Northern Virginia Catholic Bible Study & Apologetics House rules/notes… 1. Online via Meetup/Zoom or In Person at St. John Neumann Catholic Church 11900 Lawyers Road, Reston, VA 20191 https://saintjn.org/ 2. Meetup is www.meetup.com/catholicbiblestudy Zoom Meeting Logon info is the same every week: Zoom ID: 861 1782 2081 Password: 406952 3. I will send out Meeting Recaps the same night as our sessions – these are unedited versions without pictures. An edited version with pictures will be posted on our website https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/recaps before the next meeting. Taylor will notify everyone at that time. 4. Questions encouraged. If you have questions about anything, you can ask in the chat box, email the Meetup group, or me at ron@hallagan.net. 5. Respectfulness. We will be discussing differences between religions and Christian denominations, and we agree to be respectful at all times. Specifically, Protestants are our friends and brothers in Christ; in fact, I personally owe part of my return to the faith to them! 6. No politics. It would be easy for us to self-destruct, but that’s not our goal. Our goal is to learn/understand/apply the Bible and our Catholic faith. 7. Catholic Prayer & Fellowship. Are you interested in praying with other Catholics during the week? Fellow member Jason Goldberg has started “Catholic Prayer, Fellowship, and Spirituality Meetup.” Sign up at: https://www.meetup.com/online-catholic-prayer-fellowship-and-spirituality/. 8. “The Chosen” TV series. All of us seek a relationship with Jesus Christ, which is not always easy. It can help if we have seen and heard Him. The Chosen captures Jesus better than any show I have ever seen. Highly recommended. 9. RSVP Reminder: Please RSVP whether you are attending the meeting or just reading the Recaps afterwards. The more RSVPs, the more Meetup will give exposure to “Catholic Bible Study” – a good thing! Consider it your way of evangelizing! Please RSVP when you get the Meetup invite weekly. Bible Study Format: Each week of the month has a repeating topic, as shown below. Each meeting: 5 min greet, prayer, 10-15 min Catholic topic, 40-45 min main topic. Week 1: Gospel Week: Sermon on the Mount, cont’d Week 2: Bible Week (Gen àRev): We are in EXODUS, the 2nd book of Moses. Week 3: Survey Topics Voted on by Members: We are currently beginning Christian Comparisons/World Religions.
Ö 1) Jesus’ Greatest Parables Ö 2) Hell, Purgatory, Heaven 3) Christian Comparisons/World Religions
4) Great Women in the Bible 6) Book of Revelation 7) Major Heresies and Church Councils
Week 4: Member Questions:
1. Does the path get harder the closer we get to God? Things that were bad before now look bad. Acedia. Monks/nuns
2. The History of the Mass going back to Cain & Abel, all leading to the sublime meaning of the Eucharist.
3. Can you review origin and meaning of the 12 statements of belief in the Creed?
4. “Who am I?” It seems we all ask this question at some point in our lives. Some ask it all the time. How do you answer this?
5. Are Charity and Love synonymous? How are they different? What are the 4 highest forms of Charity?
6. How many Gospels have the story of Jesus’ calming the storm? Are they the same story?
7. Why was God full of vengeance and violence in the OT? Or was that simply an interpretation by those of that time?
8. Can you provide an intro/overview of the OT books?
Catholic Catacombs Website: https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/recaps
Major upcoming holy days in the Church…
Pentecost Sunday – May 28
Old Testament, Old Covenant, Temporal New Testament, New Covenant, Eternal
50 days after the First Passover 50 days after Easter
The Day the Israelites received the Ten Commandments The Day the Church (us) received the Holy Spirit
Beginning of the Mosaic Covenant Beginning of Catholic Church & New Covenant
Opening Prayer
Dear Lord
Thank you for your promise that
Where two or three of us are gathered in your name, You are there!
We welcome you among us tonight as we study our fellow Christian faiths.
Please enlighten us in understanding as we pray for our unity in the Holy Spirit.
And as You taught us to pray:
Our Father
Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily Bread;
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us all.
Amen.
Last week, a member asked when the Catholic Church shed the Mosaic rituals of the OT.
It was determined that Christians did not have to observe the Mosaic ritual laws of the Jews at the Council of Jerusalem in 50 AD.
At the Council, attended by Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and the other apostles, it was decided that Gentile converts would continue to adhere to four precepts that even Jewish converts would have considered it scandalous to violate: “to avoid pollution from idols, unlawful marriage, blood and the meat of strangled animals” – Acts 15:19. These few restrictions belonged to the covenant made with Noah (before Abraham and Moses), and were considered to be in addition to the moral laws of the Ten Commandments to which all Christians are bound.
Quote of the Week:
Jesus: “Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but you don’t see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.” – Mt 7:3-5
Jesus Questions
Who has the splinter?
Not us.
Who is the first beamer?
Us
Who is the tree man?
Those of us who think only other people have this problem.
What does it mean to be born again?
