www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News To Russia With Nuns...Re-Evangelize Vladivostok

Shlomo Lkhoolkhoon,

Well how about the right of Byzantine Catholic Russians having the right to practice their faith fully. Why is freedom of religion being pressed for Muslim and non-Christian nations, but the Eastern Orthodox fall back to the archaic notion that people within "traditional" Eastern Orthodox lands forbidden from choosing to practice their "traditional" faith while being in Communion with the Pope.

And how about the hypocracy of Catholic Leadership with being bullied into denying Russian Byzantine Catholics and others heirarchs to help these truly faithful martyrs to the Catholic Faith.

Fush BaShlomo Lkhoolkhoon,
Yuhannon

People should follow their conscience, including ones that may go to the mission in Vladivostok. I don't see that anyone has questioned that. I'm not sure I see (or agree) with the rest.

The questions have been:

- Does the Orthodox Church possess the fullness of faith?; i.e. is the catholic church of Russia. The answer has been negative.
-Is competition for believers healthy and good?; the answer has been affirmative.

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In the Balamand Statement, the Catholic Church has affirmed that the Orthodox Church has the fullness of faith, entirely sufficient to provide for the salvation of its adherents (and, for what it is worth, the Orthodox delegates affirmed the same of the Catholic Church.

In the Balamand Statement, the Catholic Church also asserted that it would avoid any and all actions that might be interpreted as proselytism, but that it also had a moral obligation to provide for the pastoral needs of its members in Orthodox countries (which would include Russia).

As St. Paul refused to plow in another man's field, so it would behoove the Catholic Church to live up to the spirit of the Balamand Statement, and not plow on Russian territory, but to work with and through the Orthodox Church to reach out to the unchurched.

I can't find anything that I would disagree with in your post.

I agree wholeheartedly.

So I think it's clear how people are confused, because they read one thing, but see another.