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 conscious of being the true Church founded by Christ. For we cannot forget that beauty (Envoys of the Russian Prince Vladimir, after experiencing the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Holy Wisdom in Constantinople in the year 987). But the impulse is to exaggerate the differences when you fear being hugged to death. In the security of the Orthodox Church one finds peace, reassurance. Now let's hear from Frederica. No doubt, I felt at home when first attending the Divine Liturgy, but this was after months of study and discussion with other Orthodox people. Two theological controversies drove the final wedge between Catholic and Orthodox Christians: papal supremacy and the so-called filioque controversy. There are two sides to this coin, as well: Some people become Orthodox for all the wrong reasons, while some dont become Orthodox for all the wrong reasons. It merits our attention for several reasons. While discovering the truth of Orthodoxy is exciting, we need to learn a gracious balance when dealing with our friends, family, workmates and others with whom we have contact. In some places in the world, Orthodoxy is the primary Christian game in town (as in Russia and Serbia), and it is inextricably wedded to the local ethnic culture. Protestant Christianity," Andrei went on, "is a cheap, terrible substitute, and an Orthodox believer who knows his own faith will never go there.". I love the Church, and so I find it difficult to understand how a person could not see the beauty in our faith, leaving it all behind. Her name is "right belief". Receive updates and announcements from Orthodox Witness. Affectionate attempts to obscure this quest feel suffocating. Q&A: A closer look at Orthodox Christians | Pew Research Center It is a good question, one I will answer in due course. You can also subscribe without commenting. 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. 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. Orthodoxy, in contrast, is a thoroughly aesthetic tradition, as attested by the central role played by icons. Perhaps this unanticipated experience of encountering something unknown and marvellously organic accounts for the distinctive lapel-grabbing impulse among converts to Orthodoxy. Over coffee one day I asked an Orthodox priest whether I, as a Protestant theologian, might be considered a true Christian. The other forms of tradition include the first seven ecumenical councils, which are acknowledged as normative and, by some, even infallible; patristic writings, especially those of the first four centuries; later councils; the Liturgy; canon law; and icons. But Islam's conquest of this same area eventually isolated the Eastern Christians centered in Constantinople from their counterparts in the West centered in Rome. I've chosen Oriental Orthodoxy over the Byzantine Church because I believe that ours is closer in doctrine and liturgy to the earliest Christians. Do we mean essential for salvation? Orthodoxy in America Has a Convert Problem Thank you for this! Through the centuries, theological, geopolitical, cultural, and linguistic factors have combined to differentiate the Orthodox ethos from Western patterns of Christianity. And such a journey can only be spoken of from experience. What they objected to was the elevation of tradition to the status of Scripture. PDF The Conversion of Vladimir the Great to Orthodox Christianity In this video, Fr. Everyone associates Orthodox worship with sensory richness, but its also rich in theological content. Why didn't Henry VIII go Orthodox, and what would happen if he did? In 1993, I was chrismated and joined the Eastern Orthodox Church. It had ramifications for the ecclesiastical status of both cities and further exacerbated the strained relations between the two regions. According to the Second Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 787, icons are of equal benefit as Scripture in presenting the gospel message. While the Church is certainly Divine in one respect, She is also comprised of human beingshuman beings that can, and do, err. It is precisely this exclusivistic assertion that some Protestant converts, in search of the "true, New Testament Church" have found so beguiling. This book cover is mad, Worship Gospel Because of my interest for eastern culture, negative views on catholicism (I live in a mostly catholic country) and protestantism and my fascisnation for the Orthodox Church, i decided to convert to just that. Lol. Vladimir I and Christianization | Western Civilization - Lumen Learning At the 1996 meeting of sseoe, Orthodox representative Stanley Harakas said that the Orthodox, who have lived for 70 years in Russia under Communist oppression, are in a state of weakness, unable to rebuild churches and barely able to educate their parishioners. Photius then branded the entire Western church as heretical for inserting the phrase "and the Son" (filioque) into the Nicene Creed. In addition, sizable Orthodox "diasporate" groups exist in Europe, North and South America, and Australia, typically under the jurisdiction of one of the thirteen patriarchates mentioned above. The true details behind her Beliefnet is a lifestyle website providing feature editorial content around the topics of inspiration, spirituality, health, wellness, love and family, news and entertainment. So why should someone desire to join the Orthodox Church? The unchangeableness of dogma as well as the purity of rite [are] entrusted to the care not of one hierarchy but of all the people of the church." It took awhile because I grasped it through hearing the hymns of the church year, week in and week out. Ask An Eastern Orthodox Christian: Conversion Process - SpokaneFVS And for Orthodoxy, this argument from holy tradition is of great significance. Early on in the life of the Christian church, the Greek-speaking East and the Latin-speaking West began to diverge. 