[Greapyjeory]

Dear Fr Michael,
You wrote:\quote {but I'm not ready for a "unity" without real unity.}
From the beginning of my sojourn as an Orthodox Christian I have been told that this was the official position of the Orthodox Church about unity. In effect how can we have unity without first having attained a basic unity of Faith? Or to put it the other around to our non-Orthodox Christian friends- the reason we cannot accept unity is because we have not yet attained unity of Faith.
Will there be unity anytime soon? Only God (and perhaps saints of great insight) knows. But I was positively struck by the 60 Minutes program on Sunday on graduates from a RC college or seminary in Rome from America. Almost all were more traditional and one young man about to be ordained to the priesthood commented that his generation of Roman Catholics was more conservative than that of 20 years ago. Sound familiar? But a return to 'traditional' values could result in a return to regarding us openly as heretics as much as a return to Patristic standards. And how much would the normal pew-sitting faithful accept such fundamental changes towards traditional values? Let's hope & pray this happens- then perhaps miracles may really begin to occur. After all as another Orthodox website pointed out- the Popes of the Middle Ages certainly began what amounted to a spiritual revolution (negative by our standards)-so why not a new Pope who starts a revolution towards Patristic standards? Is this unrealistic or not?
I would also submit that before other Christians (we are mostly talking about Roman Catholics here though) go too far talking about unity- come visit our churches & watch our piety & mind-set. How do you react to this? I don't mean one visit but really getting to know us & our lives. If you do this you may understand why we are so adamant about our Faith-what it is that is so valuable to us that we want to retain.
In Christ- Fr Raphael