www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West difference in theology

Pax!
I have two questions:
How would you say that the theology of the East and West differ from each other?

Can we really talk about West as just one tradition and the East as just one tradition?

I've read this most interesting quote:
​"The Church must breathe with her two lungs!"- Pope John Paul II

but excuse me, isn't the Eastern and Oriental two lungs instead of just one?

One Apostolic Tradition with myriad variations in expression that form particular Traditions.

In Homo sapiens, each lung has more than one lobe.

The left lung has two lobes: the Catholic Church and the Old Catholic Church.

The right lung has three lobes: the Orthodox Church, the Oriental Church, and the Church of the East.

I hope this clarifies the pulmonary nature of ecclesiology.

Amazing comparison! Unfortunately, the left lung comparison between the [Roman?] Catholic Church and the Old Catholic Church is forced and arbitrary. Within a generation after the Old Catholic schism the Old Catholics began splintering into various autonomous factions over Theosophy, modernism, quasi-orthodoxy of various stripes, and "Celtic" Christianity. During the short history of the Celtic Catholics in the internet era there have been at least 3 schisms between their bishops over who knows what, affecting at most a couple hundred souls. At least the SSPX have maintained doctrinal unity amongst themselves. It is also my impression that there are also various renegade eparchies with Orthodox lineages. Since 1517 the trend of schisms has been to fragment to dust.

At least the SSPX have maintained doctrinal unity amongst themselves.

There have been at least three major splits in the SSPX.

The split off that formed the Society of St. Pius the Fifth (SSPV) in 1983. This group has now split itself as many of its members went on to become sedevacantists.

The split off in 1988 of the former SSPX members who returned to full communion with Rome and founded the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP).

The split off of the Society of St. Pius the Tenth of the Strict Observance (SSPX-SO) in 2012.

The SSPX Wikipedia article points to three more splits and it doesn't even mention the SSPX aligned Sons of the Most Holy Reedemer, who have been received back into full communion.