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. How to Become an Orthodox Christian? Beyond the recovery of history and liturgy, there are deeper and more important questions. What steps would I take to become an Orthodox Christian? For church membership? And yet, not all of these journeys have worked out. Put another way, we must invoke the spirit of irenic disagreement in the formula: "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity." Playing as Rurik in 862: Convert to local religion or keep Norse Converting to Orthodox Christianity : r/OrthodoxChristianity - reddit Orthodox believers see things very differently. There is a distinct set of conservative converts to Eastern Orthodoxy, which depending on your perspective either left, or was left by, Roman Catholicism in the Great Schism of 1054. 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. 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. Excellent comment Kosmas, I totally concur. Eastern Christians would hear nothing of it. True, Luther and some other Protestants have not viewed baptismal regeneration and justification by faith as mutually exclusive. I can remember, after Id been Orthodox a few years, developing an increasing sense of tension or frustration. "It's typically an immigrant faith, so I was really interested in that experience and why it spoke to. Small bodies of Orthodox believers exist in other places as "autonomous" but not "autocephalous" churches (Finland, Japan, former Czechoslovakia, etc.). Converting to Orthodoxy : r/OrthodoxChristianity Rather, they are a source of revelation. Those friends benefit, no doubt, from this opportunity to practice patience and long-suffering. Required fields are marked *. PDF The Conversion of Vladimir the Great to Orthodox Christianity Orthodoxy provides a full-bodied, full-souled spiritual life that assumes that everything you do as a Christian makes you either more like God or less like Him, and because becoming like God is what salvation consists of, that means that everything you do is critical. Who Converted Russian Religion To Orthodox Christianity? The Orthodox Church has existed since the day of Pentecost and when we truly believe and become truly attached, not merely by baptism or chrismation, not merely by our presence but by our actions and our inner convictions, then and only then do we truly become connected to the Church, to Jesus Christ the Saviour and therefore to the Trinitarian God, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit. One who would claim that he or she wishes to embrace the faith but doesnt want to get involved with other people and their lives falls short in his or her understanding of the Church as the People of God and, as such, has yet to make that internal conversion that must take place before one is received into the Church. Orthodox Sep 9, 2019 #1 For those who converted like myself, why did you? Preeminent among the sacraments are baptism and the Eucharist. This is not just an explanation but an apology, and even an appreciation for the perseverance of friendship in the face of truly annoying behaviour. 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). To my friend who asked why I had not converted to Orthodoxy, the answer was surprisingly easy. 5:12). Missiological concerns surface here, too. The sacraments of the Church have helped fill countless young people's lives with meaning in ways that are difficult to find elsewhere. He states that in Gaul, before setting out towards Rome, Constantine and his army saw a great cross in the sky. Orthodoxy knows where she stands, and she is in no need to re-define herself. Icons are absolutely central to Orthodoxy, distinguishing it from both Catholicism and Protestantism. The sum of all parts wont add to the total. The Orthodox Church has suffered throughout her history. 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. 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. Ignatius's followers, however, refused to acknowledge the transition, and eventually both Ignatius and Photius appealed to Pope Nicholas (858-67) in Rome. There is an organic quality here, and the thing itself is inexpressibly alive. He mentions one Church, not many. 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. My Conversion from Islam to Orthodoxy - ORTHODOX CHEYENNE 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. 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. But the little guy is not going through a phase. What was the foreign policy of Yaroslav the Wise? Almost everyone around me was a Baptist. However, because I've never been really exposed to . Why did YOU convert to the Coptic Orthodox Church? A radical conversion to Christianity. It makes no appeal to a doctrine of transubstantiation and instead simply affirms the mystery. 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. Who can explain why one has fallen in love with a given person? The Catalog of Good Deeds is the official blog of the Catalogue of St. Elisabeth Convent. In any event, feel free to introduce yourself to and speak with the priest and his parishioners. 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. 