East Reads West
A Conference of Orthodox Readings of Augustine
May Help to Bridge a Gap
by William J. Tighe
St. Augustine, a Doctor of the Western Church, has long had an ambiguous status in the (Eastern) Orthodox Church. He has a place on its calendar of saints, but some Orthodox have, in my hearing, insisted that by referring to him as “Blessed Augustine” rather than “Saint Augustine” they are venerating his person but distancing themselves from his teaching.
They want this distance on such issues as the double procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son (the filioque dispute) and the relationship of grace, free will, and predestination—issues on which . . .
