Over at the Register

Workable definition of primacy of honor! The best I’ve heard was from Met.Kallistos Ware long ago. He said that when many priests celebrate the liturgy together, one presides. Likewise with many bishops. That he said, is how the Orthodox primarily understand primacy. There was (based on Byzantine demographics that mean almost nothing now) some honorary pecking order among patriarchs that still gets written approval. Since Alexandria is essentially gone, Jerusalem never was much, Antioch very diminished, Constantinople likewise, the one that is most (not completely) free is Moscow. The east still suffers from cringing under Muslims who just want the annoying infidels gone. The language of the Bishop of Rome being a chief celebrant at a eucharist but *not* having jurisdiction over every single Christian on earth wouldn’t please Roman Catholics. Orthodox don’t look to Bartholomew as an “Orthodox Pope” despite what he may think of himself. I’d agree there’s a thousand years of common history and lots of bad reasons not to be united but there are good ones too. With the Pope being the last word on every last thing it makes him what I said earlier, Bishop of Earth. No other “bishop” need ever suit up. No need ever for a “counsel” of bishops. There’s only one vote to be cast.