To: Lane3 who wrote (56729 ) 9/3/2002 2:57:01 PM From: Neocon Respond to I thought it might. I may mention, there are all sorts of potential complications. For example, the Lutherans take seriously Holy Orders, and ordination as a priest is the only thing which qualifies you to dispense the sacrament of the eucharist. (The Lutheran doctrine is called "consubstantiation", where Christ unites with the bread and blood to provide sanctifying grace). The Episcopalians also take seriously Holy Orders and the eucharist. I believe there is now an agreement on intercommunion between the Lutherans and Episcopalians. However, there is no such agreement between them and Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox, although I believe that Rome and Constantinople have finally agreed to intercommunion (I may be misremembering, they were, at least, awfully close). Thus, there is limited utility to having a chaplain who is "liturgical" if he is not allowed to dispense the sacrament to all comers, and there must be rotation of Catholic and other chaplains to permit periodic confession and/or communion. Again, the various Orthodox denominations, although in theological unity, use their native languages for services, and have generally not adapted to English for the actual liturgy. They differ in other non- essential customs, as well. Thus, a member of the Russian Orthodox or Bulgarian Orthodox denomination might very well feel underserved while in the military, and some differences are not trivial, like different calculations of date of Easter. This is to give you some idea of why the military has a good case for rational discrimination, since they can truly satisfy few people, but must make practical compromises.......
