Anti-Catholic (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

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Don't be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they don't sow, they don't reap, they have no warehouse or barn, and God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds! Which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his height? If then you aren't able to do even the least things, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow. They don't toil, neither do they spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith? Don't seek what you will eat or what you will drink; neither be anxious. For the nations of the world seek after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek God's Kingdom, and all these things will be added to you.

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	Anti-Catholic (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

QUESTION:

Is the Orthodox Church anti-Catholic?

ANSWER:

The Orthodox Church in America is not "anti-Catholic."

While Orthodoxy is not in communion with Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy rejects the notion that Roman Catholicism is the "other half" of the Church, this, coupled with the fact that Orthodox doctrine rejects certain teachings unique to Roman Catholicism - papal supremacy and infallibility, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, to name a few -- does not mean that the Orthodox Church is "anti-Catholic."

Orthodox Christianity sees itself as the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church established by Christ and handed down to us through the apostles and the unbroken Tradition of the People of God. While there may be some Orthodox Christians who might be looked upon as "anti-Catholic," this does not mean that Orthodoxy pursues an "anti-Catholic" or "anti-anything-else" approach as official policy.

It is the fervent prayer of the Orthodox Church that all people - Roman Catholic, unchurched, whatever - might some day be united to the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church of Christ. Until that becomes a reality, we continue to pray for unity while, at the same time, rejecting any notion that Orthodox Christianity is just one of many "branches" or "expressions" of Christianity. To believe this would be to reject our understanding of Orthodoxy as the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

Published in January 2011.

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