Dear Brad,
Do the EC's and EO's view all of the RC's Sacraments as valid ? If not which ones do and don't they validate ?
Well, by the very fact of being in communion with one another, I think it's safe to say that the various Eastern Catholic Churches accept the validity of RC Sacraments (or at least I hope so!)
However, with the Eastern Orthodox it's a little more complicated. My experience has told me there is not one single answer here, and even where there is ostensibly the same practice, it's interpretations within the same local Church can be manifold.
For example, prior to this century (based on the decree of the Ecumenical Patriarch in 1755), the Greek Orthodox were in the habit of re-baptizing all Roman Catholic converts. Prior to 1755, the practice was more varied amongst the Greek Orthodox, with some re-baptizing, with others simply Chrismating converts.
Slavic Orthodox (ex. Russian Orthodox) practice toward converts from Catholicism tended to be more relaxed. While there were definatly examples of Latins being re-baptized, eventually the norm became (as pre-revolutionary Russian service books indicate) as follows...
- Roman Catholic converts were received with repentence, confession of faith, and Holy Communion. Convert clergy were even received in their Orders. If the RC convert was never confirmed, they'd be Chrismated as well.
- Protestants that observed Trinitarian Baptism (I believe there was a list of which ones) professed the faith, were Chrismated, and given Communion.
Besides differences in practice, however, there have also been differences in interpretation (which go on to this day). For example, there are Orthodox who believe emphatically that there are no
genuine sacraments outside of Orthodoxy. They base this on a long standing interpretation of documents like
The Apostolic Canons and the local
Council of St.Cyprian of Carthage, the acts of which were included in the collection of local Councils recognized by the
Council in Trullo (a Byzantine "add-on" to the Sixth Ecumenical Council, which was largely ignored in the west, but has had considerable influence on Byzantine Church life.)
However, recognizing that the Ecumenical Councils themselves had canons recognizing certain Baptisms from schismatic and heretical groups, there has developed in the more "rigorous" Orthodox view a sort of synthesis. This synthesis view is embodied by St.Nicodemus the Hagiorite (who compiled the collection of Eastern Canons known as the
Rudder), who recognized the practice of not re-baptizing converts from "heterodox" groups - however, he interpreted this as not being a recognition of their previous baptism as such, but as the Church's power to "fill that which is empty", to grant sacramental validity to what was previously just an empty form. In essence, this view says that the previous Baptism was only a "so called" Baptism (an empty rite, graceless), but the Church's condescending power can somehow validate it and "fill it up."
While I can understand St.Nicodemus' need to harmonize these two contradictory views, I think it's a synthesis which creates as many problemas as it solves. Also, despite what some really conservative or "traditionalist" Orthodox may tell you, it's quite obvious reading from pre-revolutionary Russian Orthodox services, commentaries, etc. that this "Nicodemian" theory had nothing to do with the Russian practice - they simply recognized the basic "validity" of certain sacraments, and in a rather Augustinian way, may have speculated that though valid, schismatic (this is how they viewed the RCC) sacraments may not be as "fruitful" as those received licity in "the Church."
Sorry for the long response, but the issue of Orthodox recognition of Roman Catholic Sacraments is (unfortunately) not a simple thing given to a single answer. Right now you will find both of the views I put forward (the old "Russian" and old "Greek/Nicodemian") views in the Orthodox world, even espoused by members of the same local Churches (ex. two Greek Orthodox scholars adhering to different views on this topic.)
Augustine
