why convert to orthodox christianity

Failing to remember (or be taught) this, we are scandalized and even lose our faith in the Church, not distinguishing between the divine and human natures, or confusing them. As I realized what the big difference is,I grew more insistent, I'm afraid. Recently I worshiped at an Orthodox church in Palo Alto on this celebration of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. 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. A person (who is searching within) goes through clerical education to explore questions. She rightly claims the wholeness of the truth. People are attracted by the permanence of Orthodoxy. Georgia, 3 million It is no small thing for us to hold in common all the early, Christian creeds. 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. 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 ex clergy thing I think is very real. 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. 3:15). 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. Maybe you have to soak in it for years, till the evidence becomes overwhelming. 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. 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. Experience Church Services. It takes awhile to get it, because its gotten by a process of immersion, by soaking in a context of worship. This perspective presupposes a defective Christologyone that fails to account for the anthropos of the theanthropic (Divine-human) Church. 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. But only lately has it dawned on me that I must have strained friendships over the years due to my vocal enthusiasm for my adopted church. Made using e, Book Cover for the Epistle 1:4). Thus, while the Protestant principle of sola scriptura places Scripture above tradition, for Orthodoxy the two are complementary means of one organic whole through which the Spirit of God speaks. Beliefnet is a lifestyle website providing feature editorial content around the topics of inspiration, spirituality, health, wellness, love and family, news and entertainment. 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. 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. Converting to Orthodox Judaism Is a Lot. Here's How 3 Women Did It. - ELLE T he Orthodox Church in the United States has problems. It took me a few years to sense that there was a whole other something going on. Missiological concerns surface here, too. 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. Despite its historical estrangement from Rome, from a Protestant theological perspective Orthodoxy is similar to Catholicism at several points. There is a certain chemistry involved, which one cannot so easily verbalize. Orthodoxy allows divorce in some conditions if I'm not mistaken, and it would have been an easier transition to switch to another powerful church (and become friendly with Russia, etc.). Bauxite mining would threaten birds, plants, and clean water. He has no good option for dealing with that affection, so he's either sullen or angry. 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. Orthodoxy is true to the Lord, to herself and to her past. Why did you convert to Orthodoxy? | OrthodoxChristianity.net Vladimir I and Christianization | Western Civilization - Lumen Learning 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. Circumcision controversy in early Christianity - Wikipedia I felt like Marco Polo. Holy Orders are a mystery (sacrament) of the Church, and the Spirit blows where it will. Some have even ended in apostasy. Thatwould be interesting. On the other hand, there are cases where a person rejects the Church for what I would consider to be erroneous reasons. Alexandria, 350,000 Unfortunately most "Orthodox Christian" are nominal even despite their active presence they are nominal because they extinguish the Holy Spirit and do not have a relationship with God, they outwardly seem to be praying but like the Pharisee praise themselves for being 'good with God'. Later ecumenical councils at Constantinople (381) and Chalcedon (451) acknowledged Constantinople as the "New Rome" and accorded it "equal privileges" and "equal rank in ecclesiastical matters" with Latin Rome. 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. And during those years of discovery, my mind was constantly cranking away as I laboured to absorb new ideas and excise stubborn old ones. "More than a . But I slowly came to see that I cant communicate it. But the impulse is to exaggerate the differences when you fear being hugged to death. Fr. At one level, I was close in heart and mind to my Orthodox sisters and brothers in Christ; but on another level, I agreed with many of my atheist friends' criticisms of Russian Orthodoxy. These groups mostly came over willingly. Her name is right belief. Let us know if corrections need to be made. 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. Why Would A Protestant Christian Convert to Eastern Orthodox - YouTube 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. It makes no appeal to a doctrine of transubstantiation and instead simply affirms the mystery. Why Converts to Christian Orthodoxy can be Obnoxious, People who've found their way back to Orthodoxy, Theophan the Recluse on Spiritual Practice. 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. 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." ", Icons are not merely sacred art. Becoming Orthodox is not a conversion but more so a transformation of self. In the end, they concocted a list of reasons for not converting. I've chosen Oriental Orthodoxy over the Byzantine Church because I believe that ours is closer in doctrine and liturgy to the earliest Christians. There is a myth in Orthodoxy that people only became Eastern Catholics under force by Catholic kings. If a richer liturgical life is what a believer wants, converting to Orthodoxy is hardly necessary. For good and ill, it is a classic "cultural religion," and comprehending Orthodoxy is an indispensable key to understanding those countries, cultures, and people. Worshipers prostrate themselves before them and kiss them. Submitted by Fr. Greenland. Conversion to Christianity - Wikipedia 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 is the only Church, originally founded by Christ and still retaining the apostolic succession and the undistorted teaching of the Lord and . Orthodoxy, in contrast, is a thoroughly aesthetic tradition, as attested by the central role played by icons. 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. And such a journey can only be spoken of from experience. Baptism is the primary and fundamental basis of the entire Orthodox Christian life. Linguistic factors posed other, very practical problems. Orthodox Christianity may be the o. It depends on where you put the emphasis. 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 Each of them had his idiosyncrasies, and they regularly disagreed. 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?" 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. 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. Orthodox believers see things very differently. Not to be outdone, the Orthodox could respond in kind. 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. "Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." Turning to Jesus brings you to God, and you begin to understand His plan of salvation. You can also subscribe without commenting. Why had a group of conservative American Christians converted to Russian Orthodoxy? Then C" The strengths of a group draws them but after a while the weaknesses bubble up. If only they would realise that they are rotting corpses trapped in worshipping themselves. Wynona doesn't indicate why the parish priest has done this, but it would appear from the context that the priest objects to her marrying an . Why are Young People Becoming Orthodox? Engage Orthodoxy And such a journey can only be spoken of from experience. The secret is out. 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. Most people like to be polite and get along, so they highlight our commonalities. Why did Vladimir convert to Orthodox Christianity? July 26, 2019 By Fr. 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. These Protestant movements, important in their own right, are liturgical light years from Orthodoxy. Why Ultra-Orthodox Jews Are Turning to Jesus | Opinion News St. Theophan The Recluse On Spiritual Practice. Buddhism and Conversion to Orthodoxy - Questions & Answers - Orthodox Rather, for Orthodoxy the whole people of God is the protector of apostolic tradition. Orthodox Christians viewed the filioque amendment to be contrary to explicit instructions by past ecumenical councils not to change the creeds. Through the centuries, theological, geopolitical, cultural, and linguistic factors have combined to differentiate the Orthodox ethos from Western patterns of Christianity. For them the fundamental schism occurred 500 years earlierin the year 1054 (more about that below). As we said, conversion is a love affair. Nicholas Kim. 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. And I would try hard, no doubt to the point of rudeness, to convince them this was not so. After five years or so in the Orthodox Church, Ive seen a lot of friends and acquaintances come home to the apostolic faith. Conversion means belief and acceptance in Jesus Christ, the God-man, as the Savior of the world. Why did you convert to Orthodoxy? | OrthodoxChristianity.net 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?. 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 . Put more starkly, Orthodoxy explicitly rejects the historic Protestant idea of sola scriptura. Essential for clergy to pray together, to talk, and to encourage one another in Christ?

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