Roman Catholic vs. Eastern Orthodox?

I support you as I feel same way in attending an eastern rite. I love it. I attended a latin mass in St James in Compostela, Spain and it made me cry to hear mass of the apostolic times. The catholic and orthodox were ONE before and the pope is now working towards that compromise. I hope he is successful as the Orthodox leaders are also positive.

The interesting thing is that before there were schisms the Western & Eastern Church they were one Church. And even the Eastern Church acknowledged that the successor of St. Peter was the head of the Church. The Western Church renamed the title of Greek word Patriarch, and converted it to the Latin word Pope. The meaning is the exact same thing, and until the Eastern Church schism from the Western Church they shared all of the same beliefs with the exception that the Roman Catholic Church never acknowledge the Council of Trullo (Quinisext) 692 AD on the ground of dividing the Church into smaller churches lead by individual patriarchs, instead of being under one head of the Church. This happened between the 5th and 6th Ecumenical Councils when the Church was still was the undivided Church. The Eastern Church Patriarchs placed their pagan Emperors above the their individual churches, while rejecting the leadership of the Pope.

I should mention that the early Partriarchs each were the head of their repectible churches, but they didn't have the authority that was given by Christ to St. Peter's office. The Bishop of Rome had a certain authority over the other Patriarchs in that he could excommunicate those whom commited grave sin from within the whole of the entire Church, no other Partiarch was given this authority. The Bishop of Rome also had the final word in any matters that protained to the faith and morals of the Church.

Based upon the laws of Emperor Justinian I of Constentenopal wanted each Patriarch to have an equial share of this authority between the five churches Rome, Constentinopal, Jerusalem, Antioch and Alexandria. And of course the Roman Catholic Popes rejected this idea.

I'm not sure one can answer you in such short space a proper answer.The first two you got are a example of what we Catholics put up with everyday here on R&S and world governments daily.So my suggestion is to read the writings of the early Church Fathers.As far as between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church to put it very bluntly there separation is really over how words were used between the two. Such as the Orthodox became unhappy because in the Nicene Creed said and used by both faiths daily we say the Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son where as the Orthodox use the original wording from the Father only. Another difference is They want the Pope to be only first among Equals not absolute head of the Church.Twenty six branches of the the Orthodox Church have returned to union with Rome since the 1054 split.Both Orthodox and Catholic beliefs are very much the same with minor differences. Another Difference between Catholic and Orthodox Churches is Orthodox Churches are mainly nationalistic Churches. Such as Greek Orthodox or Russian Orthodox.Just type the words Early Church Fathers in you search engine and read for your self a favorite of mine is ST.Ignatius a disciple of John the Apostle along with Polycarp and Origiaen.Here is a sample from ST.Ignatius written around 107AD to the Symrnaeans........Chapter 8. Let nothing be done without the bishop See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid.

I hope it can be healed! I know there are a lot of people praying and working towards it. I know you may not want this, but going to the Eastern Catholic Church or a Catholic Church with the Byzantine rite, is still completely in union with Rome and thus still the true, original Church. These are merely rites within the Church, and not separate churches. The bonus, for you, is that these Eastern Rites will still hold to many traditions such as icons, etc. I would suggest that the fact that you are feeling unfulfilled by your Orthodox Church and find peace in the Roman Church (though not necessarily the Latin Rite) may be God speaking to you.

Sadly, the schism cannot be healed by wishing. Since the division, the doctrinal differences have only grown. In addition to the two overt causes of the split, namely the addition of "and the Son" to the description of the origin of the Holy Spirit in the Creed, and the self-elevation of the Pope to be the ostensible ruler of the entire church -- both positions that were foreign to the teachings of the East for 1000 years -- a number of other doctrines now divide us further:

The immaculate conception of Mary, the infallibility of the Pope, purgatory. These are *required belief* for Roman Catholics, but have never been Orthodox doctrines. And they never will be.

Rome must lay aside its outrageous claims and undo its doctrinal tampering before reunion with the East is possible.

Is it possible that the Orthodox Church and the Roman Church will find common ground? I think so. This was one of the foremost goals of the Second Vatican Council, 1962 to 1965. One of the most important documents to emerge from that great council was the "Lumen Gentium," the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. In that document, the council of the Roman Catholic Church stated that the Church as established by Christ "subsists in" the Roman Catholic Church. The use of this verb, "subsist," and particularly the use of this verb without a modifying pronoun such as "solely" or "exclusively" suggests a willingness to see other churches as sharing in the sanctity of Christ. The next sentence of the document made this point explicit: "Nevertheless, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside its visible confines."

Since Vatican Two, there have been attempts to find common ground, attempts made with greater determination that at any other time in modern church history. Given the awareness of churches throughout the world that they have often spent too much energy, and even too much blood fighting one another, there may well be hope.

Finally, I feel I should respond to those ho dismiss both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches as somehow having lost the way and become not the agents of God but of Satan. The record of Christianity and of virtually every sect within Christianity is filled with mistakes. At the same time, however, every Christian sect is filled with members who have prayed to God for his guidance, mercy, and understanding. To say that God has rejected the prayers of these people would fly in the face of Scripture: "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?" To say that these churches have been lost in sin is to say that God failed to guide them when they prayed. That is something which I find offensive.

The Roman Catholic Church changed the Creed of the Church by adding the Filioque.

The Orthodox Church is the original true Church.

Try Western Rite Orthodoxy.

http://www.westernorthodoxy.org/

Seems rather obvious that the Reformation began with Martin Luther, AGAINST the Roman Catholic Church. The litergies of a wide variety of churches are beautiful and comforting, but keep this in mind:

Followers of Jesus' teachings were first called "Christians" in Antioch, about 45 C.E. (Acts 11)

To me the eastern liturgy is much more mystical and peaceful. the roman liturgy is ok, but i always feel like im in a prayer service or religious get-together rather than a liturgy.