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?" Why have so many Evangelical ministers embraced the Orthodox faith? There is a myth in Orthodoxy that people only became Eastern Catholics under force by Catholic kings. Yeah, I think Ive gotten it out of my system. "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 Alexandria, 350,000 Then the reality sets in. The reason Orthodoxy is stable is because she is grounded in the truth. Antioch, 750,000 In other words, one cannot embrace Orthodox Christianity without embracing Orthodox Christians. 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. The so-called Eastern Orthodox Church is actually not one but thirteen "autocephalous" or independent, self-governing churches. Converting to Orthodox Christianity : r/OrthodoxChristianity - reddit Through the centuries, theological, geopolitical, cultural, and linguistic factors have combined to differentiate the Orthodox ethos from Western patterns of Christianity. 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. 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). 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. This woode, Christ (Wedding Icon in Textile Oklad) In this wonderful, 4-minute video, Fr. Why I Didn't Convert to Eastern Orthodoxy Conciliar Post Writing a book on Eastern Orthodoxy and working through the manuscript with my Russian students helped me to compare Orthodoxy and Protestant evangelicalism. (Some within Orthodoxy say there are 15, but this is a minor, internal debate.) Toggle signature Since then, Western and Eastern Christianity developed separately, under very different social and cultural conditions. We are looking forward to our journey in the church. John A. Peck, The Apostolic Mission of Journey To Orthodoxy, Orthodox Church in Harbin, China Reopens as an Orthodox Church, "When We Speak of Christ, We Must Start With Christ" - An Interview With Fr. In 999, Leif, the son of Erik, was converted to Christianity by Olaf Tryggvason. 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. Liberalism is not a word in the Orthodox vocabulary. There is a distinct set of conservative converts to Eastern Orthodoxy, which depending on your perspective either left, or was left by, Roman Catholicism in the Great Schism of 1054. 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. Learn About the Religion. He mentions one Church, not many. 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. Why should we welcome that? For example, their local parish was too ethnic; the priest wasnt nice or outgoing; their spouse wasnt interested; they found logical inconsistencies in the writings of the fathers; and so on. Why not convert to Oriental Orthodoxy? - OrthodoxChristianity.net John 6 Comments Cole Knight, a former Anglican, got Baptized in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church. Your email address will not be published. The blog includes recent news and ministry updates of the Convent, as well as other information about Orthodox Christianity that may be useful to those who are either making their first steps in church or want to learn something new about our faith. It was electrifying. Subscribe for our weekly newsletter not to miss the most interesting articles on our blog. "It was a calling of the soul," Devorah Guilah Koren, who converted from Catholicism with her husband and two children, told me. Well, was it so? Orthodox Sep 9, 2019 #1 For those who converted like myself, why did you? Converting to Orthodoxy | St Vasilios Greek Orthodox Church She is not the endshe is the way. Although she is in this world, she is not of this world (cf. If someone is approaching the Orthodox Church from a purely rationalistic standpoint, they will almost surely find it wanting. All Rights ReservedDesigned by Fr. 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. Nicola Yanney, Holy Man of Nebraska, Out of Appalachia: Orthodox Christianity and the Old Regular Baptists, What Do You Believe In? Religion became a state of the Roman Empire, and Christianity became an enormous and influential religion nationwide. Young teens go through a few years when they are trying to understand their own unique identity, and trying to establish it in the face of well, it would be one thing if they had to establish it in the face of hostility, because, even though that would be hard, it would be bracing and clarifying. It makes no appeal to a doctrine of transubstantiation and instead simply affirms the mystery. Cerularius condemned Humbert and entreated Orthodox believers to "flee the fellowship of those who have accepted the heretical Latins." Those who approach Orthodoxy looking for all their questions to be answered in a neat-and-tidy manner will be deeply disappointed, left rejecting the faith to which theyve only been shortly exposed. 