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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Patristic Paradigm: Standard of Unity and Catholicity, April 19, 2003
Philip Sherrards Church, Papacy and Schism is a brilliant study of the roots of the schism between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. It is, in my opinion, the best short (116 pp.) study of this thorny problem available in English. Unfortunately the previous reviews, especially Mr. Russos rather contemptuous dismissal (a nice little theory) and superficial analysis (totally negated by history), do not convey the true character of this real gem of a book. If all you had to go on were the two previous reviews, you would get the impression that Sherrard had written a polemical pro-Orthodox tract against Catholicism. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the book is written in an entirely non-polemical tone. Certainly the author has a thesis, a point of view based on Orthodox presuppositions, but he takes scrupulous care to avoid any descent into the shallow and unproductive mudslinging that sometimes occurs in Orthodox/Catholic discussion. The author strives for a diagnostic and prescriptive approach to the schism, and in this he succeeds remarkably. In other words, Sherrard seeks above all to understand the root causes of the schism honestly and objectively, as a doctor would seek for the cause of a debilitating illness, because without understanding the true nature of the illness, how can genuine healing possibly occur? Sherrards sole purpose in C. P. & S. is to grasp the true cause of this tragic division in Christianity, not in order to promote one side of an often tiresome debate, but to communicate as clearly as possible the only effective means of resolving the issue and healing Christendoms thousand year old wound. The key to the diagnosis of the cause of the schism and the prescription for its healing, according to Sherrard, is the recovery of what he terms the patristic conception of the Church. This understanding of the Church, Sherrard also calls the paradigm of unity and catholicity. The patristic paradigm is the common heritage of the whole Church, East and West, and is enshrined especially in the tradition of the Greek Fathers of the Church from the 2nd to the 14th centuries and beyond, and it shines a profoundly restorative and unitive light on all aspects of the Church. It is noteworthy that Sherrard, when speaking of the Church and its basic structure, consistently prefers the term patristic conception rather than Orthodox, even though he knows that the Orthodox tradition claims the patristic paradigm as her own. He clearly sees the patristic paradigm as the standard by which all Christian doctrine and practice, Orthodox as well as Roman Catholic, are to be judged. For Sherrard this paradigm is the norm; all subsequent historical developments in both East and West must be seen in its light. Through this light only, as the common catholic heritage of both East and West, will the ancient schismatic wound be healed. Sherrard does not avoid history, as our Catholic polemicist claims; there is a historical basis for every aspect of his thesis. What he avoids, which our reviewer does not, is the historical fallacy, namely, the belief that a condition or state that predominates at or for a certain historical period is by that very fact true, good and right. Recent publications from the Vatican (Papal encyclical Ut Unum Sint, Apostolic letter: Orientale Lumen, and the Clarification on the Filioque issued by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity on September 13, 1995) indicate that the Vatican is moving toward de facto acceptance of the legitimacy of Sherrards thesis. This clearly written, cogently argued little book is must reading for any Christian of good will who seeks to understand the schism and how it may be healed. Highest recommendation.
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by Philip Sherrard
by Michael Pomazansky
by Philip Sherrard