It means born into eternal life (baptism), but as the term suggests, being born is a beginning, not an end. It is the beginning of the journey. On this journey, God expects progress, not perfection. 2 steps backwards, 1 forward is fine!
Eastern Christianity (or Eastern Orthodoxy)
Christianity denominations members %
Roman Catholicism 1 1.4 billion 51%
Protestantism 212+ 900 million 34%
Eastern Orthodox/Oriental 75+/- 300 million 11%
Q: What is Ecumenism
(From Greek “to inhabit” = belonging to the whole inhabited world). Ecumenism is the continuing effort to promote unity among the world’s Christian churches.
Q: Why should we?
Because that was Jesus’ request and therefore, we should never stop actively pursuing it. .
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us…” – Jn 17:20-21
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus.” – Gal 3:28
There were two major splits in the 2000 history of the Catholic Church:
1) Eastern Christianity, which is usually thought to have occurred in AD 1054 but the truth is it really formally separated about the same time as Protestantism.
2) The Protestantism Reformation, which began in AD 1517 and continued over the 16th century.
You often hear of the East and West. The “West” referred to the Roman Catholic Church and has Latin origins (in language and tradition) and “East” generally centered around Constantinople has mostly Greek origins (in language or tradition).
“Eastern Christianity” is a broad term that encompasses the Christian traditions found in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, Africa, the Middle East, and parts of the Far East. All Christian traditions that did not develop in Western Europe are thus considered to be part of Eastern Christianity, however the term does not denote any single tradition or church.
East and West separation
One of the most tragic divisions within Christianity is the one between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches. Both have valid holy orders and apostolic succession through the episcopacy, both celebrate the same sacraments, both believe almost exactly the same theology, and both proclaim the same faith in Christ.
So, why the division? What caused the division?
Emperor vs. Patriarch
After the western Roman Empire collapsed in A.D. 476, the Church in Rome remained the head of the Universal (Catholic) Church; however, the eastern half continued under the head of the Byzantine Empire, which was headquartered in Constantinople.
At this time, the patriarch of Constantinople had jurisdiction over Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, but found itself serving under the emperor, who ruled those lands with military might.
The Byzantine emperors wielded tremendous influence in eastern church affairs. Some emperors claimed to be equal in authority to the twelve apostles and have the power to appoint the patriarch. Although the two offices (emperor and patriarch) were legally autonomous, in practice the patriarch served at the emperor’s pleasure. To be fair, many patriarchs of Constantinople were good and holy bishops who ruled well and did their best to resist imperial encroachments on Church matters, but it was difficult to withstand the designs of power-hungry and meddlesome emperors.
At other times, in order to acquire more leverage in dealing with the emperor, the more ambitious patriarchs attempted to bolster their position in the universal Church; unfortunately, this usually brought those patriarchs into conflict with Rome in the west.
An example of an early conflict came when Emperor Constantius appointed an Arian heretic as patriarch (Arianism did not accept the doctrine of the Trinity). Consequently Pope Julian excommunicated the patriarch in 343, but this was canceled when John Chrysostom became Patriarch in 398. This was not a split or schism.
1054 AD: "The Great Schism"
During the height of the Byzantine Empire, the south of Italy had become a colony under the "Greek Byzantine-Rite." In 1054, the Catholic Normans swept into Italy and conquered southern Italy. They immediately compelled them to adopt the Latin-Rite custom of using unleavened bread for the Eucharist.
This caused much anger and frustration among the Greek Catholics because it went against their ancient custom of using leavened bread.
In response, over in Constantinople, Patriarch Cerularius ordered all of the Latin-Rite communities in his region to conform to the Eastern practice of using leavened bread. The Latins refused, so the Patriarch closed their churches and sent a hostile letter to Pope Leo IX.
What followed next can only be called a tragedy of errors. The Pope sent an inflexible legate who to resolve the issue and the Patriarch whom he met with was just as inflexible; in fact, they infuriated each other. When the smoke cleared, the Pope's legate and the Patriarch excommunicated each other. You can’t make this stuff up.
Although this was a serious difficulty, there was not a break in church relations as is widely reported in the history books. These two individuals within the Church had excommunicated each other, which itself many or may not have been valid, but that's it – and it was over unleavened bread!
Thus, it turns out that the “Schism of 1054” is more a popular myth than reality. That doesn’t mean there weren’t political issues and disputes over the next few centuries, but for most of the time there was friendly relations – and one official Church. Until the 1450s…
AD 1453 – The Official Schism in Three Final Steps
1. In 1453, the Byzantine Empire collapsed after the Muslim Turks sacked Constantinople. With the Turks in control of the capital city, the rest of the Byzantine Empire crumbled quickly.
2. The powerful Islamic military gave protection to Constantinople as the center of the Eastern Orthodox world, but at a high price. The Muslim Sultan sold the office of patriarch to the highest bidder and changed the occupants often to keep the money rolling in. From 1453 to 1923, the Turkish sultans dismissed/replaced 105 Patriarchs.
