The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - What was Tolkien's view of the Eastern Orthodoxy and Cathodoxy in general?

UralBolivar · 08-21-2021, 07:32 AM

I'm not sure whats the appropriate forum to post this in. So mods please move it to where you feel is proper. I'm just posting it here for now because I can't find subforum specifically devoted to Tolkien himself and am desperate to find answers for this question. So move it to where you think its best to be in mods!

I already know Tolkien despised Anglicanism for being a shadow of its formerly Cathodox style denomination.

But I am curious how he viewed Eastern Orthodoxy and the other Cathodox churches (Coptic, Ethiopian Tewahedo, Armenian Apostolic, Nestorian, Syriac, and practically any post-Nicene church that survives today and completely founded on the Council of Nicene in principles).

I know Tolkien would have probably be a member SSPX or some other hardcore traditionalist Catholic church in today's world as its obvious by his contempt of vernacular language and fanatical insistence on only using Latin for Roman Rites. But than again he was liberal in his time including condemning anti-Semitism and as opposed to most Catholics at the time who tended to be insular (especially in Britain), he did not mind mingling with Protestants.

However as I mentioned earlier he was so insistent on Catholicism whenever religious matters came he openly commented he's a devout Roman Catholic and would often boast how Catholicism is the original Christianity, etc and his writings imply he's willing to face torture and execution for his faith. So I am curious of his views on other Cathodoxy, in particular Eastern Orthodoxy which has a big grudge against the Vatican and historically suffered persecution from Catholics while simultaneously targeting Catholics for persecution and even mass murder in Orthodox majority countries prior to the Protestant Reformation; the Reformation simply added Protestant Christians to their list of targets by Eastern Orthodox churches.

Did he view Eastern Orthodoxy and other Cathodox denominations as a shadow of lost tradition much like Anglicans? Or did he have a warmer opinion on other early post Nicene Churches much like he did on Jews? Does he consider the 1054 schism a grave tragic error much like he does with the Protestant Reformation?

08-21-2021, 07:32 AM	#1
UralBolivar Newly Deceased Join Date: Aug 2021 Posts: 1	What was Tolkien's view of the Eastern Orthodoxy and Cathodoxy in general? I'm not sure whats the appropriate forum to post this in. So mods please move it to where you feel is proper. I'm just posting it here for now because I can't find subforum specifically devoted to Tolkien himself and am desperate to find answers for this question. So move it to where you think its best to be in mods! I already know Tolkien despised Anglicanism for being a shadow of its formerly Cathodox style denomination. But I am curious how he viewed Eastern Orthodoxy and the other Cathodox churches (Coptic, Ethiopian Tewahedo, Armenian Apostolic, Nestorian, Syriac, and practically any post-Nicene church that survives today and completely founded on the Council of Nicene in principles). I know Tolkien would have probably be a member SSPX or some other hardcore traditionalist Catholic church in today's world as its obvious by his contempt of vernacular language and fanatical insistence on only using Latin for Roman Rites. But than again he was liberal in his time including condemning anti-Semitism and as opposed to most Catholics at the time who tended to be insular (especially in Britain), he did not mind mingling with Protestants. However as I mentioned earlier he was so insistent on Catholicism whenever religious matters came he openly commented he's a devout Roman Catholic and would often boast how Catholicism is the original Christianity, etc and his writings imply he's willing to face torture and execution for his faith. So I am curious of his views on other Cathodoxy, in particular Eastern Orthodoxy which has a big grudge against the Vatican and historically suffered persecution from Catholics while simultaneously targeting Catholics for persecution and even mass murder in Orthodox majority countries prior to the Protestant Reformation; the Reformation simply added Protestant Christians to their list of targets by Eastern Orthodox churches. Did he view Eastern Orthodoxy and other Cathodox denominations as a shadow of lost tradition much like Anglicans? Or did he have a warmer opinion on other early post Nicene Churches much like he did on Jews? Does he consider the 1054 schism a grave tragic error much like he does with the Protestant Reformation?