In perusing Facebook today, I came across a wonderfully written article which captivated my attention throughout the rather long reading of it. In This Wintertime, Only the Catholic Way Will Save Us. suggests that a return to foundational truths within the Catholic faith will save the Roman Catholic Church from the ongoing self-destruction which currently attends it.

I wrote the following in response:

Before the critique, let me say this is a beautifully written article. I love especially the deep knowledge that Kevin has of his beloved Orioles team and how nicely he makes the connection to what has happened to the Roman Church.

Now . . . unfortunately, he misses the point altogether. The foundation of the Catholic (universal) faith is the unity of the Church, which was severed in 1054 AD by the schism of Rome as the Frankish bishops insisted on the Filioque Clause to the Creed, which even several popes opposed, the greatest of which was Leo III. Pope Leo III had the Creed inscribed on silver tablets WITHOUT THE FILIOQUE and mounted them in St. Peter’s Basilica, a statement to the Frankish bishops of his utter opposition to changing the Creed.

Kevin goes on to correctly lament the loss of foundational issues which are so important to our growth as Christians. For instance, the loss of fasting as was found for centuries in the united Church. Eating “one large and two small” meals a day, or “giving up” something for Lent DOES NOT QUALIFY as fasting!! Do you want to know what does, and what the Roman Church did do up until only recently?

They did the same thing that the Orthodox do today. In Orthodoxy, the fasting regulations have no been changed to accommodate spiritually lazy people. For 40 days in Lent, the 40 days of the Philokalia (the Nativity Fast) and on Wednesdays and Fridays, the Orthodox do not eat meat, eggs, dairy products, or fish. No oil or wine (including any alcoholic beverages) either. THAT is fasting. Choosing what you will give up is a joke, intended to coddle spoiled little brats in their selfishness.

But even deeper than that, the creation of several doctrines which were not known to the Early Fathers or the Early Church is quite problematic, and I can’t help but wonder if once you leave the unity of the faith and invent dogmas out of thin air if you don’t create a spiritual condition in which holiness and spiritual growth becomes extremely hard? Kevin does not address dogmas such as the Immaculate Conception, Indulgences, Papal Supremacy, Papal Infallibility, and the Filioque Clause in his article. He does not regard them as problematic, and for obvious reason. He has been told that the Roman Church is indefectible and infallible.

In addition, there are disciplines which go back to the beginning which Rome has also jettisoned, such as baptism by three-fold immersion in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The giving of the Eucharist to infant children. The use of unleavened bread for the Eucharist.

Cal Ripken went back to the foundations of the Orioles success and in doing so, found success himself. His dedication brought the team along with him to a World Series championship. You can never go wrong going back to the foundation, whether it be in sports, in business, or in relationships. It is when we begin to deviate from that which worked so well in the beginning that we suffer loss.

The same is true in regard to this article. Rome needs to return to the beginnings, to jettison all the things which have encrusted their great ship of state like barnacles, and in rejecting and repenting of them, reunite with the Orthodox Church. In the unity which East and West had in the very beginning of the faith I believe we will experience the power and blessing of God.

Kevin is correct in what he says. The Catholic Way will save the Church. The problem is that Rome has left the Catholic Way a long time ago in favor of a politicized church which became the religious arm of the Roman Empire. The Church in Rome became the handmaiden of the Empire, with disastrous results.

The Catholic faith is, according to St. Vincent of Lerins, “that which has been believed in every place, by all people, and at all times.” This does not describe the Church at Rome since the Frankish bishops stole it from Rome. You simply cannot say with a straight face that the Immaculate Conception or Indulgences were ever taught in the first century.

There is one Church which has kept the faith unchanged by either the demands of malcontents within or imaginative dreamers fancying themselves theologians – the Orthodox Church. The faith of Orthodoxy meets St. Vincent’s definition of the Catholic faith, and I make no apology for saying this.

Come back Home, Rome. We long for unity again.

** Postscript: I need to acknowledge something. Holy Orthodoxy is facing a similar crisis in the West, especially in the United States. I recently read a statement by an Orthodox priest in which he expressed deep concern that Protestant converts were coming in with their theological baggage and distorting the Orthodox faith. The Church is not above finding within herself “grievous wolves,” as St. Paul warned. It is my hope and prayer that Orthodoxy will hold fast to the faith “once delivered to the saints” and kindly but firmly (sorry if this sounds uncharitable) show the door to those who think they know better than the Fathers.