why convert to orthodox christianity

Emmanuel Hatzidakis | January 19, 2013. But I slowly came to see that I cant communicate it. This has some truth to it, but is mostly false. But about this pursuit we can make several observations. 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. 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,. ", Icons are not merely sacred art. Twitter | They become clergy in their group. 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. For example, I know someone that spent over a year studying almost every aspect of Orthodoxy, including many fathers of the Church and practically every nuance of both doctrine and history. We should expect nothing less of ourselves than total respect for and even love of the history, theology, and culture of Orthodoxy; still, two things ought to be said about Orthodox complaints about Protestant proselytizing. Different Orthodox theories exist as to what, exactly, this means. 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. They saw this as a perception skill, something anyone could (with diligent practice) hone; it has nothing to do with emotion. Luther urged that Christianity would stand or fall with this doctrine; Calvin called it "the hinge upon which all true religion turns.". She is committed to the same, unchanging, absolute truth. These thirteen churches are united in their understanding of the sacraments, discipline, doctrine, faith, government, and worship, but they administer their internal affairs separately. The Puritan John Foxe, for example, insisted that "God conducted the Reformation by printing, writing, and reading." The Orthodox Church has suffered throughout her history. Receive updates and announcements from Orthodox Witness. The last reason Orthodox converts are obnoxious resembles the reason adolescents are obnoxious. Subscribe for our weekly newsletter not to miss the most interesting articles on our blog. 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. On these points evangelical and Orthodox thinking diverge in significant ways. He sailed to Greenland with a priest to convert the people. Are you sure you heard the Meaning of Christmas? 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. For such a question presupposes a particular person's journey of faith. A wooden pectoral cros, Pectoral Cross for Clergy Your email address will not be published. Why have so many Evangelical ministers embraced the Orthodox faith? My ideas havent changed, and Im always glad for a good discussion, but maybe Im past the need to belabor them. So why should someone desire to join the Orthodox Church? 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. Ignatius's followers, however, refused to acknowledge the transition, and eventually both Ignatius and Photius appealed to Pope Nicholas (858-67) in Rome. Beyond the recovery of history and liturgy, there are deeper and more important questions. Beliefnet is a lifestyle website providing feature editorial content around the topics of inspiration, spirituality, health, wellness, love and family, news and entertainment. Moreover, evangelicals have some important lessons to learn from Orthodoxy. In 1993, I was chrismated and joined the Eastern Orthodox Church. It was electrifying. Why would a Protestant Christian convert to Eastern Orthodox Christianity? Everyone associates Orthodox worship with sensory richness, but its also rich in theological content. He mentions one Church, not many. John 6 Comments Cole Knight, a former Anglican, got Baptized in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church. It must sound like vague, fluffy religious talk (though in my experience it is anything but). Well, was it so? During those years of discovery I labored to absorb new ideas and excise stubborn old ones. Rather, for Orthodoxy the whole people of God is the protector of apostolic tradition. 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. As with liturgy, conversion to Orthodoxy is hardly a prerequisite for a renewed engagement with apostolic tradition. And I would try hard, no doubt to the point of rudeness, to convince them this was not so. In many of these lands, Orthodoxy exhibits an unveiled distrust and even xenophobia toward the massive influx of Western missionaries into their backyards. I've chosen Oriental Orthodoxy over the Byzantine Church because I believe that ours is closer in doctrine and liturgy to the earliest Christians. Theological disputes combined with these geopolitical and cultural factors to divide the Christian East and West. But that was too little, too late. Teachings of Orthodoxy. 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. 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. 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 church. Shortly after the beginning of our own catechumenate as a family, we saw friendsand their familiesbegin journeys towards the East. The more familiar I became with Orthodoxy by serving in a local parish, on a parish council, and as an altar assistant, the more I saw others approach the Church, test the waters, and walk back out the narthex door. We must be willing to embrace mystery, to submit to other authorities, and to ultimately submit to the Church Herself. The Reformers did not reject tradition as a help to wisdom, as a reading of Calvin, Luther, or Wesley easily shows. At the beginning, I thought I knew what I was getting into. In his homily, Father Vladimir explained the history and theology of icons, adding that the heresy of iconoclasm was alive and well: "Just look around us at all the Protestants. The late Orthodox theologian John Meyendorff once remarked that the ultimate conflict between the Orthodox East and the Latin West, both Catholic and Protestant, resided in two different ideas about tradition. Has Orthodoxy in these lands obscured the gospel, becoming merely a "cultural" religion thoroughly assimilated to ethnic identity? Can we attempt to put into words why a host of people have converted and continue to convert to the Orthodox faith? Those who will guide you through your period of instruction and formation surely will help you in this regard. 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. He states that in Gaul, before setting out towards Rome, Constantine and his army saw a great cross in the sky. Others charge complicity with the state, both past and present. Perhaps this unanticipated experience of encountering something unknown and marvellously organic accounts for the distinctive lapel-grabbing impulse among converts to Orthodoxy. Thats surely a factor, but I think theres something else going on, more specific to Orthodox converts. Well, was it so? Greenland. It took me a few years to sense that there was a whole other something going on. . Andrey brings us the news about Orthodox Christianity (the form of Christianity . Russian Baptists, Adventists, and Pentecostals feel persecuted. Before trying to discern how evangelicals should respond to these many issues involving Eastern Orthodoxy, a brief history is in order. Why didn't Henry VIII go Orthodox, and what would happen if he did? While reading about the Orthodox Christian tradition is certainly important, it is crucial to stepliterallyinto an Orthodox Christian parish church near you to witness/experience the Churchs worship and fellowship. 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. Handcarved 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. Yet, at times there are questions of conscience and matters of principle. Clearly this stability is found in no other church. Differences over clerical beards, the tonsure, and fasting also exacerbated the growing deterioration of East-West unity. 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. But it's just fantasies, and they going to get themselves hopeless frustrated when it become clear that the fantasies can't become reality. There is an organic quality here, and the thing itself is inexpressibly alive. Hello all, forgive me if I am posting to the wrong forum. 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. 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. Telegram | Icons are absolutely central to Orthodoxy, distinguishing it from both Catholicism and Protestantism. When Martin Luther burned the books of Catholic canon law at Wittenberg's Elster Gate on December 10, 1520, he symbolized an important Protestant distinctive. The sacraments. Rome accused the "Greek heretics" of trying to "humiliate and crush the holy catholic and apostolic church." Affectionate attempts to obscure this quest feel suffocating. There most certainly will never be a "Southern" or "Confederate" Orthodoxy".And yet another reason not to join is the hopes of having a base of operations for a goofy political ideology. Upon joining the Orthodox Church, converts vow to "accept and understand Holy Scripture in accordance with the interpretation which was and is held by the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church of the East, our Mother." Here is an overview of the steps you can take to convert to Orthodox Christianity: Talk With an Orthodox Priest. But the impulse is to exaggerate the differences when you fear being hugged to death. 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. During my project I gained. These groups mostly came over willingly. Nicola Yanney, Holy Man of Nebraska, Out of Appalachia: Orthodox Christianity and the Old Regular Baptists, What Do You Believe In?

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