Two Paths: Orthodoxy & Catholicism: Rome’s Claims of Papal Supremacy in the Light of Orthodox Christian Teaching

by Michael Whelton, Dr. Herman A. Middleton (Editor)

Two different paths. In the West, for about a thousand years, the Roman Catholic church has claimed papal supremacy over the entire Christian world. In the East, since the first centuries, the Eastern Orthodox Church has remained faithful to the Church's original conciliar local churches meeting together in council. How did these two paths develop? What were the cultural, historical, and theological issues that led to their development? What are the Roman Catholic claims about the Orthodox and vice versa? In Two Paths, Michael Whelton dives deeply into Roman Catholic sources to document the development of papal 1) Saint Peter and the papacy 2) The ecumenical councils and the papacy 3) The Filioque 4) The Gregorian Revolution and its effects on Roman Catholicism 5) The influence of falsified documents such as the "Donation of Constantine" on the rise of the papacy- Papal infallibility 6) The Council of Constance, and the First Vatican Council 7) The Second Vatican Council. Whelton also uses ancient Christian sources to document the development of the Orthodox conciliar vision of the Church, from the first Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) through the Seventh Ecumenical Council. For layman and scholar alike, Whelton's work is the best and fullest work dealing with this topic from an Orthodox perspective in the English language.

162 pages, Paperback

Published November 25, 2020

About the author

Michael Whelton is an Orthodox writer. He is the author of the widely received Two Paths: Papal Monarchy—Collegial Tradition, in which he examines Rome’s claims of papal supremacy in the light of the teaching of the Orthodox Church.

Reviews

[Scipio Africanus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough refutation of Catholic theological claims surrounding the Pope by a former Catholic, now Orthodox, writer. Essential reading for all Christians but especially seekers trying to decipher the truth between Orthodoxy and Catholicism.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-researched. References are footnoted. Not polemical at all. Well written - good prose and easy to read. Enlightening about many historical details usually not addressed.