Rather, "theosis" (literally, "deification"), or the progressive transformation of people into full likeness to God, in soul and body, takes center stage. During those years of discovery I labored to absorb new ideas and excise stubborn old ones. The true details behind her 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. (To be fair, we should note that a large number of Orthodox have become evangelical Protestants as well.). Affectionate attempts to obscure this quest feel suffocating. As the Body of Christ, the Church is a Divine-human organism, just as with the Person of Jesus Christ, the God-Man. Vladimir I formed an alliance with Basil II of the Byzantine Empire and married his sister Anna in 988. And such a journey can only be spoken of from experience. During my four years as a visiting professor at Moscow State University (1991-95) I often felt schizophrenic. It merits our attention for several reasons. Now, the question stands: If one is convinced that Orthodox Christianity possess the fullness of truth and is God . See something we missed? 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. The Orthodox Church is indelibly marked by the One who is its origin and source. 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 ofwell, 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. 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. Becoming Orthodox means being willing to submit to the Church and Her bishops, who might not be interested in ordaining you. Despite its historical estrangement from Rome, from a Protestant theological perspective Orthodoxy is similar to Catholicism at several points. Q&A: A closer look at Orthodox Christians. At the beginning, I thought I knew what I was getting into. The theological objections evangelicals have traditionally had with Rome on these two points rightly apply to Orthodoxy. It took awhile because I grasped it through hearing the hymns of the church year, week in and week out. This is no archaic, dusty doctrine, either. One need not travel overseas to encounter Eastern Orthodoxy. Growing up in the Bible Belt, I was only ever exposed to Christian theology. 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. However, this is a mistaken viewpoint and can lead to the destruction of a persons faith. Orthodoxy looks forward, to the age to come. 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. 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. 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). This perspective presupposes a defective Christologyone that fails to account for the anthropos of the theanthropic (Divine-human) Church. I cant be the only one to have done this. (2 Pet. The essence of it was to evangelize younger aristocrats, future leaders of the land. 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. This hardly signifies any sort of congregational or ecclesiological democracy, however, for while all believers possess the truth, it is the special duty of church authorities to teach it. 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. Handcarved 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?" Christians in the West variously trace their roots to Rome (Catholics), Wittenberg (Lutherans), Geneva (Calvinists), Canterbury (Anglicans), or Oxford (Wesleyans). 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. It is not a religion but rather a way of life. From the Orthodox perspective, both Catholics and Protestants seek to ground theological authority in an external norm. This conception lessens the validity and value of the Holy Scriptures as the primary source of Christian dogma." Disclaimers, Amon Sl Tolkien & Orthodox Christianity, 5 Differences: Orthodoxy & Roman Catholicism, 5 Differences: Orthodoxy & Evangelicalism, The Equal of Martyrdom: Fr. Nicholas Kim. Yeah, I think Ive gotten it out of my system. Put more starkly, Orthodoxy explicitly rejects the historic Protestant idea of sola scriptura. But the claim to be Christ's one, true church remains the clear Orthodox position. 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. 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. Holy Orders are a mystery (sacrament) of the Church, and the Spirit blows where it will. But that cant be the case with me, so lets press on. Here is an overview of the steps you can take to convert to Orthodox Christianity: Talk With an Orthodox Priest. In Catholicism this external dogmatic authority resides in the teaching magisterium of the church as expressed in the primacy and infallibility of the papacy. They push it down the road that they will be able to transition to that in their new group eventually. The so-called Eastern Orthodox Church is actually not one but thirteen "autocephalous" or independent, self-governing churches. Why did Vladimir convert to Orthodox Christianity? Share your feedback here. The independent Orthodox Church in America (OCA) desires to function as a fully "autocephalous" church, although as yet the oca has not been officially recognized by most of the thirteen patriarchates. Essential for clergy to pray together, to talk, and to encourage one another in Christ? we'll be happy to answer it! Because we confess and believe in the one holy, catholic and apostolic Church, this means we are not looking for a Church that fits our own preferences and ideals, but rather one that teaches us what our preferences should be. In any event, feel free to introduce yourself to and speak with the priest and his parishioners. 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. It had ramifications for the ecclesiastical status of both cities and further exacerbated the strained relations between the two regions. However, because I've never been really exposed to . The thesis that Eastern Orthodoxy is the true religion was turning out to bear the practical corollary that, to share fully and fruitfully in the life of the Body of Christ, one would almost have. Through the centuries, theological, geopolitical, cultural, and linguistic factors have combined to differentiate the Orthodox ethos from Western patterns of Christianity. It is precisely this exclusivistic assertion that some Protestant converts, in search of the "true, New Testament Church" have found so beguiling. People are attracted by the permanence of Orthodoxy. And such a journey can only be spoken of from experience. 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. Affectionate attempts to obscure this quest feel suffocating. 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. We have challenges here in Africa to find such information for, So glorious+++ Most Holy Theotokos save us, Pectoral Cross But unlike the other two large branches of Christianity, which have spread throughout the developing world, Orthodoxy remains largely confined to Europe. Two theological controversies drove the final wedge between Catholic and Orthodox Christians: papal supremacy and the so-called filioque controversy. Thank you for this post! For church membership? 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. In 1523-24 the Reformers Ulrich Zwingli and Martin Luther donned the gown of the university scholar. 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. According to The Saga of Erik the Red, there were Christians among the people whom Erik the Red brought to Greenland to settle it in the late tenth century. They saw this as a perception skill, something anyone could (with diligent practice) hone; it has nothing to do with emotion. Icons are, quite literally, a "theology in color.". 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. 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. "It's typically an immigrant faith, so I was really interested in that experience and why it spoke to. 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. Legislation pending in Russia, for example, could, if implemented, curtail Western missionary enterprises. 5:12). This has some truth to it, but is mostly false. 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. I assumed this would somehow convince me not to continue on my discovery of the Orthodox Church, but it has more solidified it! When I visit prisons where floors are shiny, morale is noticeably higher. It was like seeing a face emerge from a random pattern of dots, and then wink at you. Oden, for example, who delights in referring to his theological method as "paleo-orthodox," is now working on a comprehensive patristic commentary on the whole Bible to be published by InterVarsity Press.