea, the Holy Ecumenical Council decided that the Novatian heretics (they called themselves the “purists” or the ‘cathari’) - curiously enough, Novatianism was declared a heresy by the Church of Rome using the letters of St Cyprian of Carthage concerning the “lapsi” (!) - MUST NOT BE rebaptized when coming to the Church.
In Canon 19, on the other hand, the Holy Ecumenical Council decided that Paulianist heretics (the followers of Paul of Samosata, also known as “Adopcionists”) MUST BE rebaptized when coming to the Church.
What was the difference between one case (Novatianism) and the other (Adoptionism)? That’s a quite evident dogmatic theology matter: although both groups were dogmatically declared heretics by the Popes and by the very Ecumenical Councils, Adoptionists had to be rebaptized because they rejected the Holy Trinity.
For a Catholic, not only it is heresy to rebaptize “heretics” without further distinctions, but it is also sacrilegious and it disrespects the canons and the acts of the Holy Ecumenical Council of Nicea. I’m not refraining from my language here. It’s sacrilegious.
So the use the chrismation as means to “avoid” the problem sounds as a cheap way to actually avoid scandal, maybe causing one that is even bigger - arguably coming even deeper into a full Donatist sacramentology. What if the newly received EO was already confirmed? As we know, _“The three sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders confer, in addition to grace, a sacramental character or seal by which the Christian shares in Christ's priesthood and is made a member of the Church according to different states and functions. This configuration to Christ and to the Church, brought about by the Spirit, is indelible; it remains for ever in the Christian as a positive disposition for grace, a promise and guarantee of divine protection, and as a vocation to divine worship and to the service of the Church. Therefore these sacraments can never be repeated”_ (Catechism, § 1121).
All caution granted I am not as familiar with that thesis but if you say that the sacrament of Baptism does not imprint character (the “seal” or “σφραγίς”, as more usual in the Greek patrology) it would be contrary to the text of Mark 16, 16, at least the way I always understood it (and I think the Church of 2000 years too). As said, ”Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned”. Why is it that the text doesn’t sustain the parallelism “whoever is not baptized and does not believe will be condemned”? Not only because God himself is not bound to the sacramental disposition but also because a baptized person can lose belief but never lose the imprinted character of the effected sacrament, meaning the condition of being baptized, if it was valid (maybe albeit not licit).
So the thesis seems problematic too because it will enter all over again the problem of rebaptism of heretics: if baptism and chrismation do not imprint character (the “seal”) but only grace, and we feel to arbitrate where grace is - meaning heretics can’t offer that nor any kind of seal - then the position of rebaptizing heretics that confer baptism as the Church does (correct form and matter, and in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit) would have prevailed, but only under a new clothing.
@@masterchief8179 1) What council of Nicaea are you referring to? Because the First Ecumenical Council doesn't have any extant acta - they're lost to history. Do you maybe mean Nicaa II held in 787 AD?
2) Well, to clarify the thesis - many EOs think that economia allows you to basically avoid using water to confer the grace of baptism, and instead the oil of chrism can be used as a replacement which can truly confer the grace of baptism but without water. Is there any patristic precedent for such a view of matter-replacement? Meaning that one can use another sacrament (or at least the matter of another) out of economia to bestow the grace that a different sacrament usually does?
Praise God! This priest walks the long road of "white martyrdom". It is a hard road, but one that ironically brings peace.
There are more Orthodox who are being lead to enter Holy Union, and we must keep them firmly in our prayers.
We who are on the other side, only by God's grace, are with them.
What a brave and faithful man as well as his family. May God protect and guide him.
Beautiful! At face value, it's a high earthly cost to this priest, but ohhh boy, the eternal *value* is incomprehensible.
I welcome this priest home, but I hold nothing against my Eastern cousins.
The priest makes sense and found the real church. I am glad about it his decision being a part of Roman Catholic Apostolic Universal church.
I am a catholic and let me tell you I find the orthodox church beautiful, the priests are still faithful and the love for Christ is still visible in their actions, unfortunately I have stopped seeing that in catholic priests. They are more interested in running education institution and run after society recognitions.