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. Vladimir fled to his kinsman Haakon Sigurdsson, who ruled Norway at the time. Romania, 19.8 million The percentage of foreign born Orthodox Christians is no larger than the percentage in the population at large. But about this pursuit we can make several observations. I cant be the only one to have done this. Legislation pending in Russia, for example, could, if implemented, curtail Western missionary enterprises. 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.". This is no archaic, dusty doctrine, either. The ex clergy thing I think is very real. Converting to Orthodoxy - SPCK Publishing 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). Spiritual enlightenment changes everything. See something we missed? 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.). "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 Reasons Why You Should Not Convert to Orthodox Christianity 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. * T he Orthodox Church in the United States has problems. But unlike the other two large branches of Christianity, which have spread throughout the developing world, Orthodoxy remains largely confined to Europe. 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. 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. 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. In the first place, Christians believed Jesus to be the true God rather than a semi-god. The reality of the difficulty of living the Orthodox life then bubbles up, and apostasy from exhaustion is a real risk. And during those years of discovery, my mind was constantly cranking away as I laboured to absorb new ideas and excise stubborn old ones. Ask An Eastern Orthodox Christian: Conversion Process - SpokaneFVS Rather, "theosis" (literally, "deification"), or the progressive transformation of people into full likeness to God, in soul and body, takes center stage. Wow, like it very much. 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. Circumcision controversy in early Christianity - Wikipedia Kind of like large scale serial monogamous people. Geoff. 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. Sara Villate, 10, by a menorah during Hanukkah. Rich worship taught the faith to literate and illiterate, peasant and emperor, and its essentially the same as our worship today. In Catholicism this external dogmatic authority resides in the teaching magisterium of the church as expressed in the primacy and infallibility of the papacy. 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. 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. In Russia, the largest figure usually cited for the Orthodox Church is 85 million people (some estimates are as low as 50 million), which means 100 million Russiansmore than half the countryare not affiliated with Orthodoxy. Scripture and tradition. Not to be outdone, the Orthodox could respond in kind. My ideas havent changed, and Im always glad for a good discussion, but maybe Im past the need to belabor them. 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. A second theory is that converts of any sort have a tendency to exuberance that is wearying to outsiders. Through the centuries, theological, geopolitical, cultural, and linguistic factors have combined to differentiate the Orthodox ethos from Western patterns of Christianity. During those years of discovery I labored to absorb new ideas and excise stubborn old ones. And I would try hard, no doubt to the point of rudeness, to convince them this was not so. In 867, Patriarch Photius of Constantinople told other Christian patriarchs that the Rus' people were converting enthusiastically, but his efforts seem to have entailed no lasting consequences, since the Primary Chronicle and other Slavonic sources describe the tenth-century Rus' as still firmly entrenched in Slavic paganism. Why Ultra-Orthodox Jews Are Turning to Jesus | Opinion News 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. Your email address will not be published. We have challenges here in Africa to find such information for, So glorious+++ Most Holy Theotokos save us, Pectoral Cross Orthodox Christianity offers a third solution, that is faith with an emphasis on symbolism, inner experience, and Church communion. Catholicism and Orthodoxy are not alike in their views on the nature of theological authority; it is nevertheless correct to say that Orthodoxy, like Catholicism, views Protestantism in a similar negative manner. Albania, 160,000. There is an organic quality here, and the thing itself is inexpressibly alive. Thank you for this! Why have so many Evangelical ministers embraced the Orthodox faith? The first is by Lactantius, a tutor to Constantine's son and a good authority. The last reason Orthodox converts are obnoxious resembles the reason adolescents are obnoxious. 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. Some have even ended in apostasy. These groups mostly came over willingly. Everyone associates Orthodox worship with sensory richness, but its also rich in theological content. From Islam to Indonesian Orthodox Priest In "Clergy" 97% of Moldovans Identify as Orthodox Christians In "Latest Stories" 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." For taking Communion together? In the end, they concocted a list of reasons for not converting. The secret is out. 