Read the diffenition one more time, please. The Church is a divinely instituted community of men, united by the: 1) orthodox faith (right faith, "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3), faith that can't be changed in time); 2) the law of God; 3) the hierarchy; 4) the Sacraments.
'Present Pope' is head of hierarchy that doesn't keep right faith. (Doctrine of Roman church is changing in time). Bishop of Rome isn't member of hierarchy of Church since 1054.
Rome, of course, would argue otherwise. It was, after all, the Eastern churches who wrongly split off from Rome, not the other way around. Or so we've argued for the last thousand years.
What the heck is the point of this? Seriously. What is the point of maintaining divisions for a millennium, divisions that have done more harm to the Body of Christ than the depredations of the Saracens and the falsehoods of the Enlightenment combined? Divisions, I might add, that arose more out of interpersonal rivalries, politics, and sheer bloody-mindedness than out of real, true doctrinal disputes?
I find the whole East-West divide thoroughly unnecessary, disgusting, and tragic. But I guess I'm in the minority in that.
Regardless of Orthodox theology, it is rather clearly lacking in the theology of the OP. I think many Orthodox could rightly answer "Of course there was you pompous donkey," but not while also saying the things he has said here. Presumably those people would be comfortable with the fact that the added doctrine claim is silly, even if they are not comfortable with the fact that it's hypocritical (though it is).
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The Church is a divinely instituted community of men, united by the:
1) orthodox faith (right faith, "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3), faith that can't be changed in time);
2) the law of God;
3) the hierarchy;
4) the Sacraments.
'Present Pope' is head of hierarchy that doesn't keep right faith. (Doctrine of Roman church is changing in time).
Bishop of Rome isn't member of hierarchy of Church since 1054.
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What the heck is the point of this? Seriously. What is the point of maintaining divisions for a millennium, divisions that have done more harm to the Body of Christ than the depredations of the Saracens and the falsehoods of the Enlightenment combined? Divisions, I might add, that arose more out of interpersonal rivalries, politics, and sheer bloody-mindedness than out of real, true doctrinal disputes?
I find the whole East-West divide thoroughly unnecessary, disgusting, and tragic. But I guess I'm in the minority in that.
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