Where do you live?
There is a lot of anger among the Orthodox Christians. A true beautiful letter.
I pray for all EO to come in communion with the RC because this is the will 9f Christ that we may be one.
Awe, 🙏🏻 God’ Bless him and his family, Amen 🙏🏻
From, Dublin, Ireland 🇮🇪
Praise be to Jesus Christ!!
I will keep him in my prayers & coming home to the true faith, One holy Catholic & Apostolic Church. 🙏🛐💯 Catholic 🗝️🗝️ Prayers for all love you guys at R&T. The Ex Greek Orthodox family that converted to the Catholic church in my Parish they lost friends over there decision So prayers people need to be humble & pray for one another I Pray we get a Russian family in my Catholic parish next 🙏🛐
God bless this priest and his family. I'm so happy to hear that the Roman Catholic bishop in his diocese welcomed him in and allowed him to continue his pastoral ministry. I pray that the people who have trouble with this conversion continue to seek God, and seek the truth.
It wasn't a Roman Catholic Bishop. It was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Bishop.
@@spiderdxn2263 You must have more information about this specific case than I have. I assumed it was a Roman Catholic bishop because there are five churches in my Roman Catholic diocese that are identical to Eastern Orthodox style and worship, but recognize the authority of the Pope and the magisterium.
Those churches may be in your area but they are probably not technically part of your diocese. Eastern Catholic Churches (Ukrainian, Byzantine/Ruthenian, Melkite, Maronite, etc.) have their own bishops and their own eparchies (dioceses). For example, for Byzantine Catholics the Eparchy of Phoenix covers much of the western US. If you go to a Byzantine parish in Seattle or Anchorage or Sacramento, the priest there belongs to the Byzantine Eparchy of Phoenix, not the Roman Catholic dioceses of Seattle or Anchorage or Sacramento.
The Eparchy of Phoenix happens to be administrated by the Roman bishop of Phoenix, Bishop Olmstead, right now while we await our own bishop being appointed. But that means that even the priest of the Byzantine parish in Anchorage, Alaska is subject to Bishop Olmstead of Phoenix right now, not the Archbishop of Anchorage.
@@jeneriss those churches don’t belong to your Diocese. Eastern Catholics have separate hierarchies. They aren’t generally subject to Latin rite bishops. If you aren’t versed in all of this it can be confusing.
@@colleencarterduncan7559 YT will not post my original response to your comment. Thank you for your thoughtful response. The Eastern rite churches in my area are not all part of my Roman Catholic diocese, that's true, but some are. I tried to post a link to the information from the diocese of Lansing website that showed this, but I think the link itself is the reason why YT will not post my response comment. If you search Diocese of Lansing, MI Eastern Rite, I think you will find the page I tried to share with you. God bless you.
This took much courage. May the Lord continue his formation, discernment, and journey to holiness, in Jesus’ holy name.
I'm actually working my way in the other direction and getting to a point where I am getting ready to convert from RC to EO. Thanks for sharing this- it didn't sway me, but I did enjoy it.
Prayers for your discernment
What is making you want to move?
@@ReasonandTheology I'm in the same boat as Everett and you know man, that is the most solid response a guy could ask for... Prayers for your discernment. Pray for mine too please. That was really solid of you Michael. At the end of the day we all have our own mental makeup, our own experiences, all that goes into how we weigh the evidence and discern our path. This is not a claim of relativism, just simply to say that these are deep waters and some of us are only just learning to swim. Anyhow, thanks for sharing this, and I appreciated that response to the other seeker.
“The Lord says to Peter: ‘I say to you,’ he says, ‘that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.’ . . . On him [Peter] he builds the Church, and to him he gives the command to feed the sheep [John 21:17], and although he assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet he founded a single chair [cathedra], and he established by his own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was [i.e., apostles], but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. So too, all [the apostles] are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he [should] desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?”- St. Cyprian of Carthage (The Unity of the Catholic Church 4; 1st edition [A.D. 251]).
