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Question Title Posted By Question Date
Greek Orthodox Michael Sunday, November 28, 2010

Question:

Hi
Just wondered if there is anything seriously wrong with the Greek orthodox church or is it basically the same as the Catholic Church. to me the Greek Orthodox church is the only other Church which has a similar feel to the Catholic church in that it gives you the sense and feeling that it is a true religion. I have been to Baptist churches and a few others and they feel devoid of God to me.
Question Answered by Mr. Benjamin Mathew

Dear Michael,

The Eastern Orthodox Church split from the Catholic church in what we now call the "Great Schism" in 1054. The Greek Orthodox Church is part of the Eastern Orthodox Church which should not be confused with the Eastern Catholic Churches and their rites. 

One of the main causes for the schism was the place of the Pope within the faith. The Eastern Church thought of the Pope as an honorary position while the Catholic Church believes in the doctrine of Papal supremacy.

The first Vatican council, affirmed the dogma of papal infallibility, and stated:

"in the disposition of God the Roman church holds the preeminence of ordinary power over all the other churches"

Dogmas are revealed truth, defined by the Church, and are NOT subject to change. This means that Catholic Dogma, such as the Eucharist and Papal Infallibility, will be a dogma forever. No one has the authority to reverse dogma. Nothing in the Second Vatican council, from 800 pages of documents are infallible; there are only a few dogmas but they 'oblige the Christian people to an irrevocable adherence of faith'. This shows how important these Dogmas are to Catholics.

We must be wary of our feelings on matters regarding the truth. The truth is not subject to our emotions or our feelings. The Eastern Orthodox Churches (under proper apostolic succession) do have legitimate sacraments; this could be one of the reasons why you feel God's presence at these churches. However, attending a Greek Orthodox Divine Liturgy will not fulfill your "Sunday obligation" unless you cannot attend a Catholic liturgy.

Similarly, a lot of the architecture and iconography is similar to Catholic Churches compared to the contemporary Christian "mega-churches" etc. This could be another reason why you feel that this is a "true religion".

If you are interested in reading more about the Pope, his role within the Church, or the origin of the Papacy (Peter), I encourage you to read the book Reasons to believe by Dr. Scott Hahn. He takes an in depth look at the Papacy in one of the chapters and the book looks at fullness of Truth - that is the Catholic Church.

Below is a list of the six primary Catholic liturgical traditions and their subgroups; the Orthodox Churches with similar names, are not Catholic:



1 Latin Church
Roman, Ambrosian, Mozarabic, Dominican, Carmelite, and Carthusian (the Dominican, Carmelite and Carthusian have now adopted the Roman)

2 Byzantine Church
14 sub-groups: Albanian, Bulgarian, Byelorussian, Georgian, Greek, Italo-Albanian, Melkite, Hungarian, Russian, Ruthenian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Yugoslav, Slovak

3 Alexandrian Church
Coptic (Egypt), Ethiopian (Abyssinian)

4 Antichene Church
East Syrian: Chaldian (Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Americas) and Syro-Malabarese (India)

West Syrian: Malankarese (India), Maronite (worldwide, but mainly in Lebanon), Syrian (Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Egypt, Turkey)

5 Armenian Church (Near East, Middle East, Europe, Africa, Americas, Australia)

6 Malabar Church (Southwest India)

God bless;
Mr. Mathew