Very quickly:
Was pondering the claim by Orthodox that Rome has broken the unity of the episcopacy and overstepped the authentic Petrine minsistry for the Church. For argument's sake, I'll agree Rome is (since, say, 1150 AD) no longer worthy to be called the Peter-Rock of the Church. But clearly this only means Rome, and its heretical bishop, can no longer carry on the Petrine ministry. It does not remove the need for a Petrine ministry as such. So, since Orthodox deny Rome its Petrine status, where is the Petrine ministry today? Does any other bishop claim to have even a similar chrism of authority or unity as Rome claims to have (and was granted to have)? If not, why not? If so, on what grounds?
Let me be clear: in the post just linked to, I asked a question -- Can the Fathers' pro-papal statements be reconciled with any communion except Catholicism? -- which I'll now modify. Does any Christian communion other than Catholicism have anything like a Petrine ministry? The absence of such a ministry on its own forces me to stay where I am as a Catholic (shucks, all four days and counting!).
As always, I welcome edifying insights and questions, but, as I just mentioned, I can't promise any prompt reply.
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