Why did Christianity divide? An article in the Catholic Peace Weekly gives the readers a brief summary of the two large divisions in Christianity. The first was the East West Division in 1054 and the second the Protestant Reformation in 1517.
In the West, the Roman Empire fell in 476 AD with the Germanic tribes and the sack of Rome. The Eastern Roman Empire which was centered in Constantinople now Istanbul in Turkey continued for another thousand years even after the fall of the Western Empire. In the East, Emperor Justinius continued as Emperor and as head of the Church in the Byzantine Empire.
Here we can find the seeds for the division that came in 1054. The West used Latin while the East used Greek. The iconoclasm of this period and criticisms of the Church of Rome moved the pope to excommunicate the Patriarch of the Byzantine Empire, Michael Cerularius. The East denied the primacy of the Pope and the infallibility of the Church and called the Pope the king of heretics. In 1204 we had the fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople which made the break complete.
The Eastern Empire continued using their own liturgy and language and in 1453 the city fell to the Ottoman Empire and the Orthodox moved to Russia. They called themselves Orthodox for having kept the correct development of belief from the time of Christ. Greece, Romania, Albania and the other Orthodox countries are independent autonomous churches.
460 years later in 1517, we have the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The protest against the Catholicism of that time. Luther and Calvin and others began the break from Roman Catholicism. Divisions continued among themselves. A few years later we had the break from Rome with the Anglican Church and Henry VIII as the head of a new church.
The teachings of Orthodoxy have the same 7 Sacraments, the veneration of the Saints, the bishop, priest, and deacon hierarchical order as the Roman Church. Priests are allowed to marry. They use the Julian Calendar instead of the Gregorian Calendar which means they have different days for the Feasts of Easter and Christmas.
Protestants have difficulty with the respect shown to Mary, the Sacramental system, teaching on Purgatory, and stress only the Scriptures. Anglicans are in many ways similar to Catholics and their priests are allowed to marry, however, they follow the Protestants in accepting only 39 books of the Old Testament.
There is a desire to find unity among many of the Christians. After the Second Vatican Council, there was a strong movement to find unity with the Orthodox. In 1965 the Holy See and the Ecumenical Patriarchate Athenagoras of Constantinople withdrew the excommunications that were made at the Great Schism of 1054.
St. John Paul II made efforts to increase the contact with the Orthodox. In 1978 each year on the feast of St Andrew, representatives of the two churches meet for talks. The desire for the unity of Christianity is a wish of Jesus which all accept but the desire will need encounter and dialogue, efforts to rid ourselves of prejudices, discrimination, and a large dose of humility to acknowledge where mistakes were made and continue to be made by all the different members of the body of Christ which we know is meant to be one.
Writing in View from the Ark of the Catholic Times a member of a
research center recalls passing a police station where, on a wall were
the words: "abnormality is made normal." This reminded him of a slogan
back in the 80s, "let us make a just society," and responded with a wry
smile.
On the news that evening a politician from the past, far from an
example of integrity, commented on the bleak situation of our politics:
the pot calling the kettle black.
Citizens reacted with
weekend candle demonstrations in the streets of Seoul. They wanted a
change from the old ways of doing government. Investigations continue
which will help overcome the fear many have of the future.'Hell Chosen'
and the division of society expressed with the example of spoons: clay,
bronze, silver and gold spoons are the signs of this dissatisfaction.
Metaphoric language for the levels in society: lower class, working
class, middle class and upper class.
The weekly
demonstrations have removed the shell that all is well in society and
the citizens are moving towards hope from despair, from death to life,
they have become a Paschal procession but on Mondays, for many,
everything goes back to normal, fatigue and despair.
Kierkegaard
the Danish philosopher said we should proclaim the Gospel on Mondays
instead of Sundays. The Gospel is for weekdays. The welcoming and joy of
Sunday does not transfer to Monday and the weekday. The Gospel has to
be proclaimed in the reality of our daily lives. The writer continues with talk
about the many pseudo leaders we have in society and deplores what he
sees.
Pseudo is a word we often use to mean sham,
false, phony, artificial. Confucius had a great dislike for this sham
for it tarnished justice and faith, and virtue is harmed. In the
Christian Scriptures it was the Pharisees who distorted what was justice
and honesty. One of the prime examples in present society for many is the Sewol Ferry Tragedy, still shrouded in mystery.
In the time of Jesus
we had similar falseness that passed as truth. God made
the cosmos from chaos and Jesus asked us to prepare new wine bags for new wine. We need to pray for the wisdom to distinguish the false from the true a task that is far from easy.
