text: We have different bishops interpreting things quite differently in the Orthodox Church and it doesn't seem to bother anyone because no one expects one individual to be "in charge" and there is no formalized canon law (a situation that flows from autocephaly) or official catechism . . . not much to keep up with, basically, after 787 ;-o
  
  I wonder if Francis instinctively understands this Eastern approach and is actually quite comfortable with it (he referred to himself once as the Bishop of Rome). He sometimes acts as though being the Clarifier in Chief is far less important than showing how to live. One of the insights of the Russian theologian Sergius Bulgakov was that the church is not an institution but a new life that is "indefinable . . . but it can be described and it can be lived." Don't know if I'm making sense, but I think this tension is at the heart of the problem.