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Do EO believe the RCC is heretical? Some have told me they don't believe it is, some say yes, it is. Can anyone (EO primarily) tell me what you believe?

Drew there are some EO's who believe other EO outside of their canonical jurisdiction are heretical. What do you think their position is vis a vis the Latin Church?
Stephanos I

True, but I wonder, what does Orthodoxy officially teach? It's so hard to get a clear, accurate answer on this.

That is one problem that I see with Orthodoxy (and guys I mean this respectfully) what does it teach officially and who teaches it?
As I posted here before the Church while being a spiritual reality is also a visible reality.
It teaches infallibly the truths of God throughout the ages.
How do we know the truth? Are we mere pawns at the whim of every teacher that comes along, blown about here and there by the winds of other peoples opinions or "our own"? Or do we belong to that rock, on which those who are wise build?
Stephanos I

The Orthodox Church does regard some teachings of the Roman See as heretical such as the filioque but not the whole Roman Church as heretical.

The problem is that after centuries of separation, the Roman Church has developped other doctrines such as the Immaculate Conception, the Purgatory, etc. The recent theological dialogue has proved that many of these differences are just due to terminology and phylosophical approach but schism neverthless leads to heresy.

The only real obstacle used to be the supremacy of the Popes.

Let's be clear: the only things the Orthodox Churches claim to teach authoritatively are those things articulated by the Seven Ecumenical Councils [or as the Romans would say, "the first Seven Ecumenical Councils.] Everything else, no matter how widely held, is opinion.
And there are a variety of opinions about Roman Catholicism and other Christian bodies. Some would hold that yes, Catholicism is heretical, but many others would be more generous. Heck, Orthodox hierarchs have participated in the consecration of Anglican and Old Catholic bishops, for heaven's sake.
I am not even sure what the majority hold. As in Orthodox churches in this country there are large numbers of Protestant converts, who tend to bring their biases with them, I am not sure we should jump to any conclusions based upon American Orthodox believers....
-Daniel

Thank you, all! But I wonder, how can I know for sure that the EOC doesn't teach the RCC as heretical? I have heard so many differing opinions, its crazy.

Thank you .

I see the same problem, sadly. It doesn't appear to have always been this way, as the EOC seemed very unified on all its teachings until recently. But the RCC and ECC have their set of problems too that the EOC don't have, I'm sure. I guess the fact is, all Churches are suffering right now. These are difficult times we are in.

Daniel,

I don't wish to claim that this is incorrect, but I do want to suggest taking a look at the following article: The Eighth and Ninth Ecumenical Synods [64.233.161.104] (that's the cached page on Google, because apparently the original site is having problems or is no longer there -- hopefully it works). Particularly, the evidence that the 1848 Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs (signed by bishops from the Holy Synods of Constantinople, Antioch, and Jerusalem) repeatedly refers to an "Eighth Ecumenical Council" is interesting. In any case, just thought I'd point that out for consideration.

God bless,
Jason

Dont forget about the extraordinary pan-Orthodox synods of the 17th century. Very, very important

I'm going to suggest that this line of inquiry be terminated. It serves no purpose as it is apparent that you will not accept the answers you have been given.

As with most questions regarding what the Orthodox teach when the question regards something outside of Orthodoxy the answer is simple: the Orthodox know where grace is, they do not know where it is not. Some individual Orthodox hold that certain Catholic teachings are heresy, others hold that they are theologumena, that is, theological speculation. There is, and can be, no definitive answer to your question.

Fr. Deacon Edward, moderator

Dear Fr. Deacon Edward,

That was a bit rude, but I am sorry, but I do believe my question was well-asked. I was simply trying to get a definitive answer. I was not in any way ignoring the answers I was given. I'm sorry if I came off this way. I just hadn't gotten an official answer yet, so I was waiting for a more official one.

If you want to close it, go ahead. I suppose it's true that there is no official position, but rather just individual opinions. I'm just disappointed that there is no official position as to if the RCC is heretical or not, but I have to remember, that's how the West works, not the East.

Forgive me.