Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism’s Infallibility Problem

Dionisius, Irene and Constantine at the Seventh Ecumenical Council (15th c.)

The “infallibility problem” in Eastern Orthodoxy is more similar to the infallibility problem in Protestantism than you may realize. In each case, rejection of centralized infallibility leaves them with fallible (and hazy) collections of infallible teachings.

Did St. Josaphat Die in Vain?

Józef Simmler, Martyrdom of Jozafat Kuncewicz in Vitebsk in 1623 (1861)

  392 years ago today, Saint Josaphat, an Eastern Catholic bishop in Ukraine, was dragged out of his rectory and murdered by the Eastern Orthodox townspeople that he was trying to lead back into union with the Roman Catholic Church. The Church does not hesitate, in her prayers, to say that he poured out his… Continue reading Did St. Josaphat Die in Vain?

The Heretical Case Against the Synod

Nicolas Beatrizet, Christ's Charge to Peter (1540s)

Even a number of ordinarily sober-minded Catholics have begun panicking that the Synod on the Family is about to lead the Church into apostasy. While we should always pray for the Church, and pray especially for the Synod, these fears are unfounded… and heretical.

Can Non-Christians Be Saved?

From the Danse Macabre (Dance of Death) of the Dominican cemetery of Bern‎, Germany

Four questions routinely arise about the Church’s view of the possibility of salvation for those outside of Her ranks:

1. Is Baptism necessary for salvation?
2. Are all of the non-baptized damned?
3. If the non-baptized can be saved, why share the Gospel?
4. Has the Catholic Church changed her answer to these prior three questions?

To understand how the Church can simultaneously hold that Baptism is necessary for salvation and that those can be saved who have never been Baptized, we’ve got to consider two things: how to get to Heaven, and how to get to Hell.

Felix Roma: The Role of Rome in the True Church

“O happy Rome, stained purple with the precious blood of so many princes!
You excel all the beauty of the world, not by your own glory,
but by the merits of the saints whose throats you cut with bloody swords.”

Three Rome-themed mini-posts to commemorate Sts. Peter and Paul: (I) the necessity of being united with the Roman Church, (II) the Roman Church not being the Seat of the Antichrist, and (III) an exciting new Catholic podcast centered around Rome.

Two Steps for Beginning Your Examination of the Catholic Church

St. Peter’s, Rome In 2007, Dr. Francis Beckwith, the president of the Evangelical Theological Society — the nation’s largest Evangelical coalition of scholars, with over 4,000 members — announced that he was converting (technically, reverting) to Roman Catholicism. Last week, I had the opportunity of meeting Dr. Beckwith, and hearing his reversion story in person (I’d… Continue reading Two Steps for Beginning Your Examination of the Catholic Church

The Covenantal Case for Catholicism

One area in which Catholics and many Protestants agree is that covenant is key to Christianity. After all, Judaism and Christianity are frequently referred to as the “Old Covenant” and “New Covenant,” and the terms Old and New Testament are also tied to the covenant. Granted, we often disagree with how the covenants should be… Continue reading The Covenantal Case for Catholicism