One can find Orthodox statements that ascribe a unique authority to Scripture over tradition, but these are few and far between, and they speak of tradition in a narrower than usual sense. Many people believe the Church is a social group gathering or a place to network with other like minded people. There is a certain chemistry involved, which one cannot so easily verbalize. Since then, Western and Eastern Christianity developed separately, under very different social and cultural conditions. I appreciate this articles use of blunt honesty! 5:12). But that cant be the case with me, so lets press on. The Orthodox Church has suffered throughout her history. By joining Orthodoxy one inherits a theological package that includes central elements that have traditionally troubled many Protestant evangelicals and omits doctrines many evangelicals consider nonnegotiable essentials of vital Christianity. The so-called Photian Schism brought this matter to a head. After five years or so in the Orthodox Church, Ive seen a lot of friends and acquaintances come home to the apostolic faith. Through the centuries, theological, geopolitical, cultural, and linguistic factors have combined to differentiate the Orthodox ethos from Western patterns of Christianity. Converting to Orthodoxy - SPCK Publishing The Search for Authority and the Fear of Difference, Nostalgia Without Memory: A Case Study of American Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, The Eastern Church in the Spiritual Marketplace: American Conversions to Orthodox Christianity, New York Times Article on Calvinist Revival., If Not Sola Scriptura, Then What? A second theory is that converts of any sort have a tendency to exuberance that is wearying to outsiders. Buddhists are called to meditate. Orthodoxy attracts seekers with her other-worldliness, with her holiness, with her worship, with her services and sacraments, with the form and content of her religious expression, with her iconography, with her chanting, with her mysticism, with her monasticism, with her life between heaven and earth. One feels that the Church is not just a worldly organization, but a divine-human organism. Moreover, evangelicals have some important lessons to learn from Orthodoxy. From Protestant to Orthodox - Orthodox Christianity serving Costa Mesa, CA Orthodox Sep 9, 2019 #1 For those who converted like myself, why did you? Why are so many Christians in Colombia converting to Orthodox Judaism Much like a divorce where numerous and complex problems fester for years and then coalesce around a single event, the defining moment for a distinctly Orthodox identity came with the Great Schism of 1054. Indeed, what Protestant converts to Orthodoxy have often sought is not only a conscious continuity with the historic, apostolic past, but also a richer experience of God's majesty and mystery through a more liturgical worship setting. These groups mostly came over willingly. This simple change of dress symbolized a radical shift that has characterized the Protestant West ever since: that the knowledge of God is mediated primarily through the written Word. When we realize that every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle or a matter of conscience, then we are freed to engage fully people with whom we actually have profound differences without compromising our own theological commitments. It took me a few years to sense that there was a whole other something going on. They saw this as a perception skill, something anyone could (with diligent practice) hone; it has nothing to do with emotion. Orthodoxy knows where she stands, and she is in no need to re-define herself. Her admirable heritage of perseverance amid terrible fires of persecution has been noted even by non-Orthodox admirers, as one of her strongest attractions and sources of strength. With Gossip of the Gospel, the Church Grows in Nepal, After Pushing for UMC Unity, Former Bishop Joins New Denomination, Christian Conservationists Sue to Protect Ghana Forest, Complete access to articles on ChristianityToday.com, Over 120 years of magazine archives plus full access to all of CTs online archives. During my project I gained. Those friends benefit, no doubt, from this opportunity to practice patience and long-suffering. One can find people who interpret this ecclesiological exclusivity more leniently; in fact, some would argue that the best Orthodox scholarsGeorge Florovsky and John Meyendorff, to name twowould allow for such leniency. Similar differences and disputes existed within early Christianity, but disputes within Christianity extended also to the place of Mosaic Law or Old Covenant in general in Christianity. While evangelicals might be eager to argue there is no biblical warrant for icons, for the Orthodox it is enough that icons have always been a part of church tradition. Icons. Emmanuel Hatzidakis | January 19, 2013. Granny and Pops and Uncle Pete love the little guy, and theyre going to be kindly and patient with him because hes going through a phase. Our digital archives are a work in progress. This has some truth to it, but is mostly false. It is not surprising they become disaffected and leave. Doing so will make much of what you have read come alive, in the sense of seeing how that about which you have read is actually lived. Think of it in the following way. They are the efficacious means by which God transmits his salvific and sanctifying grace to us. Rather, "theosis" (literally, "deification"), or the progressive transformation of people into full likeness to God, in soul and body, takes center stage. It takes awhile to get it, because its gotten by a process of immersion, by soaking in a context of worship. Georgia, 3 million