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. For example, it is understandable that evangelicals feel that the Orthodox doctrine of the church is too "high." Naturally, it is crucial to know what the Church teaches and acquire an Orthodox mindset on the intellectual level, so to speak, but it is equally crucial to grow in identifying with the People of God, the worshipping community, through fellowship. its the same every year, year after year), it soon becomes familiar, and perhaps even boring for some. 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. As Philip said to Nathaniel, Come and see [John 1:46]. Why are Young People Becoming Orthodox? Engage Orthodoxy Submitted by Fr. Conversion may be unnecessary if you're open to a Reform wedding: Reform Judaism permits interfaith marriages, though roughly half of all Reform rabbis still abjure officiating at them. Jerusalem, 260,000 What steps would I take to become an Orthodox Christian? Rather, Orthodoxy affirms a single source of revelation, holy tradition, of which Scripture is the preeminent among several forms. For church membership? For me it was due to the fact that papal supremacy is a later doctrine, yet I could not become a Protestant because the writings of the Fathers do not agree with Protestantism. Alister McGrath, an intellectual historian and proponent of paleo-orthodoxy, claims that many of the . Emmanuel Hatzidakis | January 19, 2013. John 17:14.16). Liturgically, the Orthodox ethos of a formal worship setting will attract some Christians, but to many other vibrant movements within evangelicalism it will have little if any appeal. Whereas Western Protestants want to hear the written Word spoken in the sermon, Orthodox believers want to see it in the visual images of iconsas well as hear it in the spoken word. 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. If they are looking for an ethnic identity because they feel they have none. Your email address will not be published. However, I do think that there are certain factors that influence and even cause these abandonments and apostasies from the one, true Church. The Orthodox Church has suffered throughout her history. Russian priest explains why westerners are converting to Orthodox The Global Methodist Church welcomes Scott Jones, who led Methodists in Texas and had advocated for the extreme center and staying at the table., Emily McFarlan Miller - Religion News Service. 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. I do not wish to antagonize anyone and if there is a place online where I might go to better have my questions answered, please. Not that every churchgoer is following that path, not that the church administration is perfect, but that the path still existed thats what amazed me. Rather, "theosis" (literally, "deification"), or the progressive transformation of people into full likeness to God, in soul and body, takes center stage. He senses that its something much more profound than that, as he is turning into a different person, the adult he is destined to be. The East allowed some priests to marry, while the West required celibacy. The Biblical Basis for Holy Tradition., 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. Thus Georges Florovsky once referred to tradition as "the witness of the Spirit.". To support our efforts, join us as a member . Different from forms of western Christianity, there is no rationalization or theorization of dogma because its focus is on symbology rather than the literal. There I was, a Protestant theologian teaching in the former Department of Scientific Atheism in the land where Eastern Orthodoxy had reigned for over 1,000 years. The percentage of foreign born Orthodox Christians is no larger than the percentage in the population at large. Christimates 1 day ago. we'll be happy to answer it! It is not surprising they become disaffected and leave. In the opening pages of Book IV of Calvin's Institutes, for example, Calvin refers twice to the famous words of Cyprian (d. 258)so Catholic-sounding to our earsthat "you cannot have God as your Father without the Church as your Mother" (IV.1.1, 4). A Aristocles Merarches Joined Apr 23, 2003 Messages 10,031 Reaction score 1 Points 0 Location Pittsburgh Aug 5, 2006 #4 Matthew777 said: But if you are still intrigued and drawn to the Orthodox Church, considering all of these disclaimers, then do so with faith, reverence, and a healthy fear of God. And I would try hard, no doubt to the point of rudeness, to convince them this was not so. Geoff Harvey on Thu, 20/11/2008 - 11:15am. Instead, an adolescent has to figure out and establish his adult persona in the face of affection. Greenland. What are we to make, for example, of the Orthodox liturgy in Russia today, which is recited in ninth-century Slavonic, a language very few Russians even understand? Although my parents intentionally raised my brother and me without a focus on . But the claim to be Christ's one, true church remains the clear Orthodox position. Karmiris writes, "Scripture and Tradition are equally valid, possess equal dogmatic authority, and are equal in value as sources of dogmatic truth . The Spirit of God himself, realizing the sacramental presence of Christ in the church, speaks to us in tradition. In the Orthodox calendar, the first Sunday of Lent celebrates the Triumph of Orthodoxy, a commemoration of the final triumph of icons in the long and bitter battle with the iconoclasts (literally, "image-smashers") on March 11, 843. 