Editor’s Note: ‘Old Believers’ is a group of Russian Orthodox, who followed private opinion, rather than the teaching of the Fathers of the Church, and split from the Russian Orthodox Church, rejecting the introduction of Greek liturgical forms, to correct Russian Orthodox practices by Patriarch Nikon. Their private judgement led some groups to burn themselves alive, and others to create a form of Christianity without the Sacraments and a sort of return to Old Testament purifications.
As for how to make the sign of the Cross, in the Latin rite we never obsessed on how the fingers of the hand are held, during this sacred gesture, but the Old Believers are correct about the two fingers extended with the thumb joining the ring & pinky finger, as the original practice in the Greek Church. This way of holding the right hand is found in the Man of the Shroud, as the final gesture of the right hand, in death. A thing which in my opinion may be the origin of the gesture, either from witnesses of the Shroud or of the Apostle Saint John on Calvary.
As to how to spell the Name the Son of God took in His Incarnation, no one is wrong, in one sense, and everyone is wrong in another sense. Because His Name is Yeshua, not Jesus. But down through the ages, His Name has been translated into many languages and accommodated to the phonetic systems and alphabets of those languages. And no one in their right mind would say that if you call Him, “Jesus” and not “Yeshua” that you are not naming Him aright. The reason for this is that there is a certain sort of measure which is human and proper to humanity, and a certain sort of measure which is pharasaical and psychotic, while being inhuman and unlivable. And the idea that everyone who mispronounces the Hebrew form of His Name is a pagan or going to Hell is simply insane, since He has answered the prayers of Christians in every language, where His Name is not pronounced or written in the Hebrew form. He does this because His Name is above every other name by which men can conceive, and He has risen above the petty measures of the psychotic rigorists of the pharaseism of old, which He railed against and to which He taught us not to enslave others. — For the same reason, He is not offended about how many fingers we use or how we hold them when we make the sign of the Cross, but He is offended if by making it in one way we think we are better than others, for He condemned such hypocrisy many times in parables.
+ + +
+ + + + + + +
The Book on the Trinity, every faithful Catholic priest would love as his next present
This is Br. Bugnolo's English Translation, of Saint Bonaventure's encylopedic book of theology on the Trinity: With this book, your priest will always have something intelligent and awesomely inspiring to preach to you about
God the Father, God the Son & God the Holy Spirit!
+ + +
Hello Fra Bugnolo,
I’ve been studying orthodoxy periodically since 2017. Now that I live in an Orthodox country, my interest is even greater, though was never much interested in old believers or oriental orthodox.In your opinion, what is the greatest apologetic against the eastern orthodox?
I’ve read about Photius and Honorius. Read about how councils judged popes. The orthodox say the early church was conciliar and decentralized and that gives it protection against heresies. Catholic see decentralization as nationalistic churches. They say that every Patriarch is Peter and there’s no ‘proof’ of papal universal jurisdiction. Also, there’s the filioque and that the eastern Catholics venerate anti papal saints like Palamas and Mark of Ephesus which they believe as catholic inconsistency. Also there’s the immaculate conception and they say ”
>the concept that Mary was being prevented from falling into sin negate the Doctrine of Free Will.
She being prevented means her will was taken away from her. She never had a choice. That’s a dangerous theological thought
Mary struggled, fought and became victorious over sin. An active participation to be free from sin and not some mysterious sinlessness by an action of God.
She actively participated with all her will, strength, dedication and perseverance. She was very human with a natural birth and had a natural death.” <
So as I'm not a theologian, (but interested in these topics) I can get a bit stuck and both sides seem close on many issues. There's many areas and for the sake of brevity I'll stope here.
My question is Fra.Bugnolo, what is the best argument against them? What area like the filioque, papal supremacy or the immaculate conception debate or particular saint you'd recommend ?Is there a council or how is the catholic argument untouched, unchallenged and wins absolute victory every time In?
