CrackerJackAg said:
I think it comes down to talking past each other a little bit with different terminology.
The largest distinction, and it is a large one, is the concept of created grace versus uncreated energy.
The Roman Catholic Church has sort of lost track of the Mysticism of the Orthodox beginnings and is critiqued in the book for being two legalistic and rigid.
I think there's also just where is the emphasis on Theosis in the Churches. In the Orthodox Church, it is front and center. In the Roman Catholic world not so much.
I'm not sure where the sensitivity about disagreement etc. came from.
While it is true that there have been divisions in the Orthodox Church there are no divisions over Ecumenical Councils, etc.
Sometimes there's a process and things have to be worked out
But in reality, the Orthodox Church has done far better with unity in its history. I mean really, look at the Catholic Church today. Look at the Protestant mess that came from it after it couldn't resolve its Pope BS.
I'm sure it's got to be a sensitivity but we're talking night and day here.
Fully agree on talking past each other. It's a shame.
As for agreement on ecumenical councils, you're going to have to help me out because a quick AI search says:
Eastern Orthodox (Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, etc.) and Oriental Orthodox (Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopian, Syriac, etc.) split from each other in the 5th century and they disagree sharply on the councils.
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It's the main reason that we always say that Roman Catholics and protestants are more similar to each other than either one are to us.
If that is the common belief it's a gross misapprehension. I see it exactly the opposite.
But I also think the relatively legalistic nature of western Catholicism is a reaction to the Reformation. All the Catholic orders (Dominicans, Franciscans etc) and smaller monastic orders of Europe are not known for being legalistic. Perhaps the Jesuits with their structured approaches to discernment and prayer are a bit more "structured" but not sure that's legalistic.
So perhaps western Catholicism is more legalistic than Orthodoxy overall, but I think it's an overstatement to some extent because there is plenty of mysticism and spirituality in the west. St John of the Cross and St Theresa of Avila were very mystical and very impactful on Catholic spirituality, just to name a few.
