Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Blessed are the peacemakers

In the west, we tend to forgt that not all inter-Christian disputes are Catholic versus Protestant. Patriarch Teoctist took a step that has no equivalent in the Protestant world, inviting the Patriarch of Rome (who from Teoctist's POV was an apostate) to meet with an easstern Patriarch for the first time in nearly a thousand years. This after years of walking a fine line to keep his church alive through a regime that was notorious for bloodthirstiness even in an age of anti-Christian tyrants. Call him conciliatory if you like; you and I weren't in his shoes. And notice that the Romanian Orthodox Church is still there, and Ceausescu isn't. Survival is a victory.

God give Patriarch Teoctist the rest and reward that's been waiting for him.

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