Thank you so much,
God bless.
Conor.
The argument that the Church was not as centralized in ancient times is really a weak argument, its like saying that since a baby does not talk, and adult should not talk.
As for their arguments, the best author is Likoudis, find his book on the Greek Schism and you will find most of your answers.
On the Orthodox arguments; 1. The early Church was not decentralized, but always had a head in St. Peter and his successors. All one has to do is do a search online of “The Church Fathers on the Papacy” and on “St. Peter and his successors”
Also Mr. Eric Ybarra wrote a 800 page tome: “”The Papacy, Revisiting the Debate between Catholics and Orthodox”, also full of quotes from Church Fathers and Church Councils, recognized by both Catholics and Orthodox.
“Palamas and Mark of Ephesus” in the Eastern Catholic calendars; this has only happened since Vatican II and the invasion of false Ecumenism into the Church; this is a disgrace, like some of the Western bishops putting “Dr.” Martin Luther King in their religious services. Totally scandalous.
“Free will and the Immaculate Conception”; the ability to sin is not a perfection of free will but a defect; the first proof is that God has perfect free will, yet He cannot sin; Our Lord Jesus Christ both God and man, was the very “Holy of the Lord” yet again it speaks of Him in Sacred Scripture that He could not sin.
Finally as one increases in sanctity one’s will becomes so strengthened by grace that one rarely falls into sin, and finally in the highest state of sanctity, i.e. The Mystical Marriage, one becomes confirmed in grace and is prevented from all sin. The Apostles were confirmed in grace after Pentecost and could not sin.
“That every Patriarch is Peter”, cannot be historically sustained, on the contrary, the Papacy was referred to by all East and West as “The Apostolic See” ; and Church Councils were not considered valid until approved by the Pope; here is just one quote from Pope St. Leo the Great
“For not only was the power of binding and loosing given to Peter before the others, but also to Peter more especially was entrusted the care of feeding the sheep. Yet anyone who denies that the headship must be denied to Peter, cannot really diminish his dignity: but is puffed up with the breath of his pride, and plunges himself to the lowest depth. (Letters, 10:2, 450, in Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, editors, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers – Leo the Great, Gregory the Great, 2nd series (“NPNF2”), vol. 12 (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1994), 9) [link]
“Filioque”: Held by the early Church, I am now reading a book by Mr. Brian Dwong, The Filioque: Answering the Eastern Orthodox, who has quotes also from over 30 saints, 2 ecumenical councils, and 10+ local councils teaching the Filioque i.e. Catholic Pneumatology.. By the Way both Mr. Ibarra and Dwong can be found on youtube, if you don’t want to read their books. Also, a fellow that runs the “Scholastic Answers” youtube channel also has a lot of good pro-Catholic/anti Orthodox-Protestant apologetic materials.
Our Blessed Mother: “She was very human with a natural birth and had a natural death.” ; her Conception was normal, but by the foreseen merits of the Passion of Our Lord, Our Lady was free from sin from the first moment of her conception. The saintly doctors of the Church teach that Our Lady’s sanctity from the first moment of her conception was higher than that of all the angels and saints, and her sanctity and grace kept increasing every moment of her life until her death. In our Lady there was not the usual impediments to virtue and the rebelliousness of the passions that are the normal course of every human being, since by a special privilege she was exempt from these or they remained under the perfect control of her will.
Also, one has to consider that Our Blessed Mother was destined to be the Mother of God; this so exalted of an office required that she be fit both physically, but more especially by God’s grace to fill this state.
A good place to find the teachings of the Church on various subjects is 1. A traditional Catholic Catechism, such as the Catechism of St. Pius X or The Catechism of the Council of Trent.
2. Dogmatic Manuals, such as “Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma” by Dr. Ludwig Ott or “Sacrae Theologiae Summa” by the Jesuit Fathers, translated by Fr. John Hardon S.J.