say whuh? MP calls RC its brother!

[Seraphim Reeves]

His Most Holy
Holiness John Paul II
Pope of Rome
On the day, when the Roman Catholic Church marks the 25 years of Your
being on the Roman Cathedra, accept my whole hearted brotherly greeting.

You are known to the whole world as a self-sacrificing Christian pastor,
bishop, and chairman of the biggest Christian Church in the world. I
pray, that the Most-Merciful Lord would strengthen You in your service
and show His mercy to all of the children of Your Church. With all my
heart I wish you health, spiritual and physical strength and many years
to your life.

With love in the Lord,

+ALEXIS
Patriarch of Moscow and of All Russia

[OrthodoxyOrDeath]

Once the ROCOR unites with this man, it is just as good as having come out of the mouth of Met. Laurus.

[ania]

I don't see what's offensive about it... He's writen our equivalent of a birthday/anniversery card to someone who is the head of an organization he deals with pretty much daily. Very polite, non-agressive, and non-commital. I don't see the issue. I know several hard-core oldstyle old Russian priests & bishops who would send birthday cards, greetings, etc, to other religious <<gasp>> not Orthodox (sometimes not even Christian) leaders in their cities. It's common courtesy... but unfortunately that quality seems to have fallen out of fashion in some ROCOR circles.

[Daniel]

I don't see what's offensive about it... He's writen our equivalent of a birthday/anniversery card to someone who is the head of an organization he deals with pretty much daily. Very polite, non-agressive, and non-commital. I don't see the issue. I know several hard-core oldstyle old Russian priests & bishops who would send birthday cards, greetings, etc, to other religious <<gasp>> not Orthodox (sometimes not even Christian) leaders in their cities. It's common courtesy... but unfortunately that quality seems to have fallen out of fashion in some ROCOR circles.

He does call the pope a bishop, unless he's beeing overly nice, or playing fast and loose with the term 'bishop'.

[Anastasios]

He does call the pope a bishop, unless he's beeing overly nice, or playing fast and loose with the term 'bishop'.

Well the Pope is a bishop--just not an Orthodox one. And Pat Alexy calling him such is not any kind of affirmation of the Pope's Orthodoxy!

It reminds me of that priest that calls the Roman Catholic Church the "Roman Catholic Religious Organization." That is silly. It's just how Rome calls the Lutheran Church the Lutheran "Church" even though in Rome's eyes it is not a Church proper but an "ecclesial assembly" (since it lacks apostolic succession, again, this is in Roman understandings of such things).

Being Orthodox doesn't have to mean being an isolationist. The Byzantine Church sent many missions to Rome to try and effect theological dialogue (I am not referring to Florence or Lyons but to the many diplomatic missions). Each time, these representatives referred to the Pope as "Your Holiness" and this was even 200 years after the Sack of Constantinople.

anastasios

[Anastasios]

And our own Orthodoxy or Death just called Bp Gregory of ROAC a bishop--even though having left the Synod of Chrysostomos II and not being in communion with him he cannot be considered either an Orthodox bishop or to have grace in OOD's eyes...

[Joe Zollars]

there is a world of difference between a fellow Old Calandrist calling Vladyka Gregory a Bishop and someone calling the arch-heretical layman of rome a Bishop. even if the distinction you make anastasios is in place, by making it a capital B he symbolizes that he believes JPII to be a true Bishop of the Church (which most sane RC's would even say he is not).

Nicholas Zollars