20). Scripture and tradition. Twitter | The Orthodox Faith / It is not always easy to advance strong arguments for these conversions. Step Two: Repentance There is no salvation without repentance. It is not surprising they become disaffected and leave. Sizable groups of the Russian population are disenchanted with Orthodoxy for a number of reasons. Paganism was a mental mindset of the Eastern Slavs living in a world where a majority of the European countries surrounding them had already converted to a monastic religion. The genius of this principle is that it allows us to disagree with other believers, even vehemently so, yet in an edifying fashion with a degree of theological modesty and a perspective that seeks a deeper consensus within the bounds of true faith. I cant be the only one to have done this. Believe in the Church as the true Body of Christ, and the Churchflawed people and allwill help lead you down the right path. Some have argued that evangelicals eager to "contend earnestly for the faith" (Jude 3) will find an ally in Orthodoxy's allegiance to the basic truths of Christianity. Frederica Matthewes-Green reflects on how new converts to Orthodoxy can sometimes be overzealous. Discussion online about converts to Orthodoxy in America includes papers and blogging by writers in venues such as Public Orthodoxy of the Fordham Orthodox Christian Studies Center, the allied Orthodox Theological Society of America, and various blogs and social media. Administered to infants who are fully immersed three times, baptism effects the "bath of regeneration" by which a person is born again, wholly cleansed from both original and actual sins, and, consequently, saved from guilt and punishment. 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. Telegram | Orthodoxy looks forward, to the age to come. The numbers are staggering! In an encyclical letter of 1848, the Eastern patriarchs stated this most emphatically: "Infallibility resides solely in the ecumenicity of the church bound together by mutual love. 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?" But the "little guy" is not going through a phase. The Orthodox Churches are united in faith and by a common approach to theology, tradition, and worship. Most people like to be polite and get along, so they highlight what we hold in common. Hymns like these offer quite a theological education to anyone who comes to services, and if you didnt catch it all, theres a good chance theyre going to sing it two more times. There is a myth in Orthodoxy that people only became Eastern Catholics under force by Catholic kings. I think people just dont believe me, and I hardly provide a good personal example. A wooden pectoral cros, Pectoral Cross for Clergy A second theory is that converts of any sort have a tendency to exuberance that is wearying to outsiders. Andrey brings us the news about Orthodox Christianity (the form of Christianity practiced by Russians). He shares his witness of it. Worse, they considered the interpolation to be theologically untrue and a threat to the doctrine of the Trinity. The Orthodox Church has suffered throughout her history. I will always remember my first visit to an Orthodox church in Russia. The last reason Orthodox converts are obnoxious resembles the reason adolescents are obnoxious. 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. Can we attempt to put into words why a host of people have converted and continue to convert to the Orthodox faith? Copyright 19962023. Praise for Surprised by Christ "Surprised by Christ is an autobiography, an intellectual history, and a conversion story, and more than these, conveys a spiritual and theological vision in a message that touches people from many different backgrounds. She is the Church of martyrs. Converts from Protestantism claim that Orthodoxy is strongest where evangelicals tend to be weak-its robust liturgical celebration of the majesty and mystery of God, its unyielding insistence on the indispensable role of tradition in theology, and its admirable heritage of perseverance amid terrible fires of persecution. In 1993 I was chrismated and joined the Eastern Orthodox Church, 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. 