Dear Mr. Fish,
In both your 5th and 6th grade history class, you address, multiple times, the pre-schism Western Christian Church as “Catholic” when in fact there was no Catholicism until 1054 when the Great Schism occurred.
Before 1054, both the Eastern and Western Churches were one. There were many reasons for the split occurring but one of the major causes was the West declaring the Pope as the Supreme Head of the Church while the East only recognizing him as “The First Among Equals.” The Pope had been recognized as the “First Among Equals” for over a millennia when the Latins decided to separate from the East by excommunicating the Patriarch of Constantinople.
Leading up to the schism, the Roman Church had been slowly revising original Christian practices by changing some of their theological beliefs, like the adding of the Filioque, painting their icons to look more realistic, and changing the architecture of their churches and cathedrals, while the Eastern Church’s dogma, icons, and architectural designs didn’t, and still haven’t, changed from the way it was 2,000 years ago.
In lesson 130 of grade 5 history, you address St. Polycarp as “bishop of the Catholic Church in Smyrna” and “shepherd of the Catholic Church throughout the world,” when in reality Polycarp, although sainted in today’s Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, was not a Catholic Bishop. Smyrna wasn’t even under the jurisdiction of the Pope, as it was a Greek city on the coast of Turkey. St. Polycarp was, by all means, an Orthodox Bishop.
In lesson 131, you say “Arianism, the reigning ‘orthodoxy’ of the day, was in fact heresy.” While Arianism was a heresy that affected the Western and Eastern churches, it might be misleading to call it the “‘orthodoxy’ of the day.” Although your use of orthodoxy here is correct, your improper use of Catholicism could lead students to equate Eastern Orthodoxy with the heresy. Many Eastern bishops opposed the heresy and condemned Arius and his followers at the Council of Nicaea.
Lastly, modern Orthodoxy is not just Greek but is the prominent, and even sometimes official religion in many European countries including Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Montenegro, Belarus and Georgia. It’s also the main form of Christianity in Syria, Israel, Iraq, and Egypt. In addition to these countries, Orthodoxy is growing in parts of the United States.
Although a common misconception, the pre-schism Western Christian Church was not Catholic, but Orthodox, united with the Eastern Church.
A sad state of the religion’s of mankind. My view is really quite simple: I love God and His Son Jesus Christ, I try to be a good Christian, even though I don’t attend church on a regular basis and I do pray for mankind and myself.
This being said , I do think that regular church attendance definitely has a positive impact especially on children. As a very young child,I went to church by myself when we lived where I was able to walk there. I guess I had a vivid imagination because I always saw God in the clouds. I know this sounds silly but it was a great comfort to me; there were problems at home and this gave me a feeling of peace and security. I knew He was looking out for me.