A question for any Orthodox members

[Inariae]

Ok, more than a question; so I hope you aren't the only Orthodox Christian on the forum, rus, or this will be really loaded. I'm sort of shortcutting here actually...

Anyway, here it is: I've been researching the Catholic Church lately and trying to research the Orthodox Church with the general goal of joining one of them. However, the Orthodox Church does not seem to have a parallel to the Catholic Catechism, and I've just had a really hard time finding out anything solid about it at all. So instead of doing theological research when I should be doing a paper on Aristotle's "Ethics", I've decided to ask you guys. What's the difference between the two, and what does the Orthodox Church believe?

I would appreciate any sort of answer from an essay to a "read this guy, he's great." I'm already looking for a book called "Being as Communion," which is supposed to be a very good exposition on Orthodox theology, but I'd like to learn more while I'm looking for it. Also, I'd prefer if the theology were as comprehensive as possible. Don't worry about dumbing it down - I really want to know the fullness of what the Orthodox believe. I might have to ask a lot of questions, though .

In His peace,

Inariae

PS - I would appreciate Catholic input too.

[Pizza Man]

[Tony]

[Inariae]

[Tony]

[Stanley Anderson]

When we were Anglicans, our priest (who has since, with his family, become Catholics too) would often say that the RC was sort of the "male" side of the Church, and that the Orthodox had more of the "female" flavour. Now of course the Church really needs both sides, which is why it would be so wonderful for them to come together again. Since joining the Catholic Church, I think I still see quite a bit of the "female" side there too, more than I might have expected. But it's certainly easier to see things once you are inside the building than standing outside. So I would guess the Orthodox might say something of the same.

We were traditional Anglicans for 24 years and contemplated Rome often over that time, but one of the primary reasons for our delay was the very tough decision (so it seemed at the time) of which way to go -- East or West. We finally came to the conclusion that there was no way to ignore the historical and visible authority of the Roman Catholic Church, but I can certainly appreciate your dilemma since it took us 24 years to resolve it ourselves. For us it has been a glorious decision and we feel continually blessed now that we are finally here.

--Stanley

[Adam]

[Inariae]

[Adam]

[Tony]

What Adam said.

[matdonna]

[matdonna]

some additional resources gleaned from my Orthodox writers' group:

a series of online pamphlets that come close to being a catechism:



some other books:

Hilarion Alfeyev's The Mystery of Faith.

Introducing the Orthodox Church: Its Faith and Life" by Anthony Coniaris

Clark Carlton is another author they mentioned.

[alecto]

The Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople maintains a web site: which has general information, especially the links to the various churches: . You can look up the organization in your area. Constantinople does not exert the kind of unifying force that Rome does over the western churches, so you will find a lot of variation, though if your an American, this might not be any more significant than what you see in local RC churches. The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto publishes a catechism at , though I cannot say how universal this is.

The Patriarchate of Constantinople maintains a page on Western-Eastern dialogue, , in which you can see some of the high-level common teachings.

[John Anthony]

[watcher]

Inariae - although I would hate to see you settle for an inbred religion fostering continuing delusions of grandeur from the days of the Empire and developed in a spirit of servitude from getting their fannies whipped by Islam, if you simply MUST . . . the "godfather" of modern Orthodox theology is a guy named Jaroslav Pelikan. He was a professor at Yale, Lutheran convert to the Orthodox Church, and died this year in May. Published tons of stuff on the history of the Eastern Church. You can get his stuff, as well as almost anything else you're looking for, from a bookseller (they have catalogue and internet sales) in Wichita, Kansas called "Eighth Day Books" (after the St. Augustine line about an eighth and eternal day of rest at the end of the City of God) The owner is Orthodox, and maintains a brilliant selection. They also have a whole section dedicated to "CS Lewis and Friends," including Sayers, MacDonald, etc, and a section specifically titled "Eastern Christendom." They also have a huge Patristics section. My next door neighbor converted to the Orthodox Church through his relationship to the owner of this company. I have no idea where you would want stuff shipped, but I would bet the owner would be willing to talk, and if nothing else, just browsing the catalogue and internet site can give you ideas for books to look for, locally. I know, I know - Wichita. Trust me - you'll be surprised. Just look at the site and order a catalogue.



Oh - don't bother too much about the paper on Nichomachean Ethics. The butler did it in the solarium with a vase. I was hoping for a more innovative ending, but there you have it. Just say something about the bleeding, chapped hands of the Proletariat, repressed urges, and post-Industrial homophobia. Oh - be sure to fit in "hegemony" as many times as you can. It's a guaranteed "A+"