Internet addiction is a disorder. We hear a lot about the implications of addiction and many are the studies and articles dealing with the problem. We can describe it as compulsive behavior which prevents one from living a normal life. We can see it with the use of smartphones and the way they are used in daily life, a dependency that dominates life. An article in the Catholic times gives us some information on the issue.
Adolescents using PC rooms, chatting, and gaming are more likely says a recent study by a professor at the Catholic Medical School and a research center to be addicted to smoking and drinking as adults.
(PCs are commercial gaming places where patrons play games for an hourly fee of 50 cents or more. It is a place of social contact for gamers, they may buy snacks and the hardware is more technically powerful than what they have in the home).
The team selected a group of 15-year-old teenagers, who didn't smoke or drink and revisited them 5 years later to analyze their habits of drinking and smoking. Use of the internet, place, time and reasons were studied to reach their results.
Those who often chatted, played games, watched adult sites, at 20 showed a connection to excessive drinking and those who used PC rooms were smokers. The team saw this not only as a Korean problem but a worldwide problem. They concluded that the young person's brain is not fully formed and the reason addiction has a greater influence on the brains of the young.
One person expressed the opinion that the frontal lobe of the brain is not fully formed and when exposed to material that is addictive the development is hampered and when they are adults the danger of addiction is greater. Excessive use of the internet will facilitate addiction.
The research team reached the conclusion: excessive use of the internet will delay the development of the brain and the danger of addiction will be greater as an adult.
Consequently from an early age a need is present to prevent addiction by education and programs for the young. There has been studies that have shown the correlation of use of the internet and addiction to smoking and drinking. These studies, however, have been fragmentary. This was a study of 4000 teenagers who after 5 years were again interviewed significantly showing a correlation between the use of the internet and future addictive behavior.
If parents wont allow the children to use the internet for gaming there will be resistance. They need to find other ways in which the young people can remove stress and entertain themselves. Instead of using PC rooms, they recommend, having the computer in the living room and the time to play games determined with the parents.
The Catholic Peace Weekly reminds the readers in its Peace Column
that the Second Vatican Council brought a big change after the Council
on its understanding of the laity within the Church. Before the Council,
laypersons came after the clergy and religious at the bottom of a
pyramid. The Church built a wall between the church and the world. The
Church was holy and the world was earthy and mundane.
The
church was divided between the teaching and receiving church. Clerics
were the teachers and the laity the students. One was active and the
other passive. The Council made an epoch change in this understanding.
We are all the people of God. We are all God's children and have the
same dignity. Some have expressed understanding after the Council as we
are the Church of the laity.
This understanding of
Church is not difficult for Koreans to understand. In the beginning
different from China and Japan where missioners came with the Gospel the
laity, in the beginning, were the leaders in the church. They had a
thirst for the truth that led them to study and embrace the teachings of
Jesus. They had little knowledge of the faith in the beginning even
taken the place of the priests in their religious rites as temporary
clerics until they were told that was not possible.
With
this new understanding, they worked hard to bring priests to Korea and
died in great numbers to keep their religious beliefs. Saying the Korean
Catholicism is a made up of laypeople is no exaggeration.
After
the Council, in 1968 The Catholic Lay Apostolate Council was formed to
inspire the work of the laity. Shortly after the Council Lay Sunday was
established and is presently celebrated the next to last Sunday of
Ordinary Time. The time was selected to remember the first baptized
Korean of those who began the study of Catholicism in the last years of
the 18th century.
Catholicism has grown and is a very
active and praised for the energy shown but the writer wonders how many
would say with confidence that we are a Church of laypeople. New year we
will have the 50th anniversary of the forming of the Lay Council of
Korea,
Having ceremonies and events to celebrate the anniversary is all for the good but
he would prefer to see the laypeople in the manner described by the
document of the Council become animated and become truly a Church of
lay people.
This year's Unity Octave from Jan. 18 to 25 is also the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Editorials and articles in both Catholic papers on the subject reminds us that it's different from the previous octaves.
Once every year Christians remember the prayer of our Lord at the Last Supper: "I pray that they may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me" (John 17:21). We come together to pray for unity. The Roman Catholic Church at the Reformation suffered a division and the scars have never healed. Whatever the reasons that brought the division, today we look forward to a reuniting.
One of the papers has a discussion on the subject between two theologians, a Catholic and Anglican. More than concentrating on what divides us they want to focus on the joy of following Jesus and we will come to an understanding of much that separates us. The theme this year is Reconciliation: "The Love of Christ Compels Us" (2 Corinthians 5:14).
The disunity of Christians is a great obstacle in the work of evangelization. This year they will begin the 3rd Christian Unity Academy to help Christians better understand the different denominations and one of the editorials hopes many will attend the Academy.
