Questions

Question first appeared on January 16, 2005
With regard to today’s ( 1/9/05 ) question about communion, why do we deny Catholics communion in our church, while they allow us to receive communion in their church? We all share the same faith and observe the same traditions. Don’t you think it increases the schism in the Church?

First of all, we don’t share the same faith and the same traditions. Two main points of controversy which led to schism in the first place are 1) the Primacy of Peter–How is it vested?, and 2) the Procession of the Holy Spirit–Is it from the Father alone or from both the Father and the Son? By the criteria presented in last week’s answer that precludes us from communing together. We are not in union on these two points and many others.

But, why does the Pope allow Orthodox to receive communion in the Roman Catholic Church? According to Roman Catholic doctrine regarding the #1 point above, the Primacy of Peter is vested in the person of the Pope. From their perspective, the Pope is the head of all Christians whether they recognize his authority or not. Therefore, if the Pope decides on an accommodation for Orthodox Christians to receive Holy Communion under certain conditions, then it is proper for them to do so–the Pope has that right.

Orthodox Christianity disagrees with this interpretation of Peter’s Primacy. Orthodox doctrine insists that the Primacy of Peter is shared equally by all apostles, and therefore all bishops. Peter presides collegially over the apostolic council, sharing an equal vote with each of them. He does not “rule” over the apostolic band, i.e. the bishops. Therefore, if the Pope makes an accommodation for his part of the church, it doesn’t speak for the rest of the church which is under the authority of patriarchs, archbishops and bishops of equal rank. We are still in schism until the Pope relinquishes his claim of “primacy” over all Christendom.

A point must be made regarding this accommodation regarding communion granted to Orthodox Christians by the Pope. If one reads the Roman Catholic documents carefully, this accommodation is granted only in special circumstances. An Orthodox may request communion from a Catholic priest when there is no Orthodox Church or priest in the immediate area, and after sufficient counseling regarding the request. A Catholic priest would be in error to administer communion to an Orthodox Christian appearing in his communion line in Charleston , WV .

©Very Rev. Fr. Olof Scott, Sunday Bulletin, January 16, 2005

Question first appeared on January 9, 2005
My cousin is an Evangelical Christian and said to me, “Why can’t I receive communion in the Orthodox Church? Show me in the Bible where it says I can’t.” Please clear this mis-understanding for non-Orthodox Christians using the Bible or Church teachings.

We have at least two perspectives to address. One is the divided Christian Church and the other is the Protestant belief that the “Bible” is the sole authority for the Church.

Let’s first look at the second part of this dilemma. The Christian Church up until the time of the Protestant Reformation (16^th century) understood the “Bible,” Old Testament with Apocrypha and New Testament, to be the central part of Church Tradition, but still only a “part.” Sacred Tradition is a “living” entity. It is the “Truth” revealed through the Holy Spirit within the whole life of the Church.

The Bible, especially the New Testament, was written by the Church, for the Church and can only be understood and interpreted in the Church. The twenty-seven books that make up the New Testament were written over a period of roughly fifty years (~48 to 95 A.D.), and it wasn’t until the 4^th century before the Church decided to limit this New Testament to these twenty-seven books. Along with the development of the New Testament, the Church lived a “history” that included patristic writings, development of liturgies, services, hymns, Church councils, canon laws, formulation of doctrine and belief, etc. All of these together constitute Church Tradition. It is within this context that we can understand the Holy Scripture, the Bible.

If one believes, as Protestant thinking taught, that the Bible can be read by itself and is self-explanatory, one will find out quickly that this is not the case. The Bible by itself leads to multiple interpretations as evidenced by the thousands of Protestant denominations that have multiplied throughout the world since the 16^th century. The Bible is understood in light of “Church Tradition” which expands, elaborates and explains the gaps in the text. In light of this, St. Paul’s words ring true: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Eph. 4:4-6)

Coming now to Holy Communion, Orthodox Christians understand themselves to be that “One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church .” The Church is not “many” but “one.” Those who receive Holy Communion in this “One” Church must be in “union” with the entire context of the “Faith” embodied in Holy Tradition. Since Christians outside of the Orthodox Church are not in “union” with the whole of Holy Tradition, we do not “commune” together.

The final evidence of our position is found today within the Protestant denominations themselves. They cannot agree even within their own jurisdictions, let alone among each other, what constitutes Faith in Jesus Christ.

Question first appeared on July 22, 2001
Why can't we take Holy Communion in the Catholic Church? My daughter-in-law never converted to Orthodoxy, but she married in the Orthodox Church. Does that mean she can't take Communion in our Church?

Let me repeat what we have discussed in a similar question. Holy Communion is a sign

of "union" between those who receive it they share the same doctrines and teachings of the Church. Since the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church are not "in union," they cannot share Holy Communion.

Marriage in the Orthodox Church does not automatically make a non-Orthodox Christian a "member" of the Orthodox Faith. The Orthodox Church allows Orthodox Christians to marry Christians of other denominations provided that their baptism and doctrine is recognized as "traditional"-the use of water and Trinitarian formula: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. However, in order for them to receive Holy Communion in the Orthodox Church, they must first convert to the Orthodox Faith and be received through the Sacrament of Holy Chrismation.