Victory for orthodoxy – INQ7.net is my PDI column for today. Also interesting is Benedict XVI – INQ7.net, the PDI editorial for today.
Finding an Alternative Explanation for Anti-Japanese Protests is my Arab News column for today; in it, I make reference to two blogs. First, that of Andrés Gentry at Andrés Gentry, with a truly fascinating opinion piece on the reasons why the Chinese are protesting against Japan; and Dan Washburn’s blog, specifically, Dan Washburn’s Shanghai Diaries: ‘A detailed instruction on the Protest Against Right Wing Japanese’, which makes for fun reading. Both blogs, incidentally, discovered through myrick.
Also of interest is the Arab News editorial that deals with the Philippines: Editorial: Search for Peace in Mindanao.
Dear Mr. Quezon,
Your article, “Victory of Orthodoxy,” posted on the April 20th edition of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, was
very encouraging. As an Orthodox Christian, we are praying for the eventual restoration of full communion
between the Roman Catholic Church of the west and the Orthdodox churches of the east. We hope that the day will
come when the universal Church of Jesus Christ will be breathing with two lungs again.
There was small error in your article which I want to point out. You stated that Catholics
and Orthodox share so much in common, except the Primacy of the Pope. Let me state that the Orthodox
Church has always recognized and accepts the Primacy of the Roman See. Unfortunately, even though Roman
Catholics and Orthodox use the same word to refer to primacy of St. Peter and his successors, both
Catholics and Orthodox attach different meanings to the word. In Roman Catholic theology, the classic
definition of “primacy” equates to absolutism, some sense of monarchy. The Pope is above the episcopate.
The Orthodox, on the other hand, has always understood Rome’s primacy as a “primacy of honor” — the
Popes of Rome being the first among equals in the universal episcopate. The Roman See simply cannot claim any
exclusivity. While Rome was the place where the holy Apostles Peter and Paul were martyred (and this
ultimately contributed to its great prestige), it was the only apostolic see in the western part of the
Roman empire. On the other hand, most churches in the east rest on apostolic foundation.
I’d like to refer you to two excellent articles on this subject. Please visit the following URLs:
http://www.goarch.org/print/en/ourfaith/article8523.asp
http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/greatschism.aspx
Sincerely,
Misael Balayan
Mililani, Hawaii