History repeats itself: Catholicism has another Pope Leo, Leo XIV, who seeks to bring Orthodoxy into communion with Rome. In 1894, when Leo XIII wrote an encyclical inviting the Orthodox Church to submit to his authority, Orthodox ecclesiastical authorities responded with many of their own encyclicals rebuking the Pope for the haughty hubris he showed towards Christ's Church. One of these responses was from St. Raphael of Brooklyn.St. Raphael's rebuttal of Pope Leo XIII's encyclical shone a ray of light into a murky, vague, illusory document. Conveying with clarity the constant mind of the Church in his response, St. Raphael aids the faithful to understand in what varied ways Orthodox Christians must resist the papal re-writing of history, erroneous interpretation of Scripture, and alluring and false promises.Union with Rome? is a short but timeless treatise. Its value lies in revealing how the Truth of our Faith remains the same-the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8). While today, when certain Orthodox representatives embrace an "ecumenism of reconciliation" and not return of the Papacy, St. Raphael's response re-presents the diachronic and saving call to repentance. The reader will be struck by how timeless and truly restorative his "word" is for our day.