Council of Nicaea II
“We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, proceeding from the Father through the Son” (Profession of Faith [A.D. 787]).
@@richlopez5896 the Councils between 325-381 First Council Of Nicaea 325 First Council of Constantinople 381 was the last official Church Council that settled on the Creed. The Creed reflected and rightfully so on the words of Jesus Christ. Jesus said "I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth “ἐκπορεύεται” from the Father", The Council of Constantinople affirmed the words of Jesus “Καὶ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, τὸ κύριον, τὸ ζῳοποιόν, τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον”! Translation But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father. During the Council of 381 The Council put in writing that the Creed agreed upon in 381 AD was never to be changed! The Council you quoted from 787 AD is a fraud on multiple levels, first it is a blatant disregard for the words of Jesus , second the Ancient Catholic Church in 381 put in writing that the Creed was never to be changed. “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, proceeding from the Father through the Son” (Profession of Faith [A.D. 787])". Lopez, I stand to be corrected , it was the 8th Ecumenical Council held at Hagia Sophia that the Church agreed that the Creed was not to be changed.
I understand the element of trolls, and keeping his name hidden under the idea of unwanted persecution. But the same time, he would be a tremendous encouragement. There's a reason why we don't hide our convictions. Our Lord calls us "to be the Light of the world." You can't be a light if no one knows your name. I think the secrecy is the wrong move. Especially since hes a priest and this is what he signed up for. We aren't called to save our skins from trolls. We are called to glorify God.
Praying for him🙏
All Glory to God! What an amazing video and what a strong, amazing priest. I don't know him, his family nor his parishioners but I love them already. I will offer up my rosary for him, his family and for that small group of parishioners who returned to full communion with Rome and came HOME.
We will definitely pray for that holy priest and his family and they are welcomed into our Catholic community with the greatest love.
God bless and protect this priest and his family!
Amazing & powerful testimony !God bless him,his family and His Ministry now in the Catholic Church!🙏❤️🔥
Thanks be to God for this brave Fr.
"Flee to the Roman Church. Take shelter under her guidance and protection." Catholics do not have to be theologians to find out who is right in arguments where several answers seem viable. Many of us are not intellectually astute or donot have the luxury of study while trying to make ends meet.
Jesus gave us a secure rock on which we can be certain of the Truth by the safeguarding of the Holy Spirit: the Chair of Peter in the Roman Catholic Church.
Jesus knew that Christians will be blown about by esoteric teachings and heresies in every age. He set in place the Magisterium of His Church with His authority to bind the faithful and give them the assurance to know that the Holy Spirit preserves the Chair of Peter from teaching error . (Even in cases when Peter himself is a heretic)
The Church discerns and defines those matters that are necessary for salvation. She is His living authority on earth and we can concentrate on the daily work of carrying our cross and following Him faithfully. He will not allow the Church to bind us to anything other than His Will.
This makes sense since Christ, the Good Shepherd, would not leave His sheep without His Voice to lead them.
It is called the Catholic Church. Roman only refers to the Roman Catholics. There are 23 Eastern Catholic Churches. I happen to be Byzantine Catholic and he can keep his liturgical traditions by being Byzantine Catholic and in full-union with Rome.
Well said, Father
I feel kind of happy about this priest’s decision and it’s not the only time I’ve seen an Orthodox priest make this change. To the Orthodox people who feel disappointed or betrayed I can only say that it is in my opinion that Christ taught unity and these churches should not be divided. So, I rejoice in this priest’s decision.
A lot of us were disillusioned by the failed council of 2016. He isn’t alone in that.
What was the name of that council
Why?
@@chiefamongsinners16 because it was failed?
@@cesarzpontu8886 Why would that cause someone to be disillusioned?
@@chiefamongsinners16 because that shows shows the lack of unity among eastern orthodox.
I really don't know if the current behaviour of Orthodox Christians is a feature of US Orthodox Christians? Those in my continent are very cordial and have good relations with the Catholics.