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. Today 23 percent of all Orthodox Christians in the United Statesabout one in fourare converts, as are 30 percent of the clergy and 43 percent of seminarians. The conversion of 2,000 evangelicals in 17 congregations "from Alaska to Atlanta" in 1987, recounted in Peter Gillquist's Becoming Orthodox, is only a small window into a larger phenomenon. 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. The first, most obvious explanation is that some people simply are obnoxious to start with. Second, Christian theology perfectly explained why Jesus, who was also called a prophet, was worthy of worship. Its not something you can figure out by studying the Church Fathers. Site Map | Your email address will not be published. Christians in the West variously trace their roots to Rome (Catholics), Wittenberg (Lutherans), Geneva (Calvinists), Canterbury (Anglicans), or Oxford (Wesleyans). If you have a specific question about Orthodox Christianity or the Orthodox Church in America, Photius then branded the entire Western church as heretical for inserting the phrase "and the Son" (filioque) into the Nicene Creed. It depends on where you put the emphasis. 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 . 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. 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. An Appeal to Traditional Roman Catholics From - Orthodox Christianity 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. In some places in the world, Orthodoxy is the primary Christian game in town (as in Russia and Serbia), and it is inextricably wedded to the local ethnic culture. However, I do think that there are certain factors that influence and even cause these abandonments and apostasies from the one, true Church. Other religions and faiths occupy themselves with this life, with this world. As I realized what the big difference is, I grew more insistent, Im afraid. These Protestant movements, important in their own right, are liturgical light years from Orthodoxy. Modern speculation is simply just that, speculation, and . There is a certain chemistry involved, which one cannot so easily verbalize. It depends on where you put the emphasis. Greenland. 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/. Orthodoxy looks forward, to the age to come. In this video, Fr. 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." While some did come over by force, the Orthodox also forcibly converted large numbers of Eastern Catholics Orthodoxy. Handcarved 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. Women and men who marry into the Orthodox Jewish faith are required to convertand both genders follow an identical process. Yeah, I think Ive gotten it out of my system. It is often wrongly assumed that Orthodoxy . For them the fundamental schism occurred 500 years earlierin the year 1054 (more about that below). Many people believe the Church is a social group gathering or a place to network with other like minded people. Receive updates and announcements from Orthodox Witness. Further, Protestants have long enjoyed rich liturgical traditions of their own (see, for example, Bard Thompson's classic Liturgies of the Western Church). Like baptism, the Eucharist is administered to infants. Intellectuals, like one of my students at Moscow University, often disdain Orthodoxy as a "medieval mentality." She has offered more martyrs in the twentieth century under communism than most churches have members. 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. There was plenty of ceremony and beauty, but without the mainline churches affection for keeping up-to-date. 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. Learn About the Religion. Orthodox churches are full of them. (2 Pet. We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendor or beauty anywhere upon earth. Why Are Protestants Converting To Orthodox Christianity? Why do Orthodox Christians keep a vigil at the Tomb of Christ? Four important areas deserve ongoing dialogue. 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 . As we move constantly between Unity and Trinity in God, so we must move between the parts and the whole in the Church, the whole being infinitely more than the sum of the parts. It is not a surprise that many Catholics adhering to traditional values are converting to conservative Orthodoxy. These are worthy pursuits that can be fulfilled in the Orthodox Church. Anxious to avoid the siege of his capital, Basil II turned to the Rus' for assistance, even though they were considered enemies at that time. "I was A. A priest can provide guidance and support to help converts discern whether the religion is right for them. For Eastern Christians, this was yet another Roman encroachment upon their autonomy. And these prayers are jam-packed. Instead, an adolescent has to figure out and establish his adult persona in the face of affection. I cant be the only one to have done this. Conversion means belief and acceptance in Jesus Christ, the God-man, as the Savior of the world. Why are so many Christians in Colombia converting to Orthodox Judaism Facebook | In 1993, I was chrismated and joined the Eastern Orthodox Church. More than 70 percent of the roughly 75,000 Antiochian Orthodox Christians in the United States are converts. The so-called Photian Schism brought this matter to a head. Get the best from CT editors, delivered straight to your inbox! But perhaps our theology of the church is too "low," much lower than our Protestant forebears would have it.