The numbers are staggering! I hope so. St. Theophan The Recluse On Spiritual Practice. John Meyendorff writes that "the Christian faith can in no way be compatible with the notion of sola scriptura." Orthodoxy looked like taking that escalator up one more floor; plenty of ceremony and beauty, but without the mainline churches affection for keeping up-to-date. As with liturgy, conversion to Orthodoxy is hardly a prerequisite for a renewed engagement with apostolic tradition. Evangelicals urge the necessity of personal conversion through the faith and repentance of the individual believer, as opposed to the Orthodox idea of regeneration by the sacraments. Others charge complicity with the state, both past and present. A person (who is searching within) goes through clerical education to explore questions. 1. When the media seized on John Paul II's statement, they not only missed his main point, they missed a wider story. It is not a surprise that many Catholics adhering to traditional values are converting to conservative Orthodoxy. This period of instruction, discernment and spiritual formation also affords you with the opportunity to develop and strengthen your relationship with the parishs clergy and faithfulthose with whom you will worship in Spirit and truth and with whom you will share in fellowship as a member of the Body of Christ, the Church. And while it's true that my involvement with Judaism began with a Jewish boyfriend now my husband of 28 years and the father of our two children as Reform Jews, I would not have had to convert to participate in Jewish life and raise Jewish children. Debate is more plentiful than research, but also indefinite. Wow, like it very much. While this exclusivism is not unique to Orthodoxy, with this self-understanding it is easy to see why the Orthodox Church in countries such as Russia is extremely unhappy about Western, Protestant missionary incursions. Sara Villate, 10, by a menorah during Hanukkah. The sum of all parts wont add to the total. 3:15 ). The first, most obvious explanation is that some people simply are obnoxious to start with. He made the decision to convert following his second marriage to actress Rita Wilson in. We have challenges here in Africa to find such information for, So glorious+++ Most Holy Theotokos save us, Pectoral Cross 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. Those who were clergy in a former denomination have no guarantees they will become clergy in the Orthodox Church. While the Church is certainly Divine in one respect, She is also comprised of human beingshuman beings that can, and do, err. Its just that Orthodoxy still passes on the early churchs knowledge of how to tune in to the presence of Christ. Share your feedback here. In Russia, the largest figure usually cited for the Orthodox Church is 85 million people (some estimates are as low as 50 million), which means 100 million Russiansmore than half the countryare not affiliated with Orthodoxy. There is another reason someone should not join Our Church. And I would try hard, no doubt to the point of rudeness, to convince them this was not so. Why didn't Henry VIII go Orthodox, and what would happen if he did? This has some truth to it, but is mostly false. As Saint Paul reminds us, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another [Romans 12:5; see also Ephesians 4:25]. Orthodoxy provides a full-bodied, full-souled spiritual life that assumes that everything you do as a Christian makes you either more like God or less like Him, and because becoming like God is what salvation consists of, that means that everything you do is critical. * Thus Luther once wrote, "What else do I contend for but to bring everyone to an understanding of the difference between the divine Scripture and human teaching or custom?" In Protestantism there arose the doctrine of sola scriptura. Theological disputes combined with these geopolitical and cultural factors to divide the Christian East and West. In fact, much of what is basic to Christianity: the nature, sources, and interpretation of God's revelation to us, the meaning of the church and its sacraments, the doctrines of sin and salvation, and even how one enters the kingdom of God. Second, in biblical interpretation the Reformers placed the Scriptures above the church. Vladimir agreed, in exchange for a marital tie; he also agreed to accept Christianity as his religion and bring his people to the new faith. 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. Thats just a fraction of a thorough march through what happened at the first Council of Nicaea, and why it was important (including Arius unpleasant death from digestive indisposition: his bowels were torn by a divine hookin a repulsive manner his soul came out). The independent Orthodox Church in America (OCA) desires to function as a fully "autocephalous" church, although as yet the oca has not been officially recognized by most of the thirteen patriarchates. Orthodox believers see things very differently. The Eucharist is a true, propitiatory sacrifice. The so-called Eastern Orthodox Church is actually not one but thirteen "autocephalous" or independent, self-governing churches. Why Are Protestants Converting To Orthodox Christianity? It is precisely this view that elevates Scripture above the church and actually encourages private interpretation that the Orthodox theologian Georges Florovsky once called "the sin of the Reformation.". There are two accounts of Constantine's conversion to Christianity. There are no doubt some ways that he is the same person he will always be, and there are ways Orthodoxy and every other church has significant points in common, not least that we love the same Lord. The basic framework of services like the Divine Liturgy or Vespers doesnt change much, but every day of the liturgical year provides prayers for saints and feasts that can be added to that framework. It depends on where you put the emphasis. As independent churches, they are not bound together by any unilateral or monarchical organization, nor do they owe allegiance to a single primacy, as Roman Catholics do to the pope. Albania, 160,000. Recently I worshiped at an Orthodox church in Palo Alto on this celebration of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. It takes awhile to get it, because its gotten by a process of immersion, by soaking in a context of worship. 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. Can you explain why some former clergy (from non-orthodox backgrounds) can enter without formal orthodox seminary education, while other former clergy (again, from non-orthodox backgrounds) are kept away even after the bishop (he who has the control and power) makes a statement that none may come to the clergy with our formal orthodox seminary? The Spirit of God himself, realizing the sacramental presence of Christ in the church, speaks to us in tradition. 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. You may wish to call the parish priest in advance to introduce yourself and explain that you will be joining him and the faithful of his parish for the first time, although this is not absolutely essential. 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. 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. Heres a clue to a third possibility. What was the foreign policy of Yaroslav the Wise? There is a myth in Orthodoxy that people only became Eastern Catholics under force by Catholic kings. Christimates 1 day ago. Orthodoxy is true to the Lord, to herself and to her past. Antioch, 750,000 Orthodoxy looks forward, to the age to come. Another danger is converting to Orthodoxy simply because it is beautiful. 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. Can we attempt to put into words why a host of people have converted and continue to convert to the Orthodox faith? Toggle signature Required fields are marked *. John A. Peck, The Apostolic Mission of Journey To Orthodoxy. 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. YouTube | In addition, a new convert must undergo a formal process of initiation. Well, was it so? Since then, Western and Eastern Christianity developed separately, under very different social and cultural conditions. Other times it is a youth group or Bible study group inspiring and educating. John 17:14.16). The beauty and majesty of her liturgical services celebrating the majesty and mystery of God continue to be a major attraction to many seekers of a religious experience that transcends the mundane reality and elevates the spirit to the divine realm. Instead, an adolescent has to figure out and establish his adult persona in the face of affection. If a richer liturgical life is what a believer wants, converting to Orthodoxy is hardly necessary. At one level, I was close in heart and mind to my Orthodox sisters and brothers in Christ; but on another level, I agreed with many of my atheist friends' criticisms of Russian Orthodoxy. See something we missed? But the Church is not dependent upon any one convert or their family, nor will the Church reward people (beyond the mysteries and salvation) for converting.
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