The Catholic and Orthodox churches have been divided for nearly a
thousand years. The issues that divide them are weighty matters of
theology, from a dispute over the Nicene Creed to the question of the
authority of the Pope. But while these issues are cited as the most
important reasons for the split, they were not necessarily the issues
that caused it. In _Beards, Azymes, and Purgatory_ A. Edward
Siecienski argues that other, seemingly minor issues also played a
significant role in the schism.Although rarely included in modern-day
ecumenical dialogues, for centuries these "other issues"--the
beardlessness of the Latin clergy, the Western use of unleavened bread
in the Eucharist, and the doctrine of Purgatory--were among the most
frequently cited reasons for the dispute between East and West.
Disagreements about bread, beards, and the state of souls after death
may not, at first, appear to be church-dividing issues, but they are
the nevertheless among the reasons why the church today is divided.
This was a schism over azymes long before it was a schism over the
primacy of the Bishop of Rome, and the beardlessness of the Latin
clergy was cited as a reason for breaking communion with the Latin
Church prior to all the subsequent arguments about the wording of the
Nicene Creed. To understand the schism between East and West,
Siecienski contends, we must grasp not only the reasons it remains,
but also the reasons it began.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780190065089
Publisert
2022
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter