why convert to orthodox christianity

I cant be the only one to have done this. Who can explain why one has fallen in love with a given person? If you have a specific question about Orthodox Christianity or the Orthodox Church in America, Orthodox churches are full of them. Submitted by Fr. YouTube | 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. Those who were clergy in a former denomination have no guarantees they will become clergy in the Orthodox Church. While some did come over by force, the Orthodox also forcibly converted large numbers of Eastern Catholics Orthodoxy. Its just that Orthodoxy still passes on the early churchs knowledge of how to tune in to the presence of Christ. The percentage of foreign born Orthodox Christians is no larger than the percentage in the population at large. Poland, 1 million When we realize that every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle or a matter of conscience, then we are freed to engage fully people with whom we actually have profound differences without compromising our own theological commitments. Another danger is converting to Orthodoxy simply because it is beautiful. He mentions one Church, not many. Schisms had already occurred in the Christian church, and others would occur later, but the Great Schism was the first of such major consequence. 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. Orthodox Christians viewed the filioque amendment to be contrary to explicit instructions by past ecumenical councils not to change the creeds. In the East the local parish priest could administer the sacrament of confirmation; in the West only the bishop could. 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. Different from forms of western Christianity, there is no rationalization or theorization of dogma because its focus is on symbology rather than the literal. Buddhists are called to meditate. Without waiting for a response, Humbert exited the church and declared, "Let God look and judge." 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. 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. 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 committed to the same, unchanging, absolute truth. The Eucharist is a true, propitiatory sacrifice. 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. Its not something you can figure out by studying the Church Fathers. 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. 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.". But about this pursuit we can make several observations. Orthodox Christians believe you must be converted every day- every day - and everyone must start with this step if they desire to make spiritual progress and be saved. But they all came together in worship, and were shaped by the same hymns and prayers, the appointed Scripture readings, preaching, and the "picture bible" of iconography. Are Orthodox Christians "Bible believing?". I had been to the east and discovered something wondrous that I assumed all Christians crave. If a richer liturgical life is what a believer wants, converting to Orthodoxy is hardly necessary. Then C" The strengths of a group draws them but after a while the weaknesses bubble up. Orthodox Christians believe you must be converted every day- every day - and everyone must start with this step if they desire to make spiritual progress and be saved. 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. Home / 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. It is not always easy to advance strong arguments for these conversions. I had been to the east and discovered something wondrous that I assumed all Christians crave. In Matthew 16:18, Christ speaks about building His church that "the gates of Hades will not prevail against". Second, Christian theology perfectly explained why Jesus, who was also called a prophet, was worthy of worship. Handcarved Orthodox spiritual life gives central prominence to the sacraments. we'll be happy to answer it! 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?" 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. 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. Rich worship taught the faith to literate and illiterate, peasant and emperor, and its essentially the same as our worship today. It must sound like vague, fluffy religious talk (though in my experience it is anything but). It merits our attention for several reasons. This could take some timeperhaps a year or more, depending on a variety of circumstancesand should not be rushed. Just as we pray that Gods will, not our own, be done, so too we pray that we might embrace the faith in Gods time, not our own. Those friends benefit, no doubt, from this opportunity to practice patience and long-suffering. So, you have decided to convert to the Greek Orthodox Christian religion. Several factors must be considered when converting to Greek Orthodox 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. (Of course, for every person insisting that there were no differences, there was another person asking me to explain the differences. As I realized what the big difference is,I grew more insistent, I'm afraid. When celebrating the Eucharist, Catholics mixed the wine with water, while the Orthodox did not. Russia, 50-85 million Together they gathered an army with the intent to regain control of Rus' and establish Vladimir as the ruler. 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. Disclaimers, Amon Sl Tolkien & Orthodox Christianity, 5 Differences: Orthodoxy & Roman Catholicism, 5 Differences: Orthodoxy & Evangelicalism, The Equal of Martyrdom: Fr. Cerularius condemned Humbert and entreated Orthodox believers to "flee the fellowship of those who have accepted the heretical Latins." Orthodoxy knows where she stands, and she is in no need to re-define herself. John Meyendorff writes that "the Christian faith can in no way be compatible with the notion of sola scriptura." The East allowed some priests to marry, while the West required celibacy. Heres a clue to a third possibility. These groups mostly came over willingly. Rather, for Orthodoxy the whole people of God is the protector of apostolic tradition. Geoff Harvey on Thu, 20/11/2008 - 11:15am. You can make an appointment to talk to our parish priest Fr Athanasios by contacting him at (03) 9387 7693. I can remember, after Id been Orthodox a few years, developing an increasing sense of tension or frustration. Worshipers prostrate themselves before them and kiss them. Orthodoxy generally affirms the same seven sacraments as Catholicism: baptism, chrismation or confirmation, the Eucharist, repentance or confession, holy orders or ordination, marriage, and holy unction or anointing of the sick. Further, they identify themselves by reference to Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), the "new Rome" of Emperor Constantine, and to the first seven ecumenical councils of the church. 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. There are two accounts of Constantine's conversion to Christianity. Further, Protestants have long enjoyed rich liturgical traditions of their own (see, for example, Bard Thompson's classic Liturgies of the Western Church). Further, rote liturgy can stultify as well as edify, which is one reason why many people prefer more informal or personal worship settings. 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. Receive updates and announcements from Orthodox Witness. Your email address will not be published. Her name is "right belief". Buddhists fast, pray, and give alms. 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. 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. Because everyone has their own presuppositions in which they interpret reality and thus no surprise you'll find people based on these presuppositions won't accept Christianity. My husband had been an Episcopal priest for 16 years, and we had gradually moved from an evangelical-style low church to the more liturgically-fancy high church. Orthodoxy looked like taking that escalator up one more floor. It is why I think a number of people have a list of groups they have been in here. And these prayers are jam-packed. 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. The Eucharist, according to the Divine Liturgy of Saint Chrysostom (the normal liturgy for Sundays and weekdays), is "for the purification of the soul, for the remission of sins, for the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, [and] for the Kingdom of Heaven.". Orthodox Christians and some Eastern Catholics baptize by triple immersion upon invocation of the Trinity; the only time the Orthodox Church permits other forms of baptism is in the case of an emergency. 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. The Orthodox Church is the ancient Church that Christ and the Apostles established. Legislation pending in Russia, for example, could, if implemented, curtail Western missionary enterprises. 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. Sign up to receive a regular email newsletter from Fr. Intellectuals, like one of my students at Moscow University, often disdain Orthodoxy as a "medieval mentality." 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. 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. The so-called Photian Schism brought this matter to a head. 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. 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. It is not about rules and regulations but rather guide posts to make choices to transition to what we were designed to become. Those who will guide you through your period of instruction and formation surely will help you in this regard. Preeminent among the sacraments are baptism and the Eucharist. Now, the question stands: If one is convinced that Orthodox Christianity possess the fullness of truth and is God . 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. A wedding set o, Wedding Icon of Christ the Pantocrator (in Oklad /, A Handmade Bookcover For The Gospel. They insisted that the Bible interprets itself, and through the Holy Spirit, God instructs its readers in a direct and individual manner rather than binding their consciences to the supposedly reliable teaching of the church. Clickhereto learn more about the deeds we are talking of and to learn how you can become a part of our social ministry and help those in need. 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. Q&A: A closer look at Orthodox Christians. 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. 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. Through the centuries, theological, geopolitical, cultural, and linguistic factors have combined to differentiate the Orthodox ethos from Western patterns of Christianity. She is conscious of being the true Church founded by Christ. 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. Even before entering the church one is taken aback by the unusual architecture-the glittering gold onion domes that sparkle like diamonds on a sunny day. According to the Second Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 787, icons are of equal benefit as Scripture in presenting the gospel message. This is the ultimate reason an ultra-Orthodox Jew would turn to Jesus. "More than a . Here is an overview of the steps you can take to convert to Orthodox Christianity: 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. John 6 Comments Cole Knight, a former Anglican, got Baptized in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church. 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. But that cant be the case with me, so lets press on. An Orthodox priest who lectured to standing-room-only crowds at Moscow State once described Orthodox theology to me as "music made in the conservatory," whereas he described Protestant theology as "music made in the honkytonk bars. His response: "I don't know.". 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. I have read many things on the internet, as well as a number of books about the Churchs faith, worship and history. The Actual Conversion to Judaism: Conversion to Judaism has a few components, which are undertaken under the supervision of an established beit din: Accepting the yoke of the commandments. The collapse of the Roman Empire created a power vacuum that was increasingly filled by the growing power of the Roman papacy. 