Orthodoxy vs. Catholicism w/ Steve Ray

Matt asks why Steve didn't become Orthodox, and chose to become Catholic instead. Learn the differences between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

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[GenevieveKBusch]

I’m a cradle Catholic who fell away from the church, got into new age for a while, left that nonsense and ALMOST became Orthodox bc of the reverence. Then someone introduced me to the Traditional Latin mass and I went to confessions after 14 years. The rest is history. Deo gratias!

[jacob]

I'd really like to see a thoughtful conversation between you and a knowledgeable Orthodox Christian such as Fr. Andrew Stephan Damick or Fr. Barnabas Powell instead of just rehashing polemics *about* Orthodox Christians with a fellow Roman Catholic.

[aruljohnbosco]

"The Catholic church could never be perfect, because I'm part of it and I know myself" - amazing statement Steve. You always bring new perspectives to the table. God bless.

[husariatowarzysz]

How about you actually get some good Orthodox people on the podcast already and see what they have to say

[steliosvoskos]

So you spoke about the Orthodox Church(es). Independent churches existed since the 1st Ecumenical Council and the Ecumenical Councils have the power to grant independence to a specific church. For example, the Orthodox Church of Cyprus was granted independence/autocephaly back in 418AD at the Council of Ephesus which was approved by Pope Celestine I. Being autocephalous is just a way of improving how Synods work within a particular country and how to solve internally some internal issues based on the centralised dogma of the Church.
Also, at 02:34 you said "the governments are heads of the churches". Honestly, that's misleading information at its best and a channel like you should be a bit more charitable and careful. The Church has Jesus Christ as the Head and no other human being on earth. The only thing that happens with independent churches, is that they want to have a voice for issues which are related to politics and the society, because they want to guide the leaders based on the teachings of the Church.
Also, in regards to abortion, the Orthodox Church opposes it by all means. Our teaching is based upon Biblical evidence, such as the condemnation of abortion by Saint Paul at his letter to Galatians, the Didache (which dates back to as early as 100AD) and various other condemnations by the Church Fathers. We do not need to do anything else to further condemn the obvious and to state that abortion is contrary to the teaching of our Holy Church.
You have also spoken about the fact that at the moment there are some excommunications in the Orthodox Church. We know and also you know that excommunications were happening since the early Christian era and since we were still one. If you count the number of excommunications in the RCC since 1054AD, you will realise that the Pope is not the panacea for this issue :)
PS: At the beginning you said that the Protestants feel more hostile towards Catholicism, than towards Orthodoxy. Just to remind you that the Protestants were a result of a Western divorce, rather than an ecumenical divorce as the one of 1054AD. So even though nowadays most Protestants have the same hostility for the Orthodox Church due to the spread of information, it was absolutely normal at the time to have a bolder opinion for the RCC than for the Orthodox.

[jajohnson]

Steve Ray argues the Orthodox Church isn't one church because there are national Orthodox bodies. I will say this: I'm Greek Orthodox, and I have received the sacraments from Antiochian, Russian, and Serbian Orthodox priests. So, how are we not one Church?

Steve is also very wrong when he says Orthodoxy doesn't have a stance on abortion; it is utterly condemned.

Edit: Also, it's a bit disingenuous to accuse Orthodox specifically of being ethnic. My mom's background is Dutch Reformed Calvinist, and they're rather ethnic. Some old time Lutherans are ethnic--Danes vs Germans vs Swedes. Roman Catholic congregations made up mostly of one nationality may be ethnic. It's not just an Orthodox problem.

[michellepabello]

"hospital for sinners, that's why I'm here.." oh Steve ray, it's always fun listening to you. Thank you 😇

[PeterB_]

This is a really bad representation of what the Orthodox Church's structure is.

This is basically like saying "There's not one Roman Catholic Church. You've got the Dominicans, the Jesuits, the Byzantines, and even Old Latin Mass practicioners. There's no unity!"

Which, of course, is stupid. Ethnicity and caesero-papism don't define the Orthodox Church, Eucharistic fellowship does.
Saying "The Russian Orthodox Church" is simply saying "The Orthodox Church in Russia". There's Jurisdictional squabbles, but you see the same kind of tension at the diocese level in Catholicism, too.

[peterhoilman]

In the future, have someone who is actually Orthodox discuss their faith. Almost nothing he said is representative of Eastern Orthodoxy.

[MajorasTime]

I'm a protestant who's doubting protestantism at the moment. I would love to convert to Catholicism but an Orthodox name Jay Dyer keeps destroying Catholic apologists in debates on YouTube which discourages me from pursuing the Catholic faith. I'm now leaning towards Orthodoxy. I would to see Trent Horn or Steve Ray debate Jay Dyer. That dude seems unstoppable!!

[shayneswenson]

I’m a Catholic convert to Orthodoxy though I still love much about the western church. Respectfully, Steve has some very shallow takes here, even though there is absolutely much to criticize within Orthodoxy.
“The East will tolerate endless amounts of schism but not heresy, and the West will tolerate endless amounts of heresy but no schism...it’s almost as if we needed one another.”-Charles Coulombe

I’d encourage you to have a non-sperg Orthodox priest on to have a charitable but honest conversation, Matt.
❤️☦️

[CommIncenseCulture]

Very poor representation of Orthodoxy. Of course, to your point, so are a lot of the online forums. I wish you would do an interview with someone like Fr. Josiah Trenham to give your audience a fair understanding of Orthodoxy. I love your videos but I haven't seen one interview that touches on Orthodoxy where it fits the reality.

[susand]

Steve Ray is such a great apologist! God has blessed me by letting me listen to true greats in His Church!

[TheFeralcatz]

Christ told us that we will know a tree by it's fruits. The reason that Orthodox churches look more traditional is because we kept tradition, and because we are the good tree.

[TechnologicZb]

Has Matt ever had an Orthodox Christian on his show? Seems like the majority I see is a non-Orthodox talking about the Orthodox Faith.

[MonsignorHagood]

Hey Matt, I’m a Celtic Orthodox Priest (Syriac Rite) and though my Bishop would have a cow over Papal Infallibility and Priestly Celibacy we are not an Ethnocentric Rite and I personally use the Latin Mass. We accept everyone. My Parish in Nebraska is growing slowly but significantly due to the Super Conservative Bishop in the Diocese of Lincoln. I’ve met Bishop Conley and he’s a fantastic man, but he is extremely strict. Women aren’t allowed to serve in any of their Parishes and that certainly has caused issues.

[miropecovic]

With respect as a baptized Orthodox I understand these complaints. Especially the one about multiple "churches". However, I remember going to a joint service in which my Serbian Orthodox Priest, a Lebanese Orthodox Priest, a Romanian Orthodox Priest, and a Ukrainian Orthodox Priest all served the Liturgy together!

They had a few of these services and it will happen again Lord willing. I absolutely loved it! All the wonderful things about the different communities were brought together and the Liturgy was served as one Church. Again, I say this with respect for my Catholic brothers and sisters. God bless you all!

[Odexian]

Nothing but love for Matt and Steve, but a lot of this is just wrong, I'm sorry brothers (I'm Byzantine Catholic also) but this is just incorrect. Matt, invite Fr Josiah Trenham on.

[ashleyabdelmalak]

This is not correct information regarding the Orthodox Church.

[CindyKaros]

The Orthodox church, although it is "divided" beteween ethnic churches, they are completely united in Theology! This is the Orthodox Church in its richness.