I think it's a loud obnoxious minority. Unfortunately all it takes is one eCeleb and his hordes of "based" Ortho followers to make a lot of people look bad. God bless you, Jeremiah. As a Roman rite Catholic I have nothing but respect for you and all Orthodox Christians of good will.
Most Orthodox I know are lovely and welcoming to Catholics and others. The ones I've met who weren't were almost all converts from Protestant groups who are very anti-Catholic, and they brought their anti-Catholicism with them.
He would have done this about 6 months ago if this is Pascha. I would love to hear how he is doing now.
He is doing well.
This is an incredibly powerful witness. It's reason and theology in action. Wow....
I wanted to paste the Obama mic drop GIF here but my phone wont let me. Probably the Holy Spirit keeping me out of a sin against charity. 🤣
I understand that things are not perfect within world Orthodoxy. Far from it. But how does one overlook the antics of this present pope, who is causing alot of confusion and disunity in the western church?
I challenge the claim that he is causing a lot of confusion and the difference is between the man and the office. This is a distinction you should be familiar with if you are not a Donatist. Also, if it is a divinely established institution, you have no other choice than to be in communion with the pope.
@@ReasonandTheology if we were living prior to 1955, I would find these assertions much more convincing. I can't make myself believe that Francis is a true pope. I have much respect for the Roman see, and, unlike many of my Orthodox brethren, I believe that the papacy has more than a simple primacy of honor. But I feel that Vatican I took the whole matter too far.
By the way, I respect Father's freedom to make this decision. I wish him well. I realize that it took alot of courage to do what he did. I was in a similar position year's ago.
@@fr.michael9213 I challenge the narrative about Francis in my rad trad playlist.
Exodus 2:14 Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”
Moses was chosen by God, just like Peter. We Catholics have faith in God not man.
Wow, well said(written). Incredible. I hope no harm comes his way.
I wish this priest would write a blog or a book or do UA-cam videos to show us what he learned on his search. I’d be very interested to learn from his personal journey to see his perspective.
Me too, I would like to hear.
I get a lot of Orthodox dislike you but they assume you’re a cartoon villain or something. It would be so un-slick to write a whole homily and present it as real haha. God bless Michael hope all is well
I truly feel joy when I hear a protestant comes back home to the Church and I do feel the joy that this Priest is coming back to the Church.. but it also gives me a sense of sadness that for 1000 years we have been separate from our orthodox Brothers. I hope that this schism will end and that the Catholic Church turns back to V1... DUES VULT!!!
Glory to God!
May God re unite his holy Church.☦️🇻🇦
We all wish you joy and peace in your decision to join the Roman Catholic Church, you are lovingly welcomed.
Wow, this is so powerful. The current situation within Eastern Orthodoxy is unfortunate, but it's also no surprise. I hope many other Orthodox Christians find themselves on the same path as this priest. Lord, make us one.
What current situation?
Yes what current situation?
@@chiefamongsinners16 The situation described in the letter in the video. Orthodoxies can’t even do an ecumenical concil. Lacks communion and an objective reference to it.
Beautiful Pray for unity
This is absolutely beautiful
God bless and guide this priest.
I’ve attended many Orthodox catechisms. I am Roman Catholic. I just happened to live in a house next door to an Orthodox Church and I just fell in with them due to geographic proximity. Frankly the more I study the theology the more confused I feel. Take for example Saint Bernadette. Study her life. She was an unschooled, poor peasant and she did not even know what the Trinity meant. She saw the mother of God. Look at Shepards just tending their flocks. They were also very unschooled but the were the first in the public domaine to receive news of Christ’s birth. As to the commentator giving his argument in favor of the Filioque clause, I would just ask if it even matters in God’s eyes how you recite this prayer. I think God looks at the heart of a person. Is a person trying to be peaceful and good. Jesus said in so many words in the Gospel that the most essential thing in religious teaching is to love God and one’s neighbor. Jesus did simply it. I don’t think of heaven as a place where you are let in through the gate or not depending on if you recited or did not recite a clause in a creed. I mean really. How would you feel if heaven turned out to be like a visit to the DMV to get your license renewed. You know how you wait in line with your ticket and you go to window number 4 when your number is called out. I just get bothered by all the complications of religion. It is supposed to help us and give us faith and proper guidance and not be divisive with all this theological debate.
