Friends,
Here is a joint statement between Catholic and Orthodox on the "filioque". Dan Tilly expressed the belief that the East and West split was of more crucial importance than any other split in the Church. Others have expressed an interest in the historical development of the Church.
Here is the actual statement of agreement published October 28. 2003. Let us pray that it bears fruit.
http://www.usccb.org/seia/filioque.htm The great contributions of the traditional Church include its focus upon the essentials of the faith. They realize that their efforts are eternal and not simply transitory. To many these matters seem obscure or even a waste of time.
NASA offers a simple analogy. When the NASA scientists project a trip into space they must calculate the time and trajectory of the effort down to split seconds and minute angles. They cannot say, "Just take a plunge of faith. Shoot off this rocket and if necessary we will figure out what we are doing along the way." Just so, traditional Christians are carefully calculating our trajectory to heaven. Not one jot or tittle can be altered from the proper path. Hence, every nuance must be explored.
Dan Lauffer
