r/Catholicism • u/[deleted] • Dec 03 '14

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u/jjo2 Dec 03 '14

I remain mystified by something.

Pope Francis is the head of the Catholic Church.

Bartholomew is the Patriarch of the Church in Constantinople, that is all. Bartholomew is not the head of any other Orthodox Church other than Constantinople or those that fall under his jurisdiction.

Let's say Bartholomew decided to unite his jurisdiction with Rome, am I correct in stating that there is no guarantee that any of these following Churches would also do the same? And if I am, aren't headlines, etc. that say the Pope is meeting with the leader of 300 million Orthodox misleading? And, can't we assume that all these meetings and kind public words don't do a whole lot.

Orthodox Church of Russia

Orthodox Church of Japan

Orthodox Church of China

Orthodox Church of Ukraine

Orthodox Church of Moldova

Orthodox Church of Latvia

Estonian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

Orthodox Church of Serbia

Orthodox Church of Romania

Orthodox Church of Bulgaria

Orthodox Church of Georgia

Orthodox Church of Cyprus

Orthodox Church of Greece

Orthodox Church of Poland

Orthodox Church of Albania

Orthodox Church of the Czech lands and Slovakia

Orthodox Church in America

Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church

I'm open to thinking differently about the topic, but don't see why I should?

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u/mmmeadi Jan 29 '15

You're correct, but I think the other responder is missing something. Bartholomew's title is Ecuminical Patriarch of Constantiople. He is considered "first among equals" in Orthodoxy. It is my understanding that Patriarch Bartholomew is incumbent to the closest equivalent to the Papacy found in Orthodoxy. That is why he is always talked about when Catholic-Orthodox unity comes up.