If humility be the judge of sanctity, here speaks a saint confronting his deepest darkness. May he receive the light he seeks.
Sad and happy at the same time. Sad because we too face the same darkness from time to time. Happy....? I am catholic and he has reassured me.
It’s time to unite the Orthodox and the Catholics again.
God bless this courageous priest. 🙏
Invite him on the show please.
The Spirit is moving in the world, pray for the reunification of the Holy Church.
Thanks be to God for the conversion of this priest back to the One True Church. Jesus Christ is truly king, savior and shepherd. Lord Jesus Christ please show mercy to the entire Orthodox Christians and bring them home.
St. Mark of Ephesus, Pray to God for us! May God preserve the Holy Orthodox Faith, whole and entire!
He INDEED is a brave soul! It's a wonder they did skin him alive! My prayers for him and his wife and children! God bless him!
Prayers and Thanksgiving for such a model of faith and love. I am so touched.
That is one powerful letter of resignation! If I’m perfectly frank, it may have gone further than what would seem appropriate for a liturgy, maybe?
That said, this Orthodox priest is the FIRST EVER Orthodox I’ve heard to accurately state what Catholics believe, without condescension, or mockery, or ill will. Love all around and especially for his parish family.
Hello. I'm looking into Christianity and it is obvious to me that it is true. Historical claims Jesus made reduce viable options of churches to Catholic or Orthodox. It would be great if they were still united, but here we are. I am almost entirely convinced that it is the Orthodox that are true successors of the original, undivided church. This video and the letter were good and brave in speaking the truth, as clearly as the priest who wrote it could. It however does nothing to convince me of the actual historical facts.
It appears to me that if Catholic church has any hope of being the true Church, Peter the apostle has to have supremacy, an not merely primacy over other apostles. As best as I understand it, Peter received the the keys and the power to bind and loose first among the apostles. That makes Peter first among equals, first among other apostles. This is the Orthodox claim.
History appears to condemn the Pope who wasn't content with being the first among equals, but wanted to be a universal bishop. Four out of five original apostolic sees are still united in Orthodoxy and have rejected Bishop of Rome's claim to a supreme status. That makes historical claims for Catholic church to be true nearly impossible, as best as I can understand it. That leaves only a chance that Peter really was a "super/supreme" apostle as Catholic's only hope of being true.
What am I missing? Is what I have written distorted or wrong? Or if it is true, how is Peter the supreme apostle and not merely a first among equals? If Peter wasn't the supreme apostle, how do Catholics justify that Peter's successor should be supreme in relation to other apostolic successors?
I hope my seeking of help is honest and sharp, but not combative or hostile. Thank you for reading and your help, and have a nice day :)
Take a look at my Eastern Orthodoxy playlist and papacy playlist. Too much to type here.
@@ReasonandTheology Thank you for your reply. I will take a look. I hope you address my question in the first video of your playlist:
Answering Orthodoxy: The Formula of Hormisdas with Michael Lofton
ua-cam.com/video/8PIwVqtJ9Bg/v-deo.html
@@PetarStamenkovic I have an entire book coming out answering objections like the one you described above. I'll get you a copy when it is out.
@@ReasonandTheology I listened to first six minutes of the first video and it was some random reply to some random twit or something like that so I stopped listening. If you have an actual reply, I'll be interested to find out.
This is beautiful and inspiring
A very brave priest may God bless you and your family
Hi brothers and sisters. I am Catholic and its important for me to tell you all that I love the Orthodox Churches. They are Apostolic Churches and Apostolic Christians. Its important that we read the "High Priestly Prayer" Jesus prayed in John 17. Read it know. If we do not reunify, we cannot confront Islam and the darkness settling over our world.
