www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West How important is the question of which church?

If it's all Christian, and the faith is basically preserved even though there are slight differences, and the tradition is basically kept either way, how important is the question of which Church?

Well....break out the beer and popcorn!! This could get very interesting.

Which "Church"(es) are you referring to? Catholic and Orthodox? Oriental Orthodox? Any of the Protestant churhes? Unless you clarify your terms and possibly narrow them down, the possible answers are, well....there could be LOTS of answers. Depends, too, on who you're asking.

I'm sure some would say that it is *not* all Christian and the the faith is *not* necessarily "preserved" or the "tradition...kept", and that some of the differences are huge.

One thing I will say, though, is that I *pray* that at the Final Judgment we will be asked not "What church or Church did you belong to?" but "How did you live your life? Did you feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc. Did you love others, especially your enemy, as I have loved you?" And so on. I guess we'll find out, won't we ;-)?

And let's not forget the Assyrian Church of the East.

Some of us try to. jk.

I will almost never refer to the Protestants as churches unless it is a specific issue with a specific one or is about Christian music or something.

And thinking betwee, OO, EO, and Catholic, but I suppose it is conceivable that ACoE could count too.

*between

There are days when this Schism irritates me beyond words!



How long O Lord?

But anyhow, the simple answer would be: CatholicS, EOs, OOs, ACoE, and PNCC, since they're the ones who have valid sacraments.

The thing is, not everyone agrees on the list of who-has-valid-sacraments (hence why I said that was "the simple answer").

To simplify matters, let's all use my list.

Hmmm ... can we see it first?

P.S. Of course, the list I gave before,
isn't really my list. It is, if you will, the Pope's list.

It is an important question --- where is the Church?

The meat & potatoes of this is who decides when there is a disagreement?


Is this where one needs the concept of a Pope?

If a Council is to decide, does the decision have to be unanimous?

That seemed to be what a lot of Catholics think, even if they don't say so directly.

PNCC?

I love you.

Christ is risen!

Polish National Catholic Church.

And yes, it matters.