tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784015174011139.post4164768348543329282..comments2023-07-27T04:58:22.330-04:00Comments on Eastern Christian Books: Lunatics, Heretics, and Mystics: Is There a Difference?Dr. Adam DeVillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505315831493271933noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784015174011139.post-11908111219256921182013-02-22T14:22:57.447-05:002013-02-22T14:22:57.447-05:00You are of course right that it is possible for a ...You are of course right that it is possible for a bishop to resign, but I'm not entirely convinced by your argument that it is fitting. I agree that "speaking of ordained ministry as a personal vocation" has done much mischief, but I think the marriage or betrothal of a bishop to his particular church is a different question. The idea is included in the rite of ordination of a bishop in the Sacramentarium Gregorianum. I don't see that it has done any mischief; on the contrary, I think we would be spared a lot of mischief if it were taken more seriously. The Canon of Nicea on bishops not switching dioceses has often been interpreted in this light as well.<br /><br />The example of Gregory Naziazen is an instructive one. In Ep. CLXXXII he writes: "If any be of opinion that it is not right to ordain another in the lifetime of a Bishop, let him know that he will not in this matter gain any hold upon us. For it is well known that I was appointed, not to Nazianzus, but to Sasima..." In other words, he doesn't appeal to a bishop's right to retire, but rather to the fact that he was first bishop of another church.Pater Edmundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02227184831077044432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784015174011139.post-90875528396209708202013-02-22T07:43:24.939-05:002013-02-22T07:43:24.939-05:00Bishops have always been able to resign, from the ...Bishops have always been able to resign, from the days of the Fathers, if not before. All ordained ministry is one of service to the Church, and service includes knowing when to step aside. There have been more than enough examples of episcopal resignation in our Fathers among the saints (Gregory Nanzianzen comes to mind) to say that resignation--particularly to retire to the contemplative life--has always been a legitimate option for all bishops.<br /><br />It strikes me, though, that speaking of ordained ministry as a personal vocation, as well as the use of "bridal" or "marital" metaphors, has been the cause of much mischief within the Body of Christ, extending well beyond the kind of clericalization it tends to promote.<br /><br />On papal regalia: Yes, the Christian East does love ornate vestments and flowery titles. But note that there is very little that distinguishes a Patriarch from an ordinary diocesan bishop, particularly in the way of liturgical vestment; such was not the case with the Papacy in its heyday.Stuart Koehlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784015174011139.post-29426543101687912902013-02-21T04:08:02.066-05:002013-02-21T04:08:02.066-05:00Excellent post. Two questions do occur to me thoug...Excellent post. Two questions do occur to me though: 1) Couldn't one argue that the (recent) development of bishops dissolving their spiritual marriage to their churches on reaching the age of 75 is itself unfitting, and fosters un overly bureaucratic view of the episcopacy? 2) Why are you so down on tiarras and such? It's not as though the East stints on the trappings of ecclesiastical dignity...Pater Edmundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02227184831077044432noreply@blogger.com