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. I think people just dont believe me, and I hardly provide a good personal example. 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. At the time I was so occupied with comprehending this strange thing called Orthodoxy that I emphasized the differences, and was impatient with kindly big-tent suggestions. Why did you convert to Orthodoxy? | OrthodoxChristianity.net Buddhists are called to meditate. Whatever honor Protestants bestow upon tradition, they deny that its authority is coequal with Scripture. For Eastern Christians, this was yet another Roman encroachment upon their autonomy. 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. The ex clergy thing I think is very real. At each point in their conversions, from initial religious seeking to settling into life as Orthodox Christians, Orthodox converts in Pittsburgh consistently relate a kind of on-going negotiation between self and other, as they research religious differences and experiment with practices and dogmas. Nicholas Kim. Made using e, Book Cover for the Epistle One need not travel overseas to encounter Eastern Orthodoxy. It is not about rules and regulations but rather guide posts to make choices to transition to what we were designed to become. She stands firm on her dogmatic and moral teachings. Becoming Orthodox is not a conversion but more so a transformation of self. John A. Peck, The Apostolic Mission of Journey To Orthodoxy. These groups mostly came over willingly. The Orthodox Church in America, with roots in Moscow and about 85,000 adherents . And during those years of discovery, my mind was constantly cranking away as I laboured to absorb new ideas and excise stubborn old ones. For employment at a seminary? Along with Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity is one of the world's three major Christian traditions. 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. The church. And such a journey can only be spoken of from experience. 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. Unfortunately the Eastern organization is founded on control and power. Others are already involved in a Jewish community. Once inside, a Western Christian experiences sensory overload: the near absence of chairs or pews, dim lighting, head coverings for most women, icons and frescoes covering almost every inch of space on the walls and ceiling, a massive and ornate iconostasis separating the priest and the worshipers, the smoky smell of incense and hundreds of candles burning in memory of the dead, the priest resplendent in his ornate vestments and enormous beard, and worshipers repeatedly prostrating themselves, kissing the icons, and making the sign of the cross. Kate Forbes Is Done (or Why an Orthodox Christian Can Never Lead a 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. Hope this helps, and hope that your journey to Orthodoxy is filled with every blessing. As historians mostly suppose, Vladimir's turn to Orthodox Christianity was more about the improvement of Russians' connections with Christian states than about sentiments: for Rus, Byzantium. We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendor or beauty anywhere upon earth. What was the impact of Vladimir I converting to Greek Orthodox Christianity in the region of Byzantium? How to Convert to Greek Orthodox Christianity Worshipers prostrate themselves before them and kiss them. Why are Russian people (mostly) Orthodox Christians? Christians in the West variously trace their roots to Rome (Catholics), Wittenberg (Lutherans), Geneva (Calvinists), Canterbury (Anglicans), or Oxford (Wesleyans). already I have lost many people I thought were friends but so be it! While Rome stumbled toward destruction in 476, Constantinople enjoyed relative theological and political stability for another 1,000 years, until it was sacked by the Turks in 1453. For them the fundamental schism occurred 500 years earlierin the year 1054 (more about that below). We must be willing to embrace mystery, to submit to other authorities, and to ultimately submit to the Church Herself. Intellectuals, like one of my students at Moscow University, often disdain Orthodoxy as a "medieval mentality." Some have even ended in apostasy. * Orthodoxy looked like taking that escalator up one more floor. Albania, 160,000. After being dunked in this sea of hymnography for a few years I began to recognise an underlying unity among all the elements of Orthodoxy the worship, the fasting, the exhortations to humility, the companionship of the saints, all of it. Excellent comment Kosmas, I totally concur. Why Would a Protestant Convert to Eastern Orthodox Christianity? Why Converts to Christian Orthodoxy can be Obnoxious The reality of the difficulty of living the Orthodox life then bubbles up, and apostasy from exhaustion is a real risk. When celebrating the Eucharist, Catholics mixed the wine with water, while the Orthodox did not. And I would try hard, no doubt to the point of rudeness, to convince them this was not so. July 26, 2019 By Fr. Orthodox Christianity may be the o. People often assume that most Jews by choice convert because they have a partner or spouse who is Jewish. 1. But the "little guy" is not going through a phase.