Prayers for the Bulgarian Church

A little while ago I took a little bit (not quite boiling, more like low-simmer) heat for my “anti-Orthodox sentiments” (not a quote, but you get the idea). I wrote:

There was a time when I considered becoming Eastern Orthodox. The richness of the theology, its emphasis on mystery, the centrality of theosis—and a passion for Westerners like Eckhart and Eriugena—made “conversion” appealing, though only ever in my heart. Factors stopped me—nationalism, ethnocentrism, quibbling—hardly the antidotes to the hyper-rationalism, Americanism, and pretension I found in American Catholicism.

A talk with a priest here and a little research there quickly revealed a sad reality stirring in Orthodoxy, a self-obsession, the words “Holy Orthodoxy” bandied about as if they meant more than “sacred right belief.” I discovered many converts (whether from Protestantism or Catholicism itself), carrying a deep-seated anti-Catholicism; all too often an insularity, an anti-ecumenism, and an outright derisive view of all other Christian groups surfaced. Everything was Eastern: Augustine, Tertullian, Clement of Rome—none of these men seemed to matter. The West was pure, decadent corruption from the beginning.

This all amidst praise of Orthodoxy—especially praise of its reflective, conversion-centered theology. I am, after all, practicing as a Byzantine Catholic. But I was troubled, troubled by the reactions of many Orthodox churches to the Pan-Orthodox Council, troubled by the clear disdain for Catholicism, for ecumenism, and for, well, anything that looked different. Recent moves by certain Athonite Fathers have only caused more head shaking and (only metaphorical, I promise) hair pulling.

Then last night I came upon this, a piece noting the Bulgarian Church’s response (or lack thereof) to the murder of Fr. Jacques Hamel. To give the short version: the Church has been called out for not giving its condolences (when even Bulgaria’s Muslims and various other Orthodox groups have), has responded to being called out, and still has not apologized or offered any direct statement on the matter. Some believe the lack of condolence is tactical—the more zealous, anti-Catholics in the Church cannot be upset. Whether this is their reasoning or not, stories like this are even more disturbing:

Nikolov recalled that once, before he was to take part in a television programme, he saw two priests in the hallway – one Orthodox and the other Roman Catholic.

“I saw.. the Catholic priest – Father Paolo of Belene – reaching out to his Orthodox brother (whose name and diocese I will spare), who just turned away. There was an awkward silence. And then there came the reply: ‘I do not shake hands with heretics’,” Nikolov said.

I’m not inside the heads of the Bulgarian Church. I do not share what I’ve read to defame them—quite the opposite. I’m an Eastern Catholic, who deeply desires reunion. Our Orthodox brethren need our prayers if that’s to happen; and, tit-for-tat, we need theirs.

Dear readers (all five or six, but every prayer counts!), I implore you to pray fervently for all our brethren of the Orthodox faith. Pray for reunion, for softening of hearts, and for honesty of intentions (it’s not as if we Catholics have a clean house). But pray especially for our Bulgarian brethren; if the report I read has any truth to it, they are acutely in need of Christian love.