Ukrainian Orthodoxy		Orthodoxie ukrainienne

Validity of Catholic Sacraments

Question:

Hey there Im a Catholic who's converting to the Greek Orthodox Church here in Australia...for the last several months ive been surfing the web and looking at many Orthodox web chat forums online...and i'd have to admit after reading alot of the posts on certin Orthodox websites and forms ive been very surprised to see how unchristian *some* Orthodox people are 2ward the Catholic Church. the type of attudite 2wards Rome (that ive seen online) vary from mild distain to extreme hartred with many of them even saying that Catholics have invalid Mysteries/Sacraments and that all of the mystries from Baptism to Holy Communion to last rites are all invalid and even evil and that Catholics are going to Hell...whist I have peronaly chosen the Orthodox Religion I firmly believe that all my life I have recieved the Body and Blood of Our Lord in the sacrament of Holy Communion...I would like to ask what is your opinion on the validity of the Catholic Sacraments and is there a universal belief in the Orthoodx world about the validity of the Catholic Sacraments?

Answers:

Very Reverend Ihor Kutash kutash@unicorne.org

I personally tend to agree with you - and I believe a good many Orthodox would.

I am not aware of any polls on this or other theological subject conducted among the Orthodox.  At any rate matters of theology can not be resolved by popular opinion which shifts this way and that depending on the times, etc.
Theology is a matter of prayer and devotion to the Lord, which means growth in likeness to Him (theosis) in what we do, say and think.  He inspires and draws us and we respond and repent and surrender.  If all Orthodox did that how great and manifestly holy would our dear family be!!

But we are still in the process of the above and so one can find any number of (as I tend to see them) sinful attitudes among us including that most disturbing one: triumphalism.  This says that because Orthodox theologians consider that we are the one holy catholic and apostolic Church, all others who are not in manifest communion with us (alas, and even many that are!) have little or no access to God's grace, especially that offered through the Holy Sacraments, and may even be, unbeknownst to them, well on the way to hell.  (I hope that in most cases that would be an exaggerated version of their sentiments.)

Welcome to the wild and wonderful world of Holy Orthodoxy!  You see, there are drawbacks as well as benefits to having no one central magisterium to speak for us, as does the Roman Catholic Church.  Most of us prefer this, however, drawbacks and all!  After all even the Holy Fathers - as well as the Apostles (as we read in the New Testament) - disagreed with each other (and even with themselves at certain times) and still managed to acheive wonderful degrees of holiness (the full extent of which is known to God alone).

Such at any rate is my humble opinion, and I hope I am ready to be corrected in that in which I am lacking.

Dr. Alexander Roman alex.roman@unicorne.org

There is no single, universal Orthodox or Catholic response with respect to the question of sacramental validity.

The validity of sacraments/mysteries in Orthodoxy is intricately connected to communion with the Church.  The Orthodox Church is 100% certain about the validity of her own sacraments/mysteries.  She simply asserts that she cannot know about the validity of anything that is performed outside that communion.

The Catholic Church asserts that sacraments performed outside the Catholic Church CAN be valid if the conditions necessary for their validity are met, including their being performed by a validly ordained priest (even if he be out of union with Rome), the "matter" appropriate to the particular sacrament in question is maintained etc.

This is why the Catholic Church does not hesitate to acknowledge the perfect validity of the sacramental life of the Orthodox Church.  The Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs, as I understand, also acknowledge in the Latin Catholic Church the validity of the same sacramental life, even though it would not normally allow for intercommunion etc.  However, full communion with Orthodoxy is always tied in with this question.

But I think the real question you are asking is whether you, as a long-time Catholic, actually did receive valid sacraments as such.  Writing as an Eastern Catholic, I truly do respond in a strong "YES!"

And if I ever considered becoming Orthodox, the matter would be forever closed for me if the jurisdiction I was entering expected me to deny the validity of my sacramental life in Christ as a Catholic.

Regardless of what individual Orthodox on the internet affirm (and, judging from past experience, the most strident Orthodox opinions voiced on this matter come almost exclusively from converts, convert priests who are in the habit of 'jurisdiction-hopping,' and jurisdictions that are out of communion with worldwide Orthodoxy to begin with), ask the priest you are working with about this question.

I believe he will provide you with a balanced and truly Orthodox Christian perspective on this matter!

[ Home ] [ Articles ] [ Prayer ] [ Saints ] [ Theophilus ] [ Q & A ] [About Us] [ ]