Pray for unity. What once separated us, is not cause for schism.
Could you post this awesome homily, along with its editing, on your website? Thanks, Mike.
He accepted the Truth and God's True Church.
I told the title of this video to my girlfriend and she thought there was a terrorist attack at an orthodox church XD
What concerns me is how the presenter is keeping the name of the priest anonymous in order to protect him and his family from harassment. This is not the first time I have heard of this. Surely if Orthodox Christians are representative of the true faith then the most peaceful and christian attitude would be to whole heartedly wish this priest well and respect his choice of conscience. The schism which occurred centuries ago was terminated by both the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in the year 1965. Rome accepts this but Orthodox do not even respect this declaration announced by their own ecumenical leader. I can understand a desire to preserve Byzantine rites but this certainly is done by many eastern churches which respect their own prayers and culture yet still respect God’s command of unity of his one church. This priest has made a wise and righteous decision yet he obviously fears unjust harassment from some Orthodox. I think this is something all Christians people should pray about and consider. Anyway who would harass this priest or his family for his decision is not correctly following the spirit of love and unity.
Deo Gratias!
Michael, is the same priest you said you were going to interview in the future?
Different priest.
@@ReasonandTheology amazing
Great letter, courageous also considering the well-known anti-Roman bias in the EO churches. But I wonder: Since the Roman Catholic Church allows all Eastern Orthodox to receive the sacraments in the Roman Church (though the reverse is not done), can anyone in good standing in any Eastern Orthodox Church, simply on any given Sunday just decide to attend the Roman Mass and call themselves Catholic? No need for RCIA? Sounds too easy, But I really do not know.
The Catholic church does not extend the sacraments to the orthodox.
@@christopherpavesi7245 Actually, it does. Tell any Catholic priest you are EO and ask if you can take communion. The answer is yes. Ask about Confession. Ditto. EO baptism and chrismation are accepted by the RC too. But the EO accept no Catholic sacraments and actively preach to their congregations to not approach the Catholic Church in any way like this. EO say RC is heretical, so untrue and part of innate bias.
@usdadsasda Not intolerance, but active engagement. RC does this especially to the EO. Also Lutherans. Rarely is theology the sticking point; papal authority always is. Says a lot. But engagement continues.
@usdadsasda That's undeserving of any comment since it is just allegation and is wrong anyway. Please investigate before alleging and bring facts to bear. Influence? Silliness.
All Eastern Orthodox sacraments are considered valid because they have a valid priesthood. They are however not in communion with the Holy Catholic Church and can not under normal circumstances recieve sacraments from a Catholic Priest. Under risk of death the sacraments could be administered to a schismatic but that is an extraordinary circumstance.
Waiting for the Orthobros to cope.
But congrats to him, a very bold move.
Hey brother keep up the good work 💪💯 Catholic 🗝️🗝️
@usdadsasda ?
Was he able to finish or did the congregation just cut him off 😢 God bless him, I can not imagine how hard it was 🙏🏼
I’ve been a guest in an Orthodox Church for 12 years. I am Catholic but just couldn’t renounce my heritage. The pastor there was very open and as he accepted me, so did everyone else. There was tension but kept in check. This pastor just retired and within days my flower decorating ministry was cancelled by the new pastor and I’ve heard he is very opposed to anything western. I am Catholic but this Orthodox church was my direct neighbor and just a good fit. There is no Catholic Church geographically as near. I’ve noticed over the years some very deep seeded resentment towards Catholics from the Orthodox side. I’ve come to be able to sympathize with their very closed view. Yet, I do believe firmly that this division is wrong and both sides need to work very hard at reconciliation.
As a RCC, I am learning more of the Eastern Catholic versus far East Orthodox
I was raised ukrainian catholic and my dad is a ukrainian catholic priest:)
@@miracles_metanoiaToday, I participated in the divine liturgy of an Eastern Catholic Church, it was beautiful brother!!!
How wonderful would it be when the day that both the western and eastern churches unite again! And with unity and great confidence we can invite our protestant brethren to come back home!