Dear in Christ Nektarios,
BEWARE!
Shooting canons can be dangerous... so are loose canons!
These canons were installed when the Holy Church of Christ was still one, undivided between East and West. So let's be very careful not to apply their intent in addressing the heresies of the day to our present ecclesiastical world.
I would also humbly request that you be more reverend to the position and person deemed appropriate by the Holy Spirit to be the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Whether we like or agree with a leader, as Orthodox Christians, we should be obedient and humble to that leader's concern for the Church. If we really cannot do that, then we should refrain from petty, vain and idle talk about that leader (remember the prayer of St. Ephraim that we prayed often during Lent?), and as pious Christians, pray for that person instead and leave it to God to enlighten Him as HE sees fit, not as WE see fit. We cannot second guess our Great and Omnipotent God...to do so is the height of sinful ego.
As for St. Mark of Ephesus, with all due respect to him and his piety, I have only come across one dream in relation to him. I do not know if that dream, which was deemed 'miraculous' actually constitutes one of the great saints of the Church.
Whether or not he is, I cannot question the wisdom of the Church, but I will question the intent and motives of those anti-Latin individuals in the Orthodox Church who have made him into a poster boy for their anti-Catholicism, their disdain for unity, and as a justifier for the hatred of their hearts.
If unity did not occur at the Council of Florence, it is not because of St. Mark or the laity, it was because it was not the right time in God's time. Indeed, if we look back we will see that such a unity was at a time when the Latin rite was often imposed on the East, and thus, the Church would not have breathed properly with the two lungs of its inception.
The present Pope, JPII, (whom I consider one so great and magnanimous in his humility and faith, that I believe that he will definitely be canonized a saint) has prayed and made great efforts and overtures for the unification of the Church, the Body of Christ, to be modeled on the Church of the first Millenium. He respects the Byzantine traditions as much as the Latin traditions. Only with such humility in recognizing the validity and holiness of each tradition, can the Church breath again as ONE. After all, these two seperate traditions were, (much to the astonishment of some Orthodox) very much in practice in the first Church.
Nektarios, if only you could have such zeal as an Orthodox to discuss matters of faith and tradition, as you do to discuss polemics.
This is what is truly, truly sad with some that espouse Holy Orthodoxy...
Are you espousing it because you found it more spiritually edifying for your journey, or because the particular Orthodox group you joined (or your spiritual mentor), made you feel part of a group that plays on triumphalism and anti-Western feelings? Think long and hard about this, please....such individuals/groups need our prayer, because they are creating a cult that allows for no deviation from the particular group's mentality.
Perhaps Nektarios, you can stop commenting on all my posts which involve ecumenism, because you are subjective, and because you are so averse to the idea.
There are many other threads which involve a great many interesting topics which pertain to Eastern thought and worship on this board, as well as societal concerns in general...these might be of more interest to you, and might scandalize you and consequently, others, less.
I also find the prayer section very spiritually edifying. As a committed Orthodox Christian, you might want to pray for the concerns of others, as they have prayed for yours.
Wishing you the peace that surpasses all understanding,
Alice