Included in this liturgy is an anathema on all those who reject icons. Telegram | See something we missed? Nicholas Kim. Whatever honor Protestants bestow upon tradition, they deny that its authority is coequal with Scripture. He has no good option for dealing with that affection, so he's either sullen or angry. Cyprus, 450,000
Step Two: Repentance There is no salvation without repentance. Yeah, I think Ive gotten it out of my system. No new dogmas of faith spring out of the blue in her life. Four important areas deserve ongoing dialogue. Linguistic factors posed other, very practical problems. Converting to Orthodoxy. Your firstand subsequent visitswill help you to discern that to which the Lord is calling you. For such a question presupposes a particular person's journey of faith. It was electrifying. Through the centuries, theological, geopolitical, cultural, and linguistic factors have combined to differentiate the Orthodox ethos from Western patterns of Christianity. Hope this helps, and hope that your journey to Orthodoxy is filled with every blessing. Or again, it is one thing to guard the doctrine of sola scriptura, but quite another to ignore or disdain two thousand years of tradition; surely there is a dangerous arrogance in imagining that we do not need to listen to the wealth of biblical wisdom from the patristic writers. Orthodoxy looks forward, to the age to come. What steps would I take to become an Orthodox Christian? Second, whatever failings Western missionaries might bring to their work, and whether Orthodoxy likes to admit it, many Russians are responding very positively to a clear, contemporary presentation of the gospel by Protestant missionaries. Constantine had once controlled the entire Mediterranean perimeter, and as a result, Christianity flourished. Others charge complicity with the state, both past and present. If our only reason for converting is more somber, reverent, and beautiful worship, the newness of this experience soon wanes. Heres a clue to a third possibility. Most notable are its beliefs about baptism and the Eucharist. Russian priest explains why westerners are converting to Orthodox Now, I dont share all of this in order to dissuade anyone from becoming a catechumen, but rather to encourage those who are on such a journeyor who have strayed away from one that began on the wrong foot. Second, in biblical interpretation the Reformers placed the Scriptures above the church. Reasons for Vladimir I's Conversion to Christianity and | Studymode The Orthodox Church has existed since the day of Pentecost and when we truly believe and become truly attached, not merely by baptism or chrismation, not merely by our presence but by our actions and our inner convictions, then and only then do we truly become connected to the Church, to Jesus Christ the Saviour and therefore to the Trinitarian God, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jerusalem, 260,000
Even before entering the church one is taken aback by the unusual architecture-the glittering gold onion domes that sparkle like diamonds on a sunny day. Because we confess and believe in the one holy, catholic and apostolic Church, this means we are not looking for a Church that fits our own preferences and ideals, but rather one that teaches us what our preferences should be. Why isn't everyone christian? : r/Christianity She is committed to the same, unchanging, absolute truth. What was the impact of Vladimir I converting to Greek Orthodox Christianity in the region of Byzantium? A second theory is that converts of any sort have a tendency to exuberance that is wearying to outsiders. Many times, inquirers approach the Orthodox Church as a safe haven from controversy and scandal, believing that the Orthodox Churchas the one, true Churchis immune to such things. Two theological controversies drove the final wedge between Catholic and Orthodox Christians: papal supremacy and the so-called filioque controversy. Granny and Pops and Uncle Pete love the little guy, and theyre going to be kindly and patient with him because hes going through a phase. Hello all, forgive me if I am posting to the wrong forum. Instead, an adolescent has to figure out and establish his adult persona in the face of affection. Christimates 1 day