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. Romania, 19.8 million Rather, each of the thirteen Orthodox churches has its own head, variously referred to as the patriarch, archbishop, or metropolitan. It took awhile because I grasped it through hearing the hymns of the church year, week in and week out. Those who were clergy in a former denomination have no guarantees they will become clergy in the Orthodox Church. (Some within Orthodoxy say there are 15, but this is a minor, internal debate.) Handcarved John 17:14.16). It depends on where you put the emphasis. To the extent, however, one could intellectualize the reasons for converting, he or she would probably summarize them along these lines: In our ever-changing world, in the constant re-design of services and re-evaluation of beliefs, Orthodoxy stands as a mountain of granite, unshakable by fads and movements and political correctness. Conversion is not only a matter of the intellect, but also of the heart. As Philip said to Nathaniel, Come and see [John 1:46]. As former Campus Crusade staff member Gillquist put it, why have so many "Bible-believing, blood-bought, Gospel-preaching, Christ-centered, lifelong evangelical Protestants come to embrace this Orthodox faith so enthusiastically?" The first, most obvious explanation is that some people simply are obnoxious to start with. John A. Peck, The Apostolic Mission of Journey To Orthodoxy, On the Path of Love: From Islam to Christianity, Madagascar: Church Opens Huge Complex with Church, Schools, Orphanage, Old Folks Home, Australia: Orthodoxy Fastest Growing Church amidst General Christian Decline. For good and ill, it is a classic "cultural religion," and comprehending Orthodoxy is an indispensable key to understanding those countries, cultures, and people. Thus, while the Protestant principle of sola scriptura places Scripture above tradition, for Orthodoxy the two are complementary means of one organic whole through which the Spirit of God speaks. Orthodox spiritual life gives central prominence to the sacraments. Has Orthodoxy in these lands obscured the gospel, becoming merely a "cultural" religion thoroughly assimilated to ethnic identity? However, they rarely spent any time in Orthodox worship services or their local parish, developed no relationship with a priest, and did not engage their spouse or family in their studies and interest in the Church. Her name is right belief. Why would a Protestant Christian convert to Eastern Orthodox Christianity? 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. Daniel B. Clendenin is a graduate staff member for InterVarsity at Stanford University and author of Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective and Eastern Orthodox Theology: A Contemporary Reader (both published by Baker). Through the centuries, theological, geopolitical, cultural, and linguistic factors have combined to differentiate the Orthodox ethos from Western patterns of Christianity. I responded by writing back: "Because I am committed to key distinctives of the Protestant evangelical tradition.". I had been to the east and discovered something wondrous that I assumed all Christians crave. The Orthodox Church is the ancient Church that Christ and the Apostles established. And to share why I am not Orthodox. 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. This should trouble evangelicals (as well as other Protestants), especially when it is combined with the Orthodox idea of who constitutes the church and how one enters the church. The conversion of 2,000 evangelicals in 17 congregations "from Alaska to Atlanta" in 1987, recounted in Peter Gillquist's Becoming Orthodox, is only a small window into a larger phenomenon. Everyone associates Orthodox worship with sensory richness, but its also rich in theological content. Constantine had once controlled the entire Mediterranean perimeter, and as a result, Christianity flourished. It is precisely this exclusivistic assertion that some Protestant converts, in search of the "true, New Testament Church" have found so beguiling. Writing a book on Eastern Orthodoxy and working through the manuscript with my Russian students helped me to compare Orthodoxy and Protestant evangelicalism. "It was a calling of the soul," Devorah Guilah Koren, who converted from Catholicism with her husband and two children, told me. In fact, what Orthodox converts "vow to accept" diverges significantly from important, basic tenets of evangelical Protestantism. You can make an appointment to talk to our parish priest Fr Athanasios by contacting him at (03) 9387 7693. Before long, in Reformation churches the sermon had replaced the Eucharist as the defining moment of the liturgy. Converts to Orthodoxy usually precede their decision with voluminous reading and research, so their friends must endure agitated lectures on church history, ancient heresies, and what words mean in Greek. There is not going to be a restored "Celtic" Orthodoxy or "Anglo-Saxon" Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy allows divorce in some conditions if I'm not mistaken, and it would have been an easier transition to switch to another powerful church (and become friendly with Russia, etc.). They saw this as a perception skill, something anyone could (with diligent practice) hone; it has nothing to do with emotion. (2 Pet. John A. Peck, The Apostolic Mission of Journey To Orthodoxy, Armenian Muslims Living in Turkey are Returning to Christianity, Devotion to Orthodox History leads Malaysian Priest to Mount Carmel. Buddhists are called to meditate. This is a sufficiently serious reason for reproach: We are right to expect that the Church will point out a path toward God, independently of the jolts and shocks of the epoch; that it will remain,. 