3. The final blow that weakened the Patriarch’s authority came from Russia. Ivan the Great assumed the title of “Czar” (Czar is Russian for “Caesar”). He began calling Moscow the “third Rome,” and sought the role of protector for Eastern Christianity.
These led to the collapse of the patriarchal system. The Eastern Church lost its center and the outlying churches fragmented along national lines. Russia was the first to claim independence from the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1859. Other ethnic and regional splintering quickly followed, and today there are eleven independent Orthodox churches, with many subdivisions and further internal splits.
Present Eastern Christianity landscape
Now that we understand our joint history and the split in 1453, let’s review how Eastern Christianity is organized.
Two main categories of Eastern Christianity are the (1) Oriental Orthodox and (2) Eastern Orthodox Church.
Oriental Orthodox can be further subdivided into six churches -- Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox, Indian-Syrian Orthodox and American Apostolic.
The Eastern Orthodox category is more extensive and comprises three subgroups:
(A) autocephalous churches (15) that are self-governing
(B) autonomous churches (4) that have internal autonomy but are also dependent on an autocephalous church
(C) dependent churches (6)
A fourth category exists which comprises 6 more churches that hold on to (A) and (B) but are separated from
communion because of political exigencies (e.g., Russian Church) or theological controversies (e.g., Old Believers and Old Calendarists), and are presently not in communion with Constantinople or Moscow.
Many of these churches are in partial communion with one another but have distinct hierarchies and some theological differences.
A key theological difference has to do with defining the personhood of Jesus Christ. While they all believe that Jesus is “consubstantial with the Father” and was both divine and human, the Oriental Orthodox believe that Jesus’ divine and human natures were combined into one nature, and the Eastern Orthodox believe (like Catholics) that Jesus is two complete natures in one person (one divine and the other human).
The Catholic/Orthodox definition (two separate natures in one person) is called “hypostatic union,” which means a union of distinct persons. The Oriental definition is called “monophysitism” (mon-‘off-o-site-ism: one combined or merged nature).
Q: Why did the Catholic Church take the position of Hypostatic Union?
As decided at the Council of Chalcedon in AD 381, the idea of a combined/single nature would mean Jesus was a new creature – not divine nor human, but some new hybrid being.
It is important for us to understand that Jesus took on a distinct human nature not only to walk in our shoes but, as a human, pay for humanity’s sins; and, as a human, to conquer death; and to be the first to enter heaven as a human, which is what is meant by “opening the gates of heaven” to humans.
If Jesus was some hybrid god-person, would we really think he walked in our shoes and felt what we felt? Not really. Would it have been justice for some different kind of created being to pay for the sins of humans? No.
Now you know why we make the distinction that Jesus was fully human and fully divine.
East and West Today
Two substantive disagreements that remain between Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox concern 1) the Church’s Ecumenical Councils and 2) the role of the Pope.
Let's address each.
1) The Councils
Both sides agree that ecumenical councils have the ability to infallibly define doctrines, but a question arises concerning which councils are ecumenical.
The Eastern Orthodox communion bases its teachings on Scripture and “the seven ecumenical councils”—Nicaea#1 (325), I Constantinople (381), Ephesus (431), Chalcedon (451), II Constantinople (553), III Constantinople (680), and Nicaea#2 (787).
Catholics recognize these as the first seven ecumenical councils, but not the only seven. While Catholics recognize a series of ensuing ecumenical councils leading up to Vatican I and II in the last century, the Eastern Orthodox say there have been no ecumenical councils since the 7th Council in 787, and therefore no teaching since then is accepted as of universal authority.
However, the reason for not recognizing any Ecumenical Councils since 787 is that they require all the Eastern Churches to agree that a council is ecumenical, and they can never get an agreement from all the Churches. This arrangement is unworkable since any disputants who are unhappy with any aspect of a council’s results can prevent any agreement from the rest. Therefore, the remaining Councils have no authority.
2) The Pope’s Authority
Since the first Pentecost, the Catholic Church was one Church and the Bishop of Rome (Chair of Peter) had primacy of authority over the other bishops. This is supported by Scripture and documented through the early centuries. The list is too long to read but here is the link regarding the primacy of the Chair of Peter:
After the Eastern schism began, the Orthodox only will only agree that the pope has a "primacy of honor" among the bishops of the world, not primacy of authority. The concept of a primacy of honor without authority cannot be found in the Bible and it is meaningless, anyway.
So the above two issues remain open.
Ecumenical Prospects
While Catholics and Eastern Orthodox are separate for the moment, over the last several decades, there has been a marked lessening of tensions and overcoming of long-standing hostilities. In 1965, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople finally lifted those mutual excommunications dating from 1054. It is again becoming possible to envision a time when the two communions will be united and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, fulfill their duty in bringing about Christ’s solemn desire and command “that they may be one” (John 17:11).
Let us always remember that all Christians on earth, in Purgatory, and in Heaven are part of…
The Body of Christ
Next up: Islam
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, as we continue learning about how all cultures and people seek greater meaning and purpose than this world has to offer, help us do our part to expand and strengthen the unity of the Body of Christ.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed are thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
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