What to Do if They Sign Union with Rome?

Pascha of 2025 is approaching, when (supposedly) an Union with the Rome shall be sign. In that event, should you continue attending your local church if they support the Union?

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Music: Spirit of Fire by Jesse Galagher

[BanterWithBojan]

When Union doesn't happen: "See, we opposed it so much that they didn't dare sign it!"
Like a clockwork, every year.

[subdeaconk]

“‘They’re going to sign a union with the Catholics’ is the Orthodox version of the rapture.”

That was gold 😆

[twilighthero]

“If the Ecumenical Patriarch joins with Rome, he becomes catholic and we get a new Patriarch!”
-some Greek Orthodox bishop or priest or monk I forgot who

[HaroldTheSloth]

I am a former Catholic who became Protestant and now am Orthodox. I think the doctrine of papal infallibility and the supremacy of the papacy made Rome virtually impossible to commune with. Almost every other theological conflict could be resolved through an ecumenical council, but Rome has unfortunately set herself up as already dogmatically correct. I would love to again commune with my Catholic friends, but it will literally take an act of God to make it happen again.

[komnennos]

As a Catholic allow me to clear my Orthodox brethren of any worries, there is no way the vatican could get something this big done in two years, we sometimes take longer than this choosing a new pope.

[pmagrin]

Metropolitan Kallistos Ware said a reunion would be a miracle of the holy spirit but he didn't think it would happen this side of the second coming.

[PhoebeK]

Technically it was signed at the council of Florinia Florence, which lead to a big revolt from the faithful laity and the clergy other than the bishops who signed it. The bishops who signed were run out of town by their faithful flocks who only accepted the bishops back when they repented.

If I remember correctly the fateful priests after Florence Florence place themselves under St Mark of Ephesus or other bishops who rejected the union. Canonically presbyters and deacons can brake communion with a bishop who is openly preaching heresy although he is supposed to appeal to the synod for the bishop to be corrected or replaced and once the synod moves to act the faithful priests are moved to be under another bishop in lue of a new bishop being appointed or the one who has fallen repenting.

The last thing the Orthodox Church needs to attempt to union with an unrepentant Rome all it would achieve is more schism and pain in communities already struggling with the calendar and other parts of church politics. What the Orthodox Church needs is for all her children to mind their own business and to focus on repenting rather than speculating on sin (repenting is always a safe thing to focus on and the only thing I wish to concentrate on).

[Scott-rfun]

I became a Orthodox catechumen this year was baptized protestant

[phoenixshadow]

Catholic here. My thoughts:
1. We can't even get Easter on the same date. What makes anyone think we can agree on anything other than basic things?
2. Bishops having good personal relationships with one another does not mean they will have good ecclesiastical relationships.
3. The only people I see who want this to happen on the Orthodox end are people who detest Constantinople so much that they are looking for any excuse to feed their distaste regardless if it is found in actual reality.
4. Don't quote me on this, but I think the Pope and Patriarch of Constantinople signed an agreement in the 60s about not trying to regain communion bit-by-bit because. If union happens, it will be because the whole church decides to submit.

[stevenhunter]

I have no doubt that Bartholomew would love to make this happen, but he knows how isolated he already is among Orthodox patriarchs and bishops over his uncanonical meddling in Ukraine. No one outside of the Ecumenical Patriarchate would accept such a union, which means in the U.S. it would only impact GOARCH and the other jurisdictions under the EP. The entire Holy Mountain would break with him and seek to come under the Church of Greece.

[gillianc]

I am not losing sleep over this. Somehow even if deluded elements of the hierarchy go ahead, they will never be able to bring it back to the faithful and make it stick. That is not how Orthodoxy works. Those of us in the narthex have far more power than we realise provided we live up to the teaching of Holy Orthodoxy.

[senorsiro]

I think it might happen if the Belya situation goes worst-case-scenario and brings more churches into opposition to the Ecumenical patriarchate, that the EP attempts Unia. In which case the patriarchate’s holdings are likely to split apart rather than completely defect.

This won’t be “the big one.” It wouldn’t even be Florence-tier. It would basically be the Melkite Situation just in Constantinople and the Greek Diaspora

[robertmacdonald]

I have also noticed the type of people who fearmonger about the possibility (or supposed inevitability) of reunion talk about almost like they want it to happen. They hate the EP and/or GOARCH already - in some cases calling them outright schismatics because of Ukraine or whatever other reason - and seem to just use this issue as another way to grind their axe (and like most who make anti-ecumenism their raison d’etre, will conveniently ignore the way Middle Eastern Orthodox make reasoned overtures of unity with other Christian denominations because they have to for survival).

In any case, such concerns are unfounded. If the EP wanted to reunite, he could probably do it tomorrow if he wanted to. Why wait over thirty years into his tenure?

[tadhg]

Thank you for your video, I enjoyed hearing your thoughts.

I have a concern that most Orthodox living today probably wouldn't agree to first century terms of unity (the prime example is the centuries of unity with the western churches that already had added the filioque..). Unity in diversity (of scriptural canons, leavened/unleavened bread, liturgical expressions, etc.) was always the norm in the early church (and even post-1054 in many parts of the world). In my mind, the schism persists theologically because of the very real issue of universal jurisdiction (and now, post Vatican I: papal infallibility), but practically it seems that Orthodoxy is moving away from the ancient posture of allowing diversity and is increasingly becoming prone to legalism and fundamentalism, especially as American Orthodoxy welcomes in a great many loud and opinionated ex-Protestants. Would love to hear your thoughts, Bojan!

[slowboywhiteboardv]

Legit, legitimate, legitimacy, legitimately 😅 you got the point across 👍🏻

[Orthodoxology]

If EP joins with Rome,
I’m going to listen to my priest, but I’m pretty sure he’d just condemn the EP. I don’t know I’m a catachumen

[optimisteprime]

The union of the two Churches will happen if the most of Christians want it. There are already some mariages between Orthodoxs and Catholics. We have to be patient for this event and pray for it.

[jeromevillanueva]

Regarding the Filioque controversy, if both churches agree with "proceeds from the Father through the Son", would it be acceptable?

[Bznpb]

With Rome, with the maronites, malabars, syriacs, coptics (true patriarchs of Al and An)

[MrAwak]

The Bishops are the ones who signed I. Florence. Regular protests and parishes opposed it.