Canon Romanus

I’ve become a big fan of Fr John Hunwicke, a Church of England priest of the staunch Anglo-Papalist type (a subset of High Church Anglicans with a definite Romeward orientation) who also shows a high degree of interest in Eastern Christianity.
A recent series of posts at his blog, concerning the opening prayer Te igitur from [...]

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On Michael Cerularius

I am proud to feature this interesting article by Catholic friend of the blog and frequent commenter, Michaël de Verteuil –
Of the two Patriarchs of Constantinople most closely associated with the East-West schism, Michael Cerularius (Keroularios) is clearly the lesser figure in Orthodoxy. Unlike Photius, Michael was not a great scholar and was not declared [...]

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‘Schism and Communion’

By David J. Melling (1943-2004)
(Many thanks to De Unione Ecclesiarum for the text of this article.)
Early in his ministry as a Non-Juror Anglican priest, the saintly William Law published a sequence of “Letters to a Lady inclined to enter the Church of Rome.” (1732-3) His advice to the Lady was that she, like other laymembers [...]

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‘Not franchises of General Motors’

Good friend of the blog Michaël sends along this excerpt from a recent interview with Francis Cardinal George of Chicago. I think it’s of particular interest to our Orthodox readers, as it sheds light on how a conservative Roman Catholic bishop understands the delicate balance between primacy and conciliarity in his own communion.
You spend a [...]

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Zizioulas on Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue

From the blog Communio, via Sean, the recent letter of Metropolitan John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon to the Archbishop of Athens and the Metropolitans of Greece on their Church’s ongoing dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church. Emphasis added.
Your Eminence,
Given that much turmoil has been unduly created by certain circles, on the subject of the official theological [...]

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A Tractarian perspective

On the Present Apparent Conflict Between “Orthodoxy” and “Catholicism
From Dissertations on Subjects Relating to the “Orthodox” or “Eastern-Catholic” Communion (1853), by William Palmer, M.A., Fellow of St. Mary Magdalene College, Oxford, and Deacon.
As there is one God and Father, one Lord Jesus Christ, one Holy Ghost, and one Baptism, so also there is One Body [...]

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Fr Alvin Kimel on the “Twelve Differences”

Orrologion has posted the original text of the “Twelve Differences between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches” by Teófilo de Jesús along with excellent responses to each of the twelve points from Fr Alvin Kimel, of Pontifications* fame, who in his extended period of discernment after leaving the Episcopal Church studied the claims of both Roman [...]

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The Petrine Ministry and Christian Ecumenism

From the blog The American Catholic (July 9th, 2009) –
Orientalium Ecclesiarum (Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches) truly deserves more attention, as it remains vital to the self-understanding of the Catholic Church and for the prospect of Christian ecumenism in general.
Eastern Catholics are non-Latin Rite Christians who, at some point in the last thousand years, [...]

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Papal Primacy: A Concise Definition

Fr Anthony Chadwick, a priest of the Traditional Anglican Communion (currently seeking full communion with Rome), at his always interesting blog “Reflections from Normandy”, points out the following quote from the Pope’s most recent motu proprio (Ecclesiae unitatem, 2 July 2009) –

The duty to safeguard the unity of the Church, with the [...]

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Role of bishop of Rome key to Catholic-Orthodox progress, says Pope

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – A common understanding of the role the bishop of Rome played in the united Christianity of the first millennium is essential for resolving the question of the primacy of the pope in a united church, Pope Benedict XVI said.The pope met June 27 with Orthodox Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, Bishop Athenagoras [...]

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