Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism

1. Entity type Lemma
2. Original titleПравославие и католицизъм
3. Language term Bulgarian
4. lemma author Nachev, Ivaylo
5. lemma category Ecumenism and dialogue > Dialogue between churches
6. Publication date 2008
7. lemma work Бакалов, Георги [Author]. Православие и католицизъм
8. lemma manifestations Christianity and Culture
9. Keywords caesaropapism - dialogue
10. Lemma body

    1. The article looked at recent developments in the dialogue between the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches, mentioning among others the Declaration of Ravenna, on the background of a wide-spectrum historical overview of the reasons for the different roads taken by the two sides.

       According to the author, a professor in Byzantine and Medieval Balkan history , the accumulated over centuries differences seem unbridgeable if talks are entered from the position of infallibility but processes of globalization and secularization require adaptation of the conservative structure of the churches to the attitudes and mentality of the modern world.  Moreover, the current challenges make the Christian coexistence a prerequisite for the protection of the values of the Western civilization.

       In historical context  there were summarized the origins of various doctrinal differences between Rome and Constantinople, including the Filioque debate about the addition of “and the Son” to the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. Prof. Bakalov also examined a number of specific features of the Western and Eastern Roman empires and explained the difference with political and cultural factors, including a look at the historical roots of the Caesaropapism in Byzantium, defined as domination of the secular over the religious authority, which has significantly impacted the Orthodox world over the centuries. The final separation has been marked by the Crusade atrocities in Byzantium in 12^th and 13^th century and the dialogue definitely stopped after the Ottoman conquest.     

       The dialogue which was renewed in the recent decades was consciously focused on religious affairs on which the Catholic and Orthodox positions diverge to a much lesser extent, according to the authors. The solving of all problems between the two churches will be a difficult task, especially on the issue of the primacy of the Pope, but continuing the dialogue with compromises on both sides is not only a step in the right direction, but also a hope for a reapprochement of centuries-old irreconcilable positions. In spite of the differences the author believes the common Christian culture and identity is basis for future unity.