To the Editor of The Living Church
The Position of the Orthodox Eastern Church: Part I.i
Months have passed since you published the Rev. Dr. F. J. Hall’s excellent dissertation on the seven points which are generally recognized as the ones not universally accepted as points of agreement between the Orthodox Church of the East and other bodies of Christians in the West, and which I brought to your notice through the kind and most enlightened service of the Rev. Dr. Hall.
The author’s series of articles under this caption, “The Church and the East” (which are readily recalled to mind), have come before the attention of our theological academies in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and elsewhere. Dr. Hall’s readiness in coming forward with frank apologetics concerning questions of vital importance to the good and the union of Christ’s Church, and the serene spirit in which he writes, have been highly complimented by his learned brothers in theology, of the Orient.
Through our private correspondence the Rev. Doctor has been convinced of the utter impossibility on my part (in consequence of frequent journeys, parish, diocesan work, etc.) to publicly appear in the wide arena of an exacting Press with a theme on the position of the Orthodox Eastern Church in regard to points of disagreement or non-mutual understanding, which usually begets a generation of kindred questions, and which no doubt would seriously tax both my time and my ability.
I would desire, were it expedient, that the Divines, well known in this country for their eagerness to approach with due consideration the supreme question of this more and more Christian era, explain their views in the organs of the Protestant Episcopal Church, which periodicals shall be forwarded to the Professor-divines of our Church in Europe, who in turn shall publish their replies. The European journals or magazines containing said articles could easily be translated in New York by two or three efficient persons, who are from time to time employed by the Rev. Alexander Hotovitsky, rector of our Church of St. Nicholas in New York City.
However, since I bound myself by a promise to the Rev. Dr. Hall and others that I would at some convenient time contribute my mite, through the courtesy of the Editor of The Living Church, in support of the cause of the reunion of Churches, I venture to take up some points, submitted by Dr. Hall, for explanation, with the hope that my brief and imperfect interpretation of Orthodox doctrine may at least stimulate with suggestions in this quiet hour, the mind of the Church Militant.1
Sincerely yours,
Sebastian Dabovich
Trinity Cathedral,
San Francisco, Cal.,
March 15, 1902.
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Publisher’s Note: This article was originally published in The Living Church, vol. xxvi, no. 22, March 29, 1902, p. 776.