My interest in Eastern Orthodoxy has cooled considerably as of late. I still think the pontifical "reform" of annulments and his wrecking ball of an exhortation (especially in his promotion of the Maltese and German defenestration of the three affected sacraments) have left minimal to no substantive difference between EO's divorce culture and the right-now practice endorsed by the Vatican.
HOWEVER, there is still some hope that Catholic marriage may survive in places where a bishop can pull the theological equivalent of Chopped and turn Tucho Fernandez's progressive processed school cafeteria turkey roll into something with Catholic spiritual nourishment.
Despite the pontiff's best and unceasing efforts to the contrary.
Ironically, it was the "Orthodox in Communion with Rome" wing of Eastern Catholicism which turned me away from Orthodoxy. I was left with the distinct impression that it was the Sacrament of Economia, not Marriage, and you know--shrug--shit happens. That, and the Romans are losers with their Tridentine insistence on indissolubility, and the East is always and everywhere right and...
It gets old, fast.
Now I recognize that such gents don't speak for Orthodoxy, but they do accurately reflect the laxism that besets some of Orthodoxy's jurisdictions. Not all of them--ROCOR seems fairly rigorous about the remarriage process, but others...well, let's just say there's some not-so approaches.
So when I saw an estimable and genuinely admirable Eastern Orthodox priest say that he really didn't think that the arguments for the Perpetual Virginity of Mary held up in the face of the Assured Results of Modern Biblical Scholarship, it wasn't so much the last straw as the recognition of something a wise Eastern Catholic friend told me when he learned of the beginning of my study:
"Eastern Orthodoxy will drive you nuts."
And so it seems.
Not that there aren't treasures there, and something for Romans to learn--starting with the high Christology and emphasis on the Transfiguration, both of which are helpful correctives for the meek non-judgmental Palestinian life coach currently much in vogue. And that's just the beginning. I'm glad I've begun to take a look at Orthodoxy.
But I can't see it as the path for me. Never say never I guess, but I'm not seeing it.
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New digs for ponderings about Levantine Christianity.
The interior of Saint Paul Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Harissa, Lebanon. I have decided to set up a Substack exploring Eastern Christi...
This is the first time ABS has dropped by in a while and this post is quite eye-opening.
ReplyDeleteThere really isn't much to contribute other than to tell you there are certain men whose blogs I used to read regularly (yours and Eliot's among them) and I resolved then and there to remember them by name at Mass.
This is about the only thing I ever remember any more, Mr.Price. You are not forgotten nor will you be abandoned.
Pax tecum
Very much in a "to whom shall we turn?" frame of mind of late.
ReplyDeleteMy father-in-law switched to EO after divorcing his wife of 30 some odd years who was battling cancer (no, he is not John McCain), and then married another woman, while his wife was still living. Rather convenient that whole icky-nomia thing. Funny thing, he seems to keep trying to convince me how OK he is now with the conversion and how great OE is, blah blah blah. Guilty conscience much?
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