Dear Mike:

The Church in the East is not "slightly older" if you mean any Church not under the Pope (what we call today the Orthodox Churches). While the Church began in Jerusalem, the Church established by Jesus and birthed on Pentecost was the Church under the leadership of Pope Peter. It was the only Church for several centuries. Peter first held his see at Antioch and then moved to Rome where the See of Peter remained, and where the See of the Pope still resides.

The Orthodox Eastern Churches split from the Pope later in several minor splits culminating in the major split in A.D. 1054. It was not the West (Rome) that split, but the East. The Orthodox will dispute that, but to deny this fact is historical and intellectual dishonesty. Jesus established His Church with Peter as the first Prime Minister (Pope). Any legitimate Church was in communion with the Pope. Peter cannot split from Peter. Thus, by logical necessity, as well has historical fact, the East split from Rome and created their own Churches. These Eastern (Orthodox) Churches are not universal (catholic) but national and ethnic Churches.

Some of the Eastern Churches never went into schism from the Pope, others (Uniate Churches) returned to communion with Rome. These Uniate Churches are called the Eastern Catholic Churches.

Thus, today we have the Catholic Church, composed of the Western and Eastern Church in some 27 individual Rites and sub-rites constituting a universal (catholic) Church, and the Eastern (Orthodox) Churches, which remain in schism from the Church that Jesus founded upon Peter.

There has been two major schisms in the Catholic Church -- in 1054 when some of the Eastern Churches split off, and in the 16th Century with the Protestant Revolution.

The 30,000 various communities you mention have nothing to do with the Catholic Church. Those are splinters of the splinters of the Protestant mess.

The Eastern (Orthodox) has had a major schism of itself going into schism in 1054. In additional there are numerous splinters from the Orthodox Church of independent churches not in communion with the Orthodox Church, but claiming Orthodox Tradition. There are dozens of these splinters and as is usual with splinters they tend to end up in heresy from the teachings of the the Church they split from.

The Catholic Church, the only true Church in the fullness of the Faith, the Church that Jesus founded, is in unity worldwide. There is no disunity in official teachings. There many individuals (heretics, schismatics, heterodox) who claim catholicity even though they are in rebellion against the Church, but the Church, herself, is in unity under the Pope. That is one reason for the Papal office -- to provide stability and unity.

Thus, it is a misnomer that the Western Church (the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church) has disunity and the Eastern Orthodox does not.

There does seem, however, to be more problems in the West with heretic, schismatic, and heterodox people and groups. I am not sure why except perhaps that it might be due to the differences of the historical cultural traditions between the West and East. The Western cultures have a tradition of individualism that the East does not. This individualism can breed pride and arrogance that leads to disunity.

For example, Martin Luther's pride and arrogance was extreme. Martin Luther ripped out seven books in the Old Testament that had been considered canon in the Church for 1500 years solely on his opinion. Luther wanted to rip out the books of James, Hebrews and Revelations too. He called James an "epistle of straw". Of course St. James refuted Martin Luther's claim of justification by "faith alone". The only place in the Bible where those words come together in in the book of James where St. James says that "justification is not by faith alone" (James 2:24).

Martin Luther, in his abject arrogance, added the word "alone" to the passage in Romans 3:28 in his German translation.

Luther, in fact, was confronted at the time on why he had added the word "alone" to Romans 3:28. His response is VERY revealing. To the criticism of adding the word "alone" to Romans 3:28 Martin Luther replied:

"You tell me what a great fuss the Papists are making because the word 'alone' is not in the text of Paul. If your Papist makes such an unnecessary row about the word 'alone,' say right out to him: 'Dr. Martin Luther will have it so,' and say: 'Papist and asses are one and the same thing.' I will have it so, and I order it to be so, and my will is reason enough. I know very well that the word 'alone' is not in the Latin or the Greek text, and it was not necessary for the Papists to teach me that. It is true those letters are not in it, which letters the jackasses look at, as a cow stares at a new gate...It shall remain in my New Testament, and if all the Popish donkeys were to get mad and beside themselves, they will not get it out."

Thus sayeth the "humble" Martin Luther.

Martin Luther also hated it when anyone interpreted the Bible differently than he did. He expected everyone to accept his interpretation alone and only his interpretation. For a man who hated the papacy, it sounds to me like he has delusions of popehood.  :)

This sort of pride and arrogance is the hallmark of every person and group who "picks up their toys and stomps out" of Mother Church to form their own variety of church.

As for a non-Catholic choosing the Catholic Church or the Orthodox Church, this is no-brainer. The Catholic Church is the Church that Jesus personally founded upon Peter. To go to any other church is to ignore the Church that Jesus founded for his children.

If one wishes to practice Christianity in the Eastern liturgies, then they can join the Eastern Catholic Church (there is no need to go to the Orthodox Churches for that liturgical style).

The Catholic Church has six major "Rites" and various other "subgroups" within those Rite. A "rite" refers to a liturgical tradition. The largest rite is the Roman Rite which is a subgroup of the Latin Church

The six primary liturgical traditions and their subgroups are:

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)

All these are Catholic Churches, all part of the Church founded by Jesus. The Orthodox Churches, some of which have similar names, are not Catholic Churches, but are material schismatics from the Church that Jesus founded.

Peter was the first Prime Minister (Pope) of the New Covenant, just as Moses was the first Prime Minister (Pope) of the Mosaic Covenant. God has always had his Prime Minister in each of His covenants from Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses to Peter. Each covenant has a chair of authority. Jesus mentions the Chair of Moses in Matthew 23:2 and says that the disciples were to obey those that sat in the chair, even if that Mosaic Magisterium were personally corrupt.

As in the covenants of the Old Testament, God, as he has always done, appointed a new Chair of Authority for his New Covenant. The first to sit in that Chair was Peter.

These facts alone, that the Church under the Pope, is the Church that Jesus founded and the only Church that he intended, is sufficient to join the Catholic Church, whether in the Latin Rite or the Eastern Catholic Rites. That is why I, as a Baptist preacher, converted to the Catholic Church in 1992.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary