why convert to orthodox christianity

Step Two: Repentance There is no salvation without repentance. The Orthodox Churches share with the other Christian Churches the belief that God revealed himself in Jesus Christ, and a belief in the incarnation of Christ, his crucifixion and resurrection. 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. "It was a calling of the soul," Devorah Guilah Koren, who converted from Catholicism with her husband and two children, told me. They conceded a special honor to the Western papacy but insisted that the bishop of Rome was only the first among equals. On the other hand, there are cases where a person rejects the Church for what I would consider to be erroneous reasons. It was like seeing a face emerge from a random pattern of dots, and then wink at you. It is precisely this exclusivistic assertion that some Protestant converts, in search of the "true, New Testament Church" have found so beguiling. He shares his witness of it. 1. Since the World Council of Churches' Canberra Assembly in 1991, evangelical and Orthodox believers have joined in a series of wcc-sponsored dialogues on matters challenging historic Christian faith. Join our newsletter to get the most interesting articles on spiritual issues and learn about the recent news from St. Elisabeth Convent. It is not about rules and regulations but rather guide posts to make choices to transition to what we were designed to become. 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. She is committed to the same, unchanging, absolute truth. that freedom of practice for faith groups should be "defended" in Holyrood's proposed ban on conversion practices and that she believes a trans woman is a "biological male who identifies as a . At times it can be a healing group especially during the Liturgical services in particular the Eucharist and the Holy Prayer Oil services. 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. Protestant theologian Adolf von Harnack once described the Orthodox church as "in her entire structure alien to the Gospel and a perversion of the Christian religion, its reduction to the level of pagan antiquity." The final declaration of the Second Ecumenical Council of Nicea (787) that ratified the use of icons appealed to the "written and unwritten" tradition of the early church. 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. Hello all, forgive me if I am posting to the wrong forum. Its not something you can figure out by studying the Church Fathers. 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. But that cant be the case with me, so lets press on. Any vestiges of hope for unity after the estrangement of 1054 were dashed with the pillage of 1204. There is a certain chemistry involved, which one cannot so easily verbalize. What was the foreign policy of Yaroslav the Wise? The Spirit of God himself, realizing the sacramental presence of Christ in the church, speaks to us in tradition. 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. The percentage of foreign born Orthodox Christians is no larger than the percentage in the population at large. That is, Orthodoxy's commitment to "right belief" provides a natural link to evangelical concerns. 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 so-called Eastern Orthodox Church is actually not one but thirteen "autocephalous" or independent, self-governing churches. 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. Then C" The strengths of a group draws them but after a while the weaknesses bubble up. You can make an appointment to talk to our parish priest Fr Athanasios by contacting him at (03) 9387 7693. So they begin the process of "converting.". "It's typically an immigrant faith, so I was really interested in that experience and why it spoke to. The numbers are staggering! I think people just dont believe me, and I hardly provide a good personal example. The theological objections evangelicals have traditionally had with Rome on these two points rightly apply to Orthodoxy. This icon, Wedding Icon of The Mother Of God (2 Pet. Rather, for Orthodoxy the whole people of God is the protector of apostolic tradition. During my project I gained. An Orthodox Christian Perspective: Overcoming Difficulties in Life, Church Under Soviet Totalitarianism: Suppression, Resistance and Compliance, St Kassia and Her Creations, Still Heard at Todays Divine Services, The feast of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Inexhaustible Chalice, Why Our Catalogue Is More Than Just an Online Store Selling Church Supplies, The List of Musical Instruments Mentioned in the Bible, The First 40 Days after Death Explained by St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, An Old Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign Has Started to Exude Myrrh in the Diocese of Tula, Complete List of Prohibited Marriages in the Orthodox Church. Around 2-3 months ago I decided that I wanted to convert to Christianity. Speaking out against a government that is massively exterminating believers, would only lead to greater persecution. Then bear your cross,, Please, include documents that can be downloaded or printed. Icons are absolutely central to Orthodoxy, distinguishing it from both Catholicism and Protestantism. ", Icons are not merely sacred art. Perhaps this unanticipated experience of encountering something unknown and marvelously organic accounts for the distinctive lapel-grabbing impulse among converts to Orthodoxy. But the impulse is to exaggerate the differences when you fear being hugged to death. They have not given up the idea of being clergy. we'll be happy to answer it! Shortly after the beginning of our own catechumenate as a family, we saw friendsand their familiesbegin journeys towards the East. Andrey brings us the news about Orthodox Christianity (the form of Christianity practiced by Russians). Why should we welcome that? 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. 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. Yeah, I think Ive gotten it out of my system. I assumed this would somehow convince me not to continue on my discovery of the Orthodox Church, but it has more solidified it! 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. And such a journey can only be spoken of from experience. Any objective historian can discover that the permanence of Orthodoxy is due to the preservation and the passing on of the apostolic faith unadulterated, pure. I can remember, after Id been Orthodox a few years, developing an increasing sense of tension or frustration. For such a question presupposes a particular person's journey of faith. Copyright 1997 Christianity Today. 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. 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. Each of them had his idiosyncrasies, and they regularly disagreed. A person can read a dozen books on swimming, but that which he or she has read will not come alive until he or she actually gets into a pool. A priest can provide guidance and support to help converts discern whether the religion is right for them. Baptism is the primary and fundamental basis of the entire Orthodox Christian life. After being dunked in this sea of hymnography for a few years I began to recognize an underlying unity among all the elements of Orthodoxythe worship, the fasting, the exhortations to humility, the companionship of the saints, all of it. Believe in the Church as the true Body of Christ, and the Churchflawed people and allwill help lead you down the right path. 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. Those who were clergy in a former denomination have no guarantees they will become clergy in the Orthodox Church. Antioch, 750,000 In chrismation, performed immediately after rising from the baptismal waters, the priest anoints the infant with a special ointment, making the sign of the cross on various parts of the body, thus acknowledging the gift and seal of the Holy Spirit. Well, was it so? Thus, when an Orthodox believer once asked why his church did not do more doctrinal teaching, his priest responded, "Icons teach us all that we need to know." 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. Perhaps this unanticipated experience of encountering something unknown and marvellously organic accounts for the distinctive lapel-grabbing impulse among converts to Orthodoxy. There is an organic quality here, and the thing itself is inexpressibly alive. Included in this liturgy is an anathema on all those who reject icons. its the same every year, year after year), it soon becomes familiar, and perhaps even boring for some. I cant be the only one to have done this. Vladimir I formed an alliance with Basil II of the Byzantine Empire and married his sister Anna in 988. 20). My husband and I were just Chrismated into the church on Christmas day. 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. 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. In this wonderful, 4-minute video, Fr. Other religions and faiths occupy themselves with this life, with this world. Share your feedback here. Conversion means belief and acceptance in Jesus Christ, the God-man, as the Savior of the world. Orthodox Sep 9, 2019 #1 For those who converted like myself, why did you? The reason Orthodoxy is stable is because she is grounded in the truth. He sailed to Greenland with a priest to convert the people. 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. For taking Communion together? But perhaps our theology of the church is too "low," much lower than our Protestant forebears would have it. Whatever honor Protestants bestow upon tradition, they deny that its authority is coequal with Scripture. To be Eastern Orthodox is, above all, to stake a bold and unapologetic theological claim as the one true church of Christ on earth, which alone has guarded right belief and true worship in absolute identity and unbroken succession with the apostolic church. 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. "I was A. Here, according to Ronald Roberson's 1993 book The Eastern Christian Churches, is a list of these churches and their approximate sizes: Constantinople, 3.5 million It was electrifying. Orthodox believers see things very differently. The Puritan John Foxe, for example, insisted that "God conducted the Reformation by printing, writing, and reading." Your email address will not be published. If our only reason for converting is more somber, reverent, and beautiful worship, the newness of this experience soon wanes. All Rights ReservedDesigned by Fr. 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. 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. Orthodox Christians were more inclined to appeal to the ecumenical councils than to a single bishop to settle theological matters. In this Orthodox view, Scripture stands within rather than above the church, and to distinguish its authority from that of the church is a mistake of method. Thank you for this post! 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. It is not a surprise that many Catholics adhering to traditional values are converting to conservative Orthodoxy. 0. Orthodoxy is true to the Lord, to herself and to her past. What they objected to was the elevation of tradition to the status of Scripture. Andrey brings us the news about Orthodox Christianity (the form of Christianity . Suspicion and recrimination have often characterized relationships between Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Protestantism. This gives strength and spiritual joy to her members, true to the Lords words, Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Mt. Affectionate attempts to obscure this quest feel suffocating. Orthodoxy's size alone warrants our attention, despite its invisibility on the cultural radar screens of most Americans. 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. 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. I cant be the only one to have done this. The sum of all parts wont add to the total. This doesnt mean we shun catechesis, but just that its not always done in the same way everywhereand where it exists, its likely different from what a catechumen might expect or even hope. Those who will guide you through your period of instruction and formation surely will help you in this regard. 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). Geoff. "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 Most people like to be polite and get along, so they highlight what we hold in common. In the history and theology of Orthodoxy it is startling to observe the nearly complete absence of any mention of the doctrine of justification by faith. She rightly claims the wholeness of the truth. 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. Rather, "theosis" (literally, "deification"), or the progressive transformation of people into full likeness to God, in soul and body, takes center stage. Everyone associates Orthodox worship with sensory richness, but its also rich in theological content. From the Orthodox perspective, both Catholics and Protestants seek to ground theological authority in an external norm. Moreover, evangelicals have some important lessons to learn from Orthodoxy. Interesting comments. 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. Underneath were written the Greek words en toutoi nika, "In this sign, conquer." 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). If only they would realise that they are rotting corpses trapped in worshipping themselves. It must sound like vague, fluffy religious talk (though in my experience it is anything but). That vision is of the Living God revealed in Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of the Old Covenant, the life of the Faithful, the hope of the . 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. If only you could get them to form two lines.). My husband had been an Episcopal priest for 16 years, and we had gradually moved from evangelical-style "low church" to the more liturgically-fancy "high church." 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. Although it is difficult to gather firm figures, worldwide Orthodox Christians number about 150 million, with 3 million in the U.S. alonemore than most evangelical denominations. And I would try hard, no doubt to the point of rudeness, to convince them this was not so. 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?" De Maistre, Billington says, was "convinced that Russia was an instrument chosen by Providence for the salvation of Europe." He was "fascinated by the possibility of converting this vast land to Catholicism." He launched a program towards that end. A Aristocles Merarches Joined Apr 23, 2003 Messages 10,031 Reaction score 1 Points 0 Location Pittsburgh Aug 5, 2006 #4 Matthew777 said: Overall, is the Orthodox church growing in America or is it slowly dying, as the older cradle Orthodox are dying and fewer cradle Orthodox either convert to other churches [primarily Protestant churches] or morph into Deists or worse?. Inherent in this claim, of course, is the charge that both Catholics and Protestants have lapsed from the true faith into error, if not outright heresy. 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. Becoming an Orthodox Christian is not easy, nor does it promise great happiness or success in this life. I felt like Marco Polo. 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. Why have so many Evangelical ministers embraced the Orthodox faith? 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." Many people believe the Church is a social group gathering or a place to network with other like minded people. ), since the Reformation, justification by faith and substitutionary atonement have enjoyed pride of place in our understanding of the doctrines of sin and salvation. I've chosen Oriental Orthodoxy over the Byzantine Church because I believe that ours is closer in doctrine and liturgy to the earliest Christians. Russia, 50-85 million Before long, in Reformation churches the sermon had replaced the Eucharist as the defining moment of the liturgy. It doesnt matter how long they have served, or how extensive their education. In 1523-24 the Reformers Ulrich Zwingli and Martin Luther donned the gown of the university scholar. 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. Without waiting for a response, Humbert exited the church and declared, "Let God look and judge." Who can explain why one has fallen in love with a given person? After five years or so in the Orthodox Church, Ive seen a lot of friends and acquaintances come home to the apostolic faith. Along with Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity is one of the world's three major Christian traditions. Let us know if corrections need to be made. 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. already I have lost many people I thought were friends but so be it! Reaching for the Transcendent on the Streets of New York, http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2007/12/icons-will-save-the-world, cool blog entry by Fr Andrew Damick - Christian Forums, http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/liturgics/athenagoras_remarriage.htm, http://www.oodegr.co/english/ekklisia/marriage_divorce.htm, http://www.oodegr.com/english/ekklisia/marriage_divorce.htm, http://www.patheos.com/blogs/justandsinner/the-church-fathers-interpretation-of-the-rock-of-matthew-1618-an-historical-refutation-of-the-claims-of-roman-catholicism-by-william-webster/. Christimates 1 day ago. Theological disputes combined with these geopolitical and cultural factors to divide the Christian East and West. Yet, at times there are questions of conscience and matters of principle. 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. Maybe you have to soak in it for years, till the evidence becomes overwhelming. This absorbed my attention so much that I was apt to expound my current level of comprehension to anyone who stood still in my vicinity. We must be willing to embrace mystery, to submit to other authorities, and to ultimately submit to the Church Herself. She is the Church of martyrs. A radical conversion to Christianity. It is not a religion but rather a way of life. 5:12). Here are a few reasons from this man's personal reflection. The Orthodox Church in America, with roots in Moscow and about 85,000 adherents . Then B. (Of course, for every person insisting that there were no differences, there was another person asking me to explain the differences. "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.

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