ago. Further, the Orthodox reject the idea of inherited guilt; we are guilty only for our own sins rather than for the inborn consequences of Adam's fall. These are worthy pursuits that can be fulfilled in the Orthodox Church. July 26, 2019 By Fr. This conception lessens the validity and value of the Holy Scriptures as the primary source of Christian dogma." The Spirit of God himself, realizing the sacramental presence of Christ in the church, speaks to us in tradition. Thumb through Calvin's Institutes or a volume of John Wesley's Works and you will see our Protestant forebears thoroughly engaged with patristic tradition. Questions & Answers / The collapse of the Roman Empire created a power vacuum that was increasingly filled by the growing power of the Roman papacy. Learn About the Religion. John A. Peck, The Apostolic Mission of Journey To Orthodoxy. Writing a book on Eastern Orthodoxy and working through the manuscript with my Russian students helped me to compare Orthodoxy and Protestant evangelicalism. Why Convert To Islam? - The American Conservative If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you If they persecuted me, they will persecute you (John 15:18. While Protestant evangelicals have never agreed on the precise meaning or mode of the sacraments, they have historically emphasized two related truths that diverge from the Orthodox understanding of the sacraments. An evangelical explores the ancient and alien world of the Eastern church. The Orthodox Faith / As Philip said to Nathaniel, Come and see [John 1:46]. One thinks, for example, of those committed to full ministerial status for women, the centrality of lay ministry and spiritual gifts, charismatically inclined groups, seeker-sensitive churches attempting to reach baby boomers or Generation X'ers with novel worship formats, and so on. Shortly after the beginning of our own catechumenate as a family, we saw friendsand their familiesbegin journeys towards the East. July 2012 edited December 1969 in Coptic Orthodox Church As an Eastern Orthodox Christian, I am interested in finding out why all of you converts out there converted to the Coptic Orthodox Church, and not any one of the Eastern Orthodox Churches readily available in so many parts of the world. I kept finding myself in conversations with nice people who wanted to assure me that this very thing I was so excited about in Orthodoxy is something they have in their church as well. Intellectuals, like one of my students at Moscow University, often disdain Orthodoxy as a "medieval mentality." He has no good option for dealing with that affection, so hes either sullen or angry. Conversion involves a change or transformation in vision, direction and heart, one rooted in repentance and the acknowledgement of Our Lord as the One Who is "truly the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Who came into the world to save sinners." The first, most obvious explanation is that some people simply are obnoxious to start with. Let us know if corrections need to be made. (Of course, for every person insisting that there were no differences, there was another person asking me to explain the differences. If anyone is unwilling or not ready to submit to the Church in all areas of life, they should stay awayuntil or unless they are ready to do so. According to The Saga of Erik the Red, there were Christians among the people whom Erik the Red brought to Greenland to settle it in the late tenth century. On another front, under the leadership of founder Bradley Nassif, the Society for the Study of Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism (SSEOE) holds meetings each fall at Wheaton College's Billy Graham Center for the sake of the two traditions learning from one another. Why did Kievan Rus convert to Orthodox Christianity? The Reformers did not reject tradition as a help to wisdom, as a reading of Calvin, Luther, or Wesley easily shows. As if this were not quite enough, during the Fourth Crusade, Western forces stormed Constantinople in 1204 and ransacked the Church of the Holy Wisdom, an unimaginable act of desecration from the viewpoint of Orthodoxy. But one insightful reader asked a penetrating question: "Your book does a fine job comparing the two traditions; why have you not converted to Orthodoxy?" John 6 Comments Cole Knight, a former Anglican, got Baptized in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church. Nicola Yanney, Holy Man of Nebraska, Out of Appalachia: Orthodox Christianity and the Old Regular Baptists, What Do You Believe In? The Puritan John Foxe, for example, insisted that "God conducted the Reformation by printing, writing, and reading." But only lately has it dawned on me that I must have strained friendships over the years due to my vocal enthusiasm for my adopted church. Suspicion and recrimination have often characterized relationships between Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Protestantism.
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