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Pope Benedict XVI, when he was at the Italian Eucharistic Congress in Bari, Italy, again called for more dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches. This book by Clark Carlton will show what keeps the Churches separate. Carlton has a Masters of Divinity from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, where he studied under Fr. John Meyendorff, a noted Orthodox author, and he has an MA in early Christian studies from the Catholic University of America. He is a convert from the Southern Baptist Church to Orthodoxy. He is presently an adjunct in philosophy at the Tennessee Technology University while working on his Ph.D.

The reader will pick up quickly what the author and others see as keeping the two Churches separate. Not all Orthodox are opposed to unity, though. Carlton discusses the reasons for which some Orthodox see as roadblocks to unity, unless something drastic changes on the part of the Roman Catholics. He goes into length about these topics - the Filioque controversy, the papacy, differences on Marian doctrine or dogma, how salvation comes about, purgatory, and more.

Clark Carlton has an easy style of writing, and gets to the point right away. The book is full of facts, which are presented in a very readable way so that you can stay with the text and make progress in your study of the subject. I needed to know the comparison between the two churches and Carlton gave it to me without a lot of editorial comments. The references were there where they were supposed to be. Carlton shows what he discovered in the Orthodox church that finally led him away from the Baptist faith, and where he happily resides now that he has discovered the original Catholic Church.

Clark Carlton

 Clark Carlton is the author of The Faith series (The Faith, The Way, The Truth, The Life) . His books have been instrumental in helping many find their way to Orthodoxy. In this podcast, Clark will comment weekly on matters of faith, philosophy and Orthodoxy.

Clark Carlton was reared as a Southern Baptist in middle Tennessee. He was enrolled as a Raymond Brian Brown Memorial Scholar at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC when he converted to the Orthodox Church.

Clark earned his B.A. in philosophy from Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, TN and and M.Div. from St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in NY, where he studied under the renowned church historian, Fr John Meyendorff. He also holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Early Christian Studies from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

At present, Clark is assistant professor of philosophy at Tennessee Tech University, where he teaches the history of philosophy as well as philosophy of religion and logic. He writes on a number of subjects and has had articles published in the Journal of Christian Bioethics, St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly, and the Journal of Early Christian Studies.

Clark is also the author of “The Faith” series from Regina Orthodox Press: The Faith: Understanding Orthdoox Christianity; The Way: What Every Protestant Should Know about the Orthodox Church; The Truth: What every Roman Catholic Should Know about the Orthodox Church; and The Life: The Orthodox Doctrine of Salvation.