A Blessing from the East: Russian Orthodoxy’s Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev

An Eastern Orthodox reader of Mark Shea’s blog asked: Have you ever heard of Met. Hilarion Alfeyev? He’s the No. 2 figure in the Russian Orthodox Church, the church’s chief diplomat. He’s only 44 years old. Super-brilliant guy, and startlingly open to the West. I heard him speak this past weekend in NYC, and let… Continue reading A Blessing from the East: Russian Orthodoxy’s Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev

A Truly Inspiring Story from Egypt

Like Pakistan, which I mentioned this morning, Egypt has experienced a rise in anti-Christian violence at the hands of Muslim extremists.  But the reaction in Egypt has been far different from Pakistan’s, and far more inspiring. 2011 began in Egypt with 23 Coptic Christians killed, and about a hundred injured, as a result of a… Continue reading A Truly Inspiring Story from Egypt

A Fascinating Proposal for Catholic-Orthodox Reunion

The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation is a group made up of representatives from both the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church who have explored the question of under what conditions full union between what John Paul II referred to as the two “lungs” of the Body of Christ might be possible.  On October 2,… Continue reading A Fascinating Proposal for Catholic-Orthodox Reunion

A Thaw in the Ice for Catholics and Orthodox?

Eastern Orthodox relations have been improving markedly under Pope Benedict XVI. John Paul II anxiously awaited a path towards reunion with what he called the “other lung of the Church,” but he was met with a pretty icy response, and was refused entry to visit Russia. In no small part, petty ethnic politics played a… Continue reading A Thaw in the Ice for Catholics and Orthodox?

Ah, But What About the Eastern Orthodox?

On one of my older posts, Chris Donato, who is senior associate editor for Tabletalk magazine (put out by R.C. Sproul’s Ligonier Ministries), asked: Briefly, even if one does accept the infallibility of the ecumenical creeds, the “fact” that no ecumencial creed has been formulated since the Great Schism leaves us in kind of a… Continue reading Ah, But What About the Eastern Orthodox?

Protestantism’s Eastern Blindspot

That’s the title of an excellent post by Orthocath, an ex-Eastern Catholic (now Eastern Orthodox) blogger. His point is that Protestants frequently claim things like Catholic Eucharistic theology are Medieval inventions … completely ignoring that the Eastern Orthodox hold virtually identical views, despite the Great Schism of 1054. And to those Protestants who would suggest… Continue reading Protestantism’s Eastern Blindspot

Different Views on Catholic Radio

This really is more of two posts: one in which I talk about a good post on Catholic radio, and one where I talk about a good Catholic apologist in the comments of that same post. I just thought it would be strange to have two different posts talking about the same link. I. iMonk… Continue reading Different Views on Catholic Radio

Twelve Important Differences Between Catholics and Orthodox

…from an Eastern Orthodox revert to Catholicism (that is, raised Catholic, became EO for four years, and reverted to Catholicism). This list is excellent, and the comments are worth reading. The blog’s author is very fond of the Eastern Orthodox still, and presents their arguments with their full weight (to the point that Patrick Madrid… Continue reading Twelve Important Differences Between Catholics and Orthodox