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. Surely there is enough evangelistic work for everyone. But the claim to be Christ's one, true church remains the clear Orthodox position. Luther urged that Christianity would stand or fall with this doctrine; Calvin called it "the hinge upon which all true religion turns.". Similarly, Protestants like Thomas Oden, Donald Bloesch, and others have shown that one need not join Orthodoxy to immerse oneself in the patristic past with joy, gratitude, and a sense of accountability to that "great cloud of witnesses" of the last two millennia. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. John Meyendorff writes that "the Christian faith can in no way be compatible with the notion of sola scriptura." In the dystopian film,Children of Mendirected by Alfonso Cuarn, a world is imagined in the future where no more children are born, and, as the decades pass, humanity is plunged into despair. She is conscious of being the true Church founded by Christ. Almost everyone around me was a Baptist. I felt like Marco Polo. Then C" The strengths of a group draws them but after a while the weaknesses bubble up. Don't pretend you don't know what I mean. we'll be happy to answer it! And such a journey can only be spoken of from experience. "The Orthodox Church of Christ never lost the 'unity of faith and the communion of the Holy Spirit' and does not accept the theory of the restoration of the unity of those "who believe in Christ," because it believes that the unity of those who believe in Christ already exists in the unity of all of Her baptized children, between themselves and Orthodoxy insists tenaciously on the role of tradition which is her very life and builds upon its past, without revisions. In time, you will be welcomed sacramentally into the Church and continue your ongoing path to the Kingdom of God. Her allegiance to the perennial truths of Christianity is appreciated by sincere seekers. Orthodox Sep 9, 2019 #1 For those who converted like myself, why did you? Thatwould be interesting. Catholicism and Orthodoxy are not alike in their views on the nature of theological authority; it is nevertheless correct to say that Orthodoxy, like Catholicism, views Protestantism in a similar negative manner. They push it down the road that they will be able to transition to that in their new group eventually. Why did Kievan Rus convert to Orthodox Christianity? "We are Orthodox because (we) follow the same laws like in other Orthodox communities in the world," explains Meyer Sanchez, assistant to a rabbi in Medelln. Andrey brings us the news about Orthodox Christianity (the form of Christianity . Yes, because clearly a Christian is the most honest person to talk about the inner thoughts of atheists . Orthodoxy has always affirmed that Peter was the "first among equals" (primus inter pares) ; but unlike Roman Catholics, the Orthodox have always denied that he held any "primacy of power" (primatus potestatis). I had been to the east and discovered something wondrous that I assumed all Christians crave. But why is our kind so characteristically obnoxious? After that, Orthodoxy is by far the best possible choice of religion for Russia because of Byzantium. He mentions one Church, not many. And I would try hard, no doubt to the point of rudeness, to convince them this was not so. This is not just an explanation but an apology, and even an appreciation for the perseverance of friendship in the face of truly annoying behaviour. It was electrifying. 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. Small bodies of Orthodox believers exist in other places as "autonomous" but not "autocephalous" churches (Finland, Japan, former Czechoslovakia, etc.). 1. There are two accounts of Constantine's conversion to Christianity. When you are the only Norse guy and most of your lands are Slovianskian, it makes more sense to convert yourself than to convert them. Because their focus for years was on their theological education (which they may still be paying for) often they end up in a low wage job that they don't love. These thirteen churches are united in their understanding of the sacraments, discipline, doctrine, faith, government, and worship, but they administer their internal affairs separately. Yeah, I think Ive gotten it out of my system. I can remember, after Id been Orthodox a few years, developing an increasing sense of tension or frustration. This perspective presupposes a defective Christologyone that fails to account for the anthropos of the theanthropic (Divine-human) Church. He made the decision to convert following his second marriage to actress Rita Wilson in.