Monday, December 10, 2007

But it's pretty there!

It is an old phrase, but it is true - familiarity breeds contempt. I find this to be true when dealing with Eastern Orthodoxy from a Lutheran perspective. I think we can romanticize how wonderful things were in the East back in the day - after all, we know all of Rome's dirty laundry.

I've been reading a history of Byzantium - and there has been a revelation - a bit of understanding that I have had. I had known that there were problems with some Eastern theology, and I had an idea that there were surely some political junk going on in the east. . .

The simple fact is this - the Patriarchs of Constantinople could be just as sleazy and worldly as the Pope (with perhaps the exception of the 10th Century Popes) - they were just as much involved in King (or Emperor) making as Rome. It's just that we in the west don't know that History. We know the story of the popes - but we don't know the East's Laundry - and so we look at the East as a bit of. . . over idealized never-never land where things are just like they used to. . . no, not really. Same old same old. Scarred hard by Monothelitism - frozen by political infighting - just like our home in the west.

The East has the same problems as the West does - historically speaking. We shouldn't expect anything less in the Church militant.

5 comments:

William Weedon said...

You reading Schmemann's *Historical Road* by any chance?

Rev. Eric J Brown said...

No - is it as good read? I'm reading Norwich's history of Byzantium.

Doorman-Priest said...

A fascinating period of history and another example of how selective history teaching is.

May I add you to my blogroll?

Rev. Eric J Brown said...

Sure thing - which is your blog?

Doorman-Priest said...

Just google The World of Doorman-Priest