Patriarch Bartholomew on 60 minutes this Sunday!

artintel wrote: Patriarch Bartholomeu is in one tightening spots, that can be compared with that of the Archbishop of the Russian Church under Communism. What do you do under such encroaching conditions? On the one hand both had to maintain some semblance of Christian authority in an adversarial environment, on the other, compromise and many issues in order to survive. The Russian Orthodox Church is now paying dearly in terms of credibility for its past inevitable compromises with Soviet authority. While Patriarch Bartholemeu pays dearly in a Moslem environment. Here Patriarch Bartholomeu is trying to retain some supporting links in the West – the RC Pope, the mis-defined Green issues, and tries to express a greater authority that is based on Constantinople’s grander and authoritative past, while existing with today’s diminishing options. I’m sure that if Patriarch Bartholemeu had other options, he wouldn’t have compromised on these. How far will these compromises go? Secularism moves decisively around the world. It is foreseeable that all Christians will have similar choices to make. Where will we compromise? In the future, taking a ‘mark’ on the forehead or hand may mean that these marks (codes) will affect the subject’s/holder’s thought patterns since they will no longer be able to hear Christ’s word and call. God bless the Christian Patriarchs and Christians to allow other options.