Popes And Patriarchs

For any dialogue between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches to be fruitful, we must first understand our differences. Popes and Patriarchs covers some of the distinctives in theology and worldview that separate the churches of the East from those of the West, focusing primarily on the claims of papal supremacy. Author Michael Whelton, a convert from Catholicism to Orthodoxy, discusses some of the theological and historical issues that led him to explore the teachings of the Orthodox Church, including the doctrine of original sin, the influence of Medieval scholastic thought on the Western Church, and the modern trend toward evolutionary Christianity. Part II examines in depth the true attitude of the early Eastern saints of the Church toward the papacy, an attitude radically different from that frequently attributed to them by Roman Catholic apologists.A final chapter is devoted to typical questions Roman Catholics raise about the Orthodox Church, including a comprehensive discussion of divorce and remarriage.

This unique account of Russia's encounter with Catholicism from the medieval period to the present provides fascinating insights into Catholic-Russian relations. Dennis Dunn analyzes religious politics in the former USSR and in Russia, particularly in areas where relations between the state-backed Orthodox establishment and the Catholic Church have renewed debates about civil rights, religious freedom and Russian national identity under Vladimir Putin's regime. Discussing issues such as the role of Pope John Paul II in helping to bring down the Iron Curtain, Dunn argues provocatively that Catholic-Russian relations are a microcosm of Western-Russian relations and sheds new light on the historical strain between Russia and the West. Showing how Russia's adoption of a secular ideology - a vain attempt to surpass the West - alienated the Russian government not only from the Catholic Church but also from its own Orthodox foundation, this book discusses how Russia sealed its fate while precipitating the Cold War with the West. Students and general readers interested in Russian history, Western-Russian relations, Catholicism, and comparative religion more broadly, will find this an invaluable and accessible account of an important and understudied subject.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1875.

The Fifth-Century Political Battles That Forever Changed the Church In this fascinating account of the surprisingly violent fifth-century church, PhilipJenkins describes how political maneuvers by a handful of powerful charactersshaped Christian doctrine. Were it not for these battles, today’s church could beteaching something very different about the nature of Jesus, and the papacy as weknow it would never have come into existence. Jesus Wars reveals the profoundimplications of what amounts to an accident of history: that one faction ofRoman emperors and militia-wielding bishops defeated another.