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Orthodox Christians often find themselves answering the following question: why is Orthodoxy divided along ethnic lines into different churches? At least officially, the answer to that question has been quite clear: we are not divided; we are one Church, united in faith and worship, with an administrative structure that organizes itself along local lines, in accordance with the ancient traditions and canon law of the first millennium of Christian history. In recent years, however, there’s been a problem: while the answer given above is true in theory, it’s often not implemented in practice. Starting in the late 19th century, and in increasing...

An objection, however, is often made to the doctrine of infallibility, in limine, which is too important not to be taken into consideration. It is urged that, as all religious knowledge rests on moral evidence, not on demonstration, our belief in the Church's infallibility must be of this character; but what can be more absurd than a probable infallibility, or a certainty resting on doubt?— I believe, because I am sure, and I am sure, because I supposed. Granting then that the gift of infallibility be adapted, when believed to unite all intellects in one common confession, the fact...

Although this work is historical in its method and content, it is not a product of historical curiosity. At a time when church unity occupies an increasingly central place in theological study, the contribution of our theology is required not simply as an academic demand, but also a fundamental debt owed to the Church. In order to fulfil the demand and pay the debt, our theology can no longer fall back on the sources of its own confessional riches. The gradual abandonment of the confessional mentality of past generations and the recognition of the need for our theology to be...

Istanbul (AsiaNews) - On his return from Jerusalem , where he met with Pope Francis at the Holy Sepulchre, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, has revealed an important appointment for unity between Catholics and Orthodox: a gathering at Nicaea in 2025, where the first real ecumenical council of the undivided Church was celebrated. Speaking exclusively with AsiaNews, Bartholomew says that together with Pope Francis "we agreed to leave as a legacy to ourselves and our successors a gathering in Nicaea in 2025, to celebrate together, after 17 centuries , the first truly ecumenical synod, where the Creed was...

From James White: "Moved fairly quickly on to the comments of Chuck Smith and his co-hosts on the "Pastor’s Perspective" radio program, as found here. This just under five minute clip is a study in shallow eisegesis. It is incredible that these men who are leaders of such a large movement could be so simplistic in their traditionalism. Simply shocking. Then we took calls on a wide variety of issues. Here's the program."

In the history given to us in Scripture, and in the history prophesied following the time of the apostles, we see the same pattern over and over. Paul warns the elders at Ephesus -- "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock" (Acts 20:29). Truth must be preserved within the Church before it can be effectively proclaimed to the world. The primary battle with heretics and false teachers has always been within the Church. This was not done as effectively as it should have been during this period. The...

How should the evangelical community in America view the present nation of Israel?” I’ve been asked.  I would like to answer, but with this caveat.  While I now identify myself as an evangelical Presbyterian, I was raised in Judaism and spent seven years, from ages 6 to 13, almost every weekday in a synagogue Hebrew school.  I had relatives who emigrated from Romania to Israel after somehow surviving the Holocaust.  One can hardly write on such a topic without admitting freely that with this background it is difficult to be objective.Jews from time immemorial have looked for a place...

This document was referred to in the Thread (07/21/07): “A SIMPLE, COMMON SENSE REBUTTAL to SSPX, SSPV and CMRI". The traditionalists have a difficult time seeing that the ecclesiology of Vatican II was not a departure from past teachings of the Church but rather a deepening of our understanding of the Church’s ecclesiology. This paper is a study of the single phrase, "subsists in", found in the most important document of the Second Vatican Council, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium). Since the time of the council, more ink has been spilt over the meaning and interpretation of...

THE ECCLESIOLOGY OF VATICAN II Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Conference of Cardinal Ratzinger at the opening of the Pastoral Congress of the Diocese of Aversa (Italy) On the afternoon of 15 September 2001, at the invitation of Archbishop Mario Milano, His Eminence, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, opened the Pastoral Congress of the Diocese of Aversa (Italy) dedicated to a re-reading of the documents of the Second Vatican Council. This is a translation of Cardinal Ratzinger's opening lecture in Italian. Just after the...

As confused and horrified spectators of the tragic collapse of the Church in the West in recent decades, orthodox Catholics justifiably want to identify those responsible for this disaster and punish them. We often look to the decisions of this or that modern conclave, pope, or interest group, or to any of a wide variety of conspiracy theories for what are, indeed, often partial explanations of a seemingly inexplicable nightmare. Nevertheless, our efforts to place the blame where it belongs are often crippled from the outset by our lack of historical knowledge. The Second Vatican Council and the post-conciliar era...

Linux shouldn't work. It's an operating system designed by hackers, the kind of people who can give you detailed plot synopses of every "Star Trek" episode. The "official" releases of the OS are really just releases of the kernel, the basic core of the system. Other companies and groups assemble drivers, programs, interfaces, etc., and package them all together in distributions, which are free to the public. You can view and modify the Linux source code, if you're into that kinky stuff. Microsoft would spend a zillion dollars in court before it let anyone look at the code for Windows....