The first to plead his case seems just, Until another
comes and examines him—Proverbs 18:17 – NASB.
In the combox of the recent thread, “The Great Apostasy”
(link),
Tom provided a link to a lengthy essay, “The Vatican Dogma”, by the Russian Orthodox scholar, Fr. Sergius
Bulgakov (Seregei Bulgakov's "The Vatican Dogma").
Fr. Bulgakov is certainly a bright, well-read fellow. My
first reading of his essay left an impression that his conclusions concerning
the Papacy and Papal infallibility—that both are heretical—were quite solid,
and perhaps unassailable. However, subsequent research and reflection has
significantly altered my first impression—I now believe that both of Fr.
Bulgakov conclusions are flawed. My second reading of his essay revealed a
serious misunderstanding of the foundational Catholic dogma concerning the
sacrament of Holy Orders. From his essay we read:
If it be said that papacy is not a special order but only
an office, since the pope is in bishop’s orders, that will be quite in keeping
with the view of the universal church before the schism, but it will be
contrary to the Vatican doctrine. According to it, there is a special grace
(charisma) given to Peter and his successors—veritatis et fidei nunquam
deficientis—which constitutes the order of papacy. Roman Catholic theology
has gradually raised St. Peter so high above the other Apostles that he is no
longer regarded as one of them but as a prince of Apostles. In addition to the
general apostolic charisma he has his own, personal one, similarly to the way
in which episcopacy includes priesthood. A bishop celebrates the liturgy like a
priest, and does not differ from him in this respect, but it does not follow
that they are of equal rank. The same considerations apply to the Catholic
conception of the pope, for whom a fourth and highest degree of holy orders has
been created. True, Catholic literature contains no direct expression of the
idea that papacy it the highest of holy orders—that of episcopus episcoporum
or episcopus universalis, but this is either evasiveness or
inconsistency; the special and exceptional place assigned to the “primate” in
Catholic canonical writings can have no other meaning.
But if papacy be understood as a special order of St.
Peter (Tu es Petrus is sung when the newly elected pope is carried in
procession), the difficulties which have already been mentioned stand out all
the more clearly. On the one hand, bearers of lower hierarchical orders cannot
ordain to higher orders, so that the consecration of a pope by bishops
(cardinals) is canonically and sacramentally unmeaning: the pope ought in his
life-time to consecrate his successor. On the other hand, if an order is
discontinued because there is no bearer of it, there is a break in the
apostolic succession as a whole. The permanent miracle of the existence of a vicarius
Christi requires his personal immortality. The dogmatic teaching about the pope
must certainly be made less presumptuous and confine itself to regarding the
pope as simply a patriarch but that, of course, means the fall of the whole
Vatican fortress. In any case, as has been said already, the mere fact of the
death of a pope has dogmatic implications which have not yet been
satisfactorily dealt with by the Roman theologians.
The above is clearly a flawed understanding of the
Catholic understanding of Holy Orders. From the apostolic/New Testament period
through Vatican II, the Catholic Church has affirmed ONLY THREE Sacramental,
Holy Orders: the ordo episcoporum, the ordo presbyterorum, and
the ordo diaconorum. The Petrine office is just that, an office not a
higher, fourth Holy Order.
Not long after my second reading of Fr. Bulgakov’s essay,
I discovered a definitive critique of it. Back on Jan. 1, 2020 a thread on a
forum was started which was dedicated to the essay:
On the very next day, a gent posting under the name
‘Xavier’ provided a solid critique of the essay:
As of today, I have yet to find any errors in Xavier’s
cogent critique. But, I feel compelled to dig even deeper into Fr. Bulgakov’s
essay, along with Xavier’s contribution. I hope others will join me in this
endeavor, and subsequently share their reflections.
Grace and peace,