Welcome! (Intro. Post)

Agios Maximos is my own little pet project, although of course it may end up (God willing) having ramifications and influence beyond my own little (and humble) world. The purpose of the blog, as it begins, is basically this: I want to focus on the issues that seem to me to be really crucial and central to the dialogue between two major representatives of Eastern and Western Christianity, namely Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. The reason for this focus is that I find myself, as an Eastern Catholic, often struggling between two worlds, on the one hand attempting to be Orthodox, and on the other hand attempting to be faithful to, and in communion with, the Church of Rome. This is sometimes difficult work; as I was warned when I became Eastern Catholic, living in this situation involves accepting a certain amount of "ambiguity." The central attempt of this blog, then, will be to disambiguate (or to determine if "disambiguation" is even possible). In making this attempt, I will be doing my best to (1) locate what I think are the central areas of dispute, (2) exposit the positions of the two aforementioned traditions regarding these areas of dispute, and (3) determine whether or not there is some underlying compatibility and middle ground. In some sense, then, while this is more or less an "academic" sort of blog, there is also a profoundly personal aspect to it: that is, if it ends up being the case that the two traditions are ultimately irreconcilable, I will have to reconsider my own current standing as a sort of "go-between." And that is scary. But my hopes are that it will also be rewarding. As I move along on this "intellectual journey" of sorts, your prayers are appreciated, as are your thoughts.

This blog is, as the name suggests, placed under the patronage of St. Maximos the Confessor (who is also my patron) because of his position in disputes between the East and the West during the 7th century. In particular, Maximos was one of the first Eastern theologians to address the Western teaching of the filioque (the doctrine that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son) and to give it an interpretation that was acceptable to Eastern ears. Clearly, then, Maximos' situation was much like the situation in which this blog intentionally finds itself.

O Maximos, divinely inspired champion of the Church,
sure and illumined exponent of Orthodoxy,
thou harp and trumpet of godliness,
divine and holy adornment of monks:
cease not to intercede for us all.

So, there it is. Welcome to my blog!