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. When you convert, you must verbalize your commitment to live in accordance with all of the Torah 's commandments as they are explained in Torah law. See something we missed? The Puritan John Foxe, for example, insisted that "God conducted the Reformation by printing, writing, and reading." Such a question cannot be answered through the use of dogmatic assertions or theoretical musings. But every church must have its distinctiveness, or wed all be in the same church. 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. * 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. It was like seeing a face emerge from a random pattern of dots, and then wink at you. "I was A. Not that every churchgoer is following that path, not that the church administration is perfect, but that the path still existedthats what amazed me. In Catholicism this external dogmatic authority resides in the teaching magisterium of the church as expressed in the primacy and infallibility of the papacy. We cannot describe it to you: only this we know, that God dwells there among men, and that their service surpasses the worship of all other places. All rights reserved. Instead, Orthodoxy believes that the church stands above the Scriptures, which is why, as noted, Orthodox believers agree to "accept and understand Holy Scripture in accordance with the interpretation that was and is held by the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church of the East, our Mother." 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. The Orthodox Church has suffered throughout her history. The first four enjoy special honor due to their antiquity. Missiological concerns surface here, too. Put another way, we must invoke the spirit of irenic disagreement in the formula: "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity." "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 To support our efforts, join us as a member . Here is an overview of the steps you can take to convert to Orthodox Christianity: Talk With an Orthodox Priest. Two theological controversies drove the final wedge between Catholic and Orthodox Christians: papal supremacy and the so-called filioque controversy. Heres a clue to a third possibility. In 1993, I was chrismated and joined the Eastern Orthodox Church. The sum of all parts wont add to the total. Vladimir I formed an alliance with Basil II of the Byzantine Empire and married his sister Anna in 988. Twitter | Chrysostom's liturgy says of the Eucharistic sacrifice: "Your own, from your own, we offer you, in all and for all." You can also subscribe without commenting. 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. Instead, an adolescent has to figure out and establish his adult persona in the face of affection. Recently I worshiped at an Orthodox church in Palo Alto on this celebration of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. 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. 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. Yet, at times there are questions of conscience and matters of principle. Conversion means belief and acceptance in Jesus Christ, the God-man, as the Savior of the world. . Geoff. It was electrifying. 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. Thank you for this post! It was like seeing a face emerge from a random pattern of dots, and then wink at you. Christimates 1 day ago. The Orthodox Church is the only Church, originally founded by Christ and still retaining the apostolic succession and the undistorted teaching of the Lord and . Orthodox Christians were more inclined to appeal to the ecumenical councils than to a single bishop to settle theological matters. I can't be the only one who's observed a friend converting to Orthodox Christianity and noticed them instantly, literally overnight, losing their sense of . From Islam to Indonesian Orthodox Priest In "Clergy" 97% of Moldovans Identify as Orthodox Christians In "Latest Stories" (Of course, for every person insisting that there were no differences, there was another person asking me to explain the differences. 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. Kate Forbes is young, smart, a woman (in the actual sense of the word), but fatally, an orthodox Christian seeking the top office in the land. Lol. In many of these lands, Orthodoxy exhibits an unveiled distrust and even xenophobia toward the massive influx of Western missionaries into their backyards. 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. Those friends benefit, no doubt, from this opportunity to practice patience and long-suffering. St. Theophan The Recluse On Spiritual Practice. In the words of contemporary Orthodox theologian Thomas Hopko, "everything in the church flows out of the waters of baptism: the remission of sins and life eternal." 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. First, Christianity had no doctrine to support the Islamic hypothesis about Jesus' modification into a semi-god. He shares his witness of it. There are many basic beliefs that Orthodoxy and evangelicalism hold in common: the inspiration of Scripture; the two natures of Christ, the finality and uniqueness of Christ's death on the cross, the resurrection, and our future hope of eternal life. For instance, John of Damascus (675-749), Orthodoxy's most famous systematic theologian, epitomized the Orthodox ethos when he wrote in his The Orthodox Faith, "we do not change the everlasting boundaries which our fathers have set, but we keep the traditions just as we have received them." People are attracted by the permanence of Orthodoxy. 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. 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. Converting to Orthodoxy. (2 Pet. 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. 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. That there are too many people joining the Church with a silly belief that they rebelling against the modern world, and hoping to instate absolute monarchy.

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