A Discussion on Relations Between the Catholic East and West; A layman's perspective

John 17:21. Since the author is not a Protestant and do not think that the reader is as well, it is therefore not expected for the reader to have this passage memorized. It reads, "That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." (Douay Rheims) Many a time, Catholics will use this verse in order to promote unity between Catholic and Protestant Christians and as a query to Protestants in order to show that the very essence of Protestantism today goes against the above-mentioned words of Our Lord. However, the author wishes to pose this verse to those traditionalists (trads) in both the Catholic East and West for consideration. When the words "East" and "West" are used in relation to these "trads", we refer to those who are Old Church Slavonic and Tridentine Mass (TLM) devotees, respectively. Now, the author aims not to alienate either camp in this series of posts, but to call to mind certain qualms that each camp has with the other and a possible solution to these qualms. The author will use personal experience (which is in no way conclusive, but is indeed ample) as evidence for his thesis. Finally, the author and his fiancee (until May 7th, 2021) both are devotees of the Ruthenian Rite of the Eastern Catholic Church and the Tridentine Mass, so any accusations of bias are hereby dismissed. The qualms from East to West will now be discussed, with later posts discussing qualms the West has with the East and a possible reconciliation between the "trads" of East and West alike. A cursory look at Church history shows that the relations between the Catholic East and West have always been...tense. Many in the Orthodox Churches, for example, still hold the indefensible atrocities of the 4th Crusade against the Catholic Church and cite this as a reason for the continuing disunity (O'Loughlin). However, the qualms analyzed herein will be current "issues" that those "trads" in the Eastern Churches have with the Western "trads" (qualms that Eastern trads have with the Eastern Churches themselves will be analyzed at another time). These issues include: Mass in Latin, "Latinization", and a sense of "little brother vs. big brother" syndrome. Mass in Latin is an area of trouble for many "trads" in the Eastern Churches due to its going against the tradition of the Eastern Church. To be concise, the tradition of the Eastern Church, dating back to Sts Cyril and Methodius of happy memory, shows that the clergy were the ones to learn the language of the people in order to serve them better as pastors. Cyril and Methodius spoke Macedonian Greek, but were charged with serving the Slavic peoples. With this in mind, St Cyril created the "Cyrillic" alphabet in order to assist both him and his brother, Methodius, with serving the Slavic peoples better. One can see that it was not imposed on the Slavic people to learn a new language in order to adore and praise Our Lord (i.e. learn Greek for Liturgy). Knowing this, Eastern "trads" pose this historical example to Western "trads" and ask rhetorically, "See? Why can two saints do this, but those in the Western trad community cannot seem to understand this and further, wish to impose the Latin language (which is not spoken commonly today) on those in the laity?" This transitions nicely to the next topic: Latinization of Eastern Liturgies. Oh, Latinization. The chip on the Eastern trad community's shoulder that cannot seem to be healed, in spite of an entire Council document being written in order to counter it i.e. Orientalium Ecclesiarum. An example that comes to mind is one of the priest's blessings to the congregation during the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, "The grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you." Any Roman Catholic worth their weight in salt would read that and respond, "And with your spirit." Why? Because this is the second sentence to come out of the priest's mouth during the Novus Ordo of the Roman Liturgy. Now, while this author sees no problem with this phrase being used in both Rites due to its Trinitarian essence (something very much lacking in certain Protestant religious communities), others in the Eastern Churches will see this and say, "See? Another Roman thing we must accept. First, it was the Rosary, next it was this. What will come next, saying 'Pax tecum' during Liturgy?"(Yes, the author understands he is being flippant at this point, but this is a very sad debate so humor is needed.) Finally, the author wishes to look at this syndrome of "little brother vs. big brother" in the Eastern Church. Many times, Eastern trads will have a problem with the fact that most layman, both Catholic and Protestant, do not have a blessed idea about what the Eastern Churches are, much less that they exist. However, the author sees two possible reactions to this, the first being to cry in the corner and pound sand for all of the injustices committed against faithful Catholics (something heavily promoted in both trad communities), and the second to take this fact as an incentive to spread more "awareness" about the Eastern Churches. It is very easy (and a plot of the demonic, in the author's humble opinion) to sit in a corner and cry about how one never received any catechesis or how no one knows what the Eastern Churches are. Why? Because nothing is produced by both of these, which is what Satan and the enemy wants. "Idle hands are the devil's playground." One should strive to learn about the Faith that has been passed down to us by those such as St John Chrysostom, St Thomas Aquinas, St Macarius, St Basil the Great, and countless others. To close, the author would like to quote from the above-mentioned Conciliar document, "Orientalium Ecclesiarum", "The Sacred Council, therefore, not only accords to this ecclesiastical and spiritual heritage the high regard which is its due and rightful praise, but also unhesitatingly looks on it as the heritage of the universal Church." (1964) This quote shows how Holy Mother Church would like all churches to have the same respect for the traditions of other rites and for them all to fall under the umbrella of Tradition which comprises such a large part of Catholic Magisterium and Teaching.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_orientalium-ecclesiarum_en.html http

s://youtu.be/e5vtGp_qIQg?t=2671 (Fr O'Loughlin on the Eastern Churches)