One of the priests who is familiar with the workings of Ecumenism within Korean Catholicism laments the lack of interest in many parishes and among priests. He writes that many feel that it is useless and not necessary. Protestants are seen as heretics.
The Second Vatican Council in one of its documents recommends that in seminaries they have regular courses on Ecumenicism but of the seven diocesan seminaries only Inchon has a course of studies for the seminarians, a sign of the little interest the Church has in Ecumenism.
He mentions that the material for the Unity Octave will be sent to all the parishes but many pay no attention to the material. What is necessary is not arguing about who is right but rather to talk about the joy that Christ brings to us. We need to get close to the others who are Christians, to study with them, work with them, and to pray together. Talking to each other is the first stepping stone for progress to take place in achieving unity in Christ.
The Kyeongyang magazine has an article by a member of a diocesan
family bureau on puberty and some lessons gathered from the author's own
experience.
His daughter is entering middle school
this year, they had a pizza party to commemorate her first monthly period.
The father to make this a memorable day besides the party, discussed what happened with the daughter.
What did the girl experience,
when did it begin, what did she feel, what did she do with the clothes,
were there other girls she knew who had their first periods... and
similar very intimate questions which they discussed at the party with
the family. He, the father, without any hesitation spoke very naturally
with the daughter and she was at ease with the discussion.
He
digresses on points of puberty which he explains for the readers. Often
those beginning puberty like to go to bed late and get up late. The
reason is the change in the hormones in the body. It is not
laziness or lack of virtue but what is happening in the body of the child
and the need for parents to understand the changes taking place.
Studies made show persons going through puberty need a little bit over 9 hours of sleep. He lists some of the problems that arise
when deprived: growth of the brain is hampered, difficulties in studies because of memory loss, and suppression of the growth hormone a cause of anxiety and depression.
In Korea sleeping
for 9 hours is difficult. Making the rounds is the myth that four
hours you get your college of choice, with five hours you don't. Students required to leave for school early in the morning and return
late at night is something society should be concerned.
The visual processing center
of the brain is developing and children are conscious of how
they are seen by others and interested in good-looking
celebrities and clothes others are wearing. Interest in piercing their
bodies for jewelry, if not excessive, parents need not be overly concerned,
for it will pass in most cases.
The use of mobile phones
for games and chatting are a concern for parents but he doesn't see
this as a problem if parents keep in mind the reasons for the absorption in
games. The games have a very clear goal with easy steps. They receive intuitive feedback, and it is a challenge they can handle. Games are not bad but they require close attention by the
parents for they are addictive.
Children going trough
puberty don't like to be reminded of this fact. At this time they are becoming independent persons and parents need to help them walk this
road. "Do
not anger your children. Bring them up with the training and instruction befitting the Lord" (Eph. 6:4).
He wonders if he does follow
these commendations from the Scriptures. It is one thing to know this with
the head and another to carry this out in his daily contact with the
children. He ends the article by telling his readers that parenting is difficult.
In one of our diocesan bulletins the writer gives us something to think about. Love is a word we use often but many questions are associated with the word. To illustrate what he wants to express he uses a well-known fable to introduce us to the meaning of love.
We hear about a love marriage between a cow and a lion. Many were opposed to the marriage in the village but they went ahead.
The cow would prepare the best grasses for the lion and the lion the best cuts of meat for the cow. They both hated what was provided but each thought they were giving the other the best there was. This continued for some time and finally, they separated each one professing that they did the best they could for the other.
Each did not understand the meaning of love. They loved in their own way. They were not familiar with the technique of love. They lacked a concern for the other as other.
The article introduces us to a farmer who in a difficult time in Korean history prepared a room in a house with a rice storage bin where anyone in his village in need could come with no need for asking or making themselves known and take what was needed. The room with the rice was built so no one in the house would know who came for the rice and no one's pride hurt. The owner was concerned with the feelings of those coming for the rice. Love that is lacking concern for the other is violence and mockery.
The farmer understood what the technique of love demanded and showed it by the way he treated the poor in his village.
Communication is a word we often here nowadays: mutual understanding in the home, society, between nations. When no problems are evident mutual understanding is not difficult, however, with problems communication often doesn't take place.
For healthy communication to take place we have first to be concerned with the other. Concern for the other is a requisite for love and understanding is what will follow.
When we thirst for communication and understanding we need to trust and prepare ourselves with silence as Jesus did before Pilate.
Our society is lacking this humility and desire for service which presents us with all kinds of obstacles in communicating. The problems we have require a concern for the other. The English word benevolence comes from the Latin word meaning wishing well of the other. In the Latin languages, 'I love you' is often expressed with "I wish you well'. Unfortunately, we use the word 'love' in Korean like in English that is often misunderstood.
