Question
Would you say that the Orthodox Church is closer to the Roman Catholic Church than to the Protestant churches?
Answer
It is hard to answer that question easily without giving the wrong impression. The Protestant churches, as you know, came out of the Roman Church when this body was already separated from the Eastern Orthodox Church. Thus, as one Russian theologian put it in the last century, it is probably true to say that the Roman and Reformed Protestant churches are much closer to each other—historically, spiritually, theologically, culturally, psychologically—than the Orthodox Church is to either.
The many events and changes in the various churches in recent days, not excluding the Orthodox Church, makes this question still more difficult to answer. Thus, although we might say that the Orthodox are closer to the so-called “high” churches of the West such as the Roman and Anglican, it might be much safer and more correct to approach Orthodoxy solely on its own ground without too much comparison to others.