Expert: Rick Jackson - 5/5/2007

Question
Hello
  An Eastern Orthodox spokesman was criticizing other churches and saying we are outside the true faith.  But then he went on to say that the Orthodox faith holds more to their traditions and less to the bible and that the fall of Adam was not complete and Christ just came to help us achieve our godhood.   The way he spoke about icons was as if they almost worship them in themselves.  I spoke with some Greek Orthodox and they say they don't know what goes on in their services but that everything is about the mystery of God and so they don't need to know.
   Can you tell me how Catholics relate to this?

Answer
Hi Don.

It's my opinion that the "spokesman" is not at all a spokesman for Eastern Orthodoxy, and that the ones you spoke of are just not immersed in their faith.

The latter group sounds like people we probably all know who go to church every sunday but that is the extent of their practice of their faith.

As for the fall of Adam being "not complete", in that we Catholics share this idea.  We affirm that we are severely wounded, but unlike the Protestants we do not believe that Adams sin resulted in a complete lack of "goodness".

If you research and read of and about devout Orthodox Christians, you will find very little difference between them and Catholics.