We must examine three main branches of the Christian faith if we are to understand today’s Christianity. These are the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Roman Catholic Church, and the various Protestant churches. Yet even this division is not exhaustive. There are small Christian communities, mostly in Asia Minor and in Africa, that have remained independent since the fifth century of the Common Era.

Over the centuries, each of the three branches of Christianity has considered itself to be the only representative of the true Christian faith that Jesus intended. Whether claiming to be the only true faith or not, the stories of Orthodoxy and Catholicism are closely intertwined. Neither can be understood apart from the other.

Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians historically have been separated, not only by exclusive claims, but also by differences in belief, spirituality, and culture. Most of all, these two churches have been divided by the Roman Catholic claim that the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, should be acknowledged as the leader of all Christians.

Yet Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity are very similar in some aspects of their organization and in their basic beliefs. Both have an episcopal structure, which means that each is organized around a network of bishops. Every Catholic or Orthodox bishop is responsible for a local community of churches in a particular area or diocese. Religious life in each church centers around a liturgy or mass, in which Jesus Christ’s last supper is reenacted. Bread and wine, thought to be the actual body and blood of Christ, are shared by the worshipers. . . .

In the second half of the 20th century, there have been reform movements within both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The Roman Catholic Church has become increasingly open to embracing what it believes to be good in the modern world. This trend was expressed by Pope John XXIII, who had been Pope for only three months when, in 1959, he announced his plans to call an ecumenical council. Four years later, on October 11, 1962, the Second Vatican Council opened.

There is a new spirit pervading both the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches, and one of its most hopeful expressions lies in the efforts to reunite the two communions.

In spite of the efforts of churchmen and theologians from both communities, the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches remain divided on serious matters of belief and practice. But for the first time in many centuries, there is reason to hope that the division may soon be healed.

FR. STEPHEN A. KLASEK (Pastor, Holy Rosary Church): When we look back over salvation history, we see that it’s really two histories — there is a history of grace, and there’s a history of sin — and that these two histories are constantly interacting. Now, we believe that with the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are assured of the triumph of the history of grace — that in the end, it will be the will of God, that in the end, the kingdom will be established in power, that in the end, evil will be vanquished — but as long as we’re still in history, we’re living with these twin histories of grace and sin.