First, the words of the Gospel quoted must a) be read as they appear in the text, and b) the entire Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, as well as the Tradition of the Church, should be considered in their entirety, but not taken out of context. The Lord did not tell Peter that He would build His Church on him. Peter confessed Jesus to be God, and on the rock of that confession, not on a man named Simon, Christ promised to build up the Church. Elsewhere in the New Testament we see that the Lord gave exactly the same authority as Peter and the other Apostles. Peter was one of the first and most respected leaders of the Church, but he was never the head of the Apostles. From the Holy Scriptures. In the Scriptures, we see that Peter founded the Church of Antioch (and there is not a word in the New Testament about the founding of the Church of Rome, by the way); however, it has never claimed to be of exceptional importance in the Universal Church, for the reason that it is, like Rome, "the throne of St. Peter." Finally, the teaching about the primacy of the Bishop of Rome as the successor of the Apostle Peter was absent in the Ancient Church.

Secondly, it is not clear what "Moscow – the Third Rome" has to do with it. This ideologeme is nothing more than a historiosophical myth; From agreement or disagreement with this myth it is impossible to draw the conclusions of the Church

It is best to answer your acquaintance so that he takes the trouble to familiarize himself with the Holy Scriptures, the Tradition of the Church and church history; Then he will be able to judge the topic much more competently.

35. Reading Orthodox literature, I come across the fact that in Orthodoxy the Apostle Paul is more revered. But he became an apostle much later than all the others. And in Catholicism, on the contrary, greater preference is given to the Apostle Peter. Why? Isn't the difference between Orthodoxy and Catholicism in the choice of the presiding apostles in fact only politics?

I don't know what kind of literature you have read. If we take the teaching of our Church, then St. Peter and Paul are revered equally, with the highest honor, as chief apostles, neither of them is given special preference; even the feast day was established by him on the same day. As for Orthodox practice, alas, the apostles enjoy the lowest possible veneration among the Orthodox. Most of all we revere St. Seraphim of Sarov, Blessed Matrona and Tsar Nicholas II, of the ancient saints – St. Nicholas... but by no means the Apostles. The prayer to the Apostles, the mention of their names at prayer services and in Orthodox conversations testify to the fact that there is much less interest in them than in the above-mentioned saints. We will not enter here into an examination of the causes of this phenomenon... As for the Catholic Church, their special attitude towards the Apostle Peter, which follows from the doctrine of this Church, is quite natural. The political factor undoubtedly played a significant role in the division of the Churches; however, he has nothing to do with the "choice of the apostles" for their greater or lesser veneration (at least in the Orthodox Church).

36. Why is it customary to sit in Catholic cathedrals, and to stand in Orthodox churches? After all, when you stand for several hours and, as a rule, do not have the opportunity to sit down, your thoughts are far from selflessly offering prayers to God.

Catholics do not always sit; they listen to the Mass (our Liturgy) standing or on their knees. In Orthodox worship there are parts where the Ustav directly prescribes to sit; This is about half of the service. In Greek Orthodox churches, the so-called "stasidia" are always made along the walls - high wooden chairs in which the seats can be raised and lowered. It is customary to stand for the entire service only in Russian Orthodoxy; This is due to two reasons. Firstly, our ancestors treated divine services as an ascetic feat, as a sacrifice to God, so Russian churches were built without stationary seats; However, benches were always placed along the walls so that the sick and infirm could rest. Secondly, in Soviet times, there were very few churches; There are not many of them even now. On great holidays they do not accommodate even half of those who want to attend the service; If you make seats or even stasidia in churches, it will take up a lot of space, and even fewer people will get to the service. If you are present in church not on a holiday, then there is always an opportunity to sit down on the benches still available in most churches. Experienced parishioners carry small folding chairs with them for long (especially Lenten) services, so that they can sit quietly and pray at the time prescribed by the Ustav, thinking, in the words of St. Philaret of Moscow, "not about their feet, but about God."

37. I have been abroad several times. There, of course, during excursions, Catholic and Protestant churches are often visited. How should an Orthodox person behave when visiting a Catholic or Lutheran church (as a historical monument)? Is it possible to light candles, make the sign of the cross? Or is it better not to do this?

Since there is no unity between our Churches, we, as Orthodox, should not participate with the heterodox in the Sacraments and take a prayerful part in their divine services. Everything else is quite permissible (of course, within the customs of the places we visit). If it is customary to light candles in a particular church and they are offered to visitors, then there is no obstacle to light them. And we can make the sign of the cross in any place, and even more so in a Christian church, albeit non-Orthodox, (unless, of course, it is provocative in relation to the parishioners of this church). If the expression of our faith in a non-Orthodox setting confuses us or those around us, then it is better not to do anything of the kind.

38. My friend is a Catholic. Last year, he went to an Orthodox church with me for Christmas. This year he invited me to a night mass in a Catholic church, I thought it would be impolite to refuse and went. Can Orthodox Christians attend services of Catholics or Protestants?

Here we need to look at the reasons for this. If you went to a non-Orthodox service with your friend so as not to offend him, then you have done a deed of love and have done the right thing. If you find yourself on an excursion or on a trip, and having entered a non-Orthodox church during the service, you have been there for some time, there is nothing wrong with that, either. If you are interested in Catholic or Protestant liturgical rites, and you attend them for the purpose of education, I personally do not see anything wrong with this either. If you live abroad, there is no Orthodox church nearby, and religious feeling requires you to be in church, then I think it is quite acceptable to attend the traditional services of the historical Churches without participating in their sacraments. But if, having the opportunity, instead of the divine services and Sacraments of the Orthodox Church, you prefer to go to non-Orthodox churches and pray there, this will already be a direct and inadmissible violation of faithfulness to your Church.

39. I feel God in my soul, but I don't know which church to go to. Orthodoxy seems to me sham, Protestantism is sugary, and it seems that Catholics correspond to my ideas about the Christian Church. But I feel that it is wrong to go to a Catholic church, because I am Russian, my ancestors were Orthodox, what should I do?

Such opinions are common to many people when they take their first steps in faith. The only way here is not to remain at such a superficial level of perception, but to try to study both Orthodoxy and its difference from other Christian confessions. It is wonderful that you already have two important things: you feel God in your soul – this means that you will know the meaning of what is happening in the Church through this feeling, you will recognize the rite through Christ, in His light, but not vice versa; and feel your connection with your ancestors – this should lead you to investigate the reasons why Orthodoxy was so dear to them. Serious and conscientious study of these subjects will undoubtedly help you make the right choice. The main thing is to understand that our Christianity is not reduced only to "going to church" and aesthetic impressions, but should be everyday communion with God and the life of the Gospel.

40. I am Orthodox, and my brother goes to a Baptist church. When we talk to him, I find a difference only in the rituals and the outside. Are there significant differences between Orthodoxy and Baptism?