Page:Orthodox Eastern Church (Fortescue).djvu/466

There was a problem when proofreading this page.
424
THE ORTHODOX EASTERN CHURCH

invalid. It would be rather too wild a statement, and in this point, once more, they have not quite the courage of their convictions. They do not seriously make this charge against us in their controversy[1] — it would be a very much more serious one than the Filioque, Azyme bread, or celibacy, and, as far as my experience goes, the average Orthodox theologian, if directly asked about it, hesitates, is obviously embarrassed,[2] and eagerly turns the conversation on to our creed-tampering habits. He will talk about that without end. Really in the questions of our baptism and holy orders they do not know what they believe. They often repeat both Sacraments to Latin converts, apparently chiefly as a mark of general scorn for Popery; sometimes they do not do so, and they shirk a plain statement about it. Once more, it is quite useless to look for consistent dogmatic theology among them. The salient feature of the Sacrament of Matrimony ((Symbol missingGreek characters)) is the crowning of the spouses,[3] whence the service is sometimes called the crowning ((Symbol missingGreek characters))[4]; the husband and wife wear their crowns for a week, and have a special service for taking them off at the end.[5] Marriage is forbidden within the seventh degree, as well as between those who are spiritually or legally (by adoption) related. The Orthodox Church dislikes third marriages. A fourth is absolutely forbidden.[6] But marriage is not absolutely indissoluble, and divorce is granted in the case of adultery.

They call the Anointing of the Sick Euchelaion ((Symbol missingGreek characters)), but they resent the name extreme Unction, and accuse us of not

  1. Anthimos VII, in his answer to Leo XIII (p. 435), said everything he could against us, but he did not dispute the validity of our baptism, and he said nothing about our orders.
  2. On one occasion all that the most strenuous efforts could get out of an Orthodox protopope was that God knows — which is perfectly true.
  3. They use little brass crowns, which look unspeakably absurd. It appears to be not uncommon for the priest, when he marries people, to be convulsed with laughter at the appearance of the bridegroom in a dress suit and a brass crown.
  4. The nuptial service in the Euch. 238-241, the crowning that follows it at once, 241-252.
  5. Euch. 252.
  6. We saw how much trouble the fourth marriage of the Emperor Leo VI caused (p. 167). Even second marriages are not crowned.