why convert to orthodox christianity

In the security of the Orthodox Church one finds peace, reassurance. But perhaps our theology of the church is too "low," much lower than our Protestant forebears would have it. He shares his witness of it. Underneath were written the Greek words en toutoi nika, "In this sign, conquer." For any convert, it's a spiritual, intense, and private process,. 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. These Protestant movements, important in their own right, are liturgical light years from Orthodoxy. The sacraments. Kind of like large scale serial monogamous people. Why Are Protestants Converting To Orthodox Christianity? Debate is more plentiful than research, but also indefinite. Thatwould be interesting. 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. 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." You can make an appointment to talk to our parish priest Fr Athanasios by contacting him at (03) 9387 7693. What they objected to was the elevation of tradition to the status of Scripture. 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. However, I do think that there are certain factors that influence and even cause these abandonments and apostasies from the one, true Church. Russian Baptists, Adventists, and Pentecostals feel persecuted. 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. Perhaps this unanticipated experience of encountering something unknown and marvelously organic accounts for the distinctive lapel-grabbing impulse among converts to Orthodoxy. The last reason Orthodox converts are obnoxious resembles the reason adolescents are obnoxious. Copyright 19962023. 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. Becoming Orthodox means being willing to submit to the Church and Her bishops, who might not be interested in ordaining you. But every church must have its distinctives, or wed all be in the same church. People are attracted by the permanence of Orthodoxy. It is often wrongly assumed that Orthodoxy . But unlike the other two large branches of Christianity, which have spread throughout the developing world, Orthodoxy remains largely confined to Europe. But the human warts of where they are at and continuing searching within causes them to look elsewhere. Orthodox Christians were more inclined to appeal to the ecumenical councils than to a single bishop to settle theological matters. This statement cannot be challenged. It was electrifying. Thank you for this! As we said, conversion is a love affair. 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. Scripture and tradition. All Rights ReservedDesigned by Fr. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. As with liturgy, conversion to Orthodoxy is hardly a prerequisite for a renewed engagement with apostolic tradition. At times it can be a healing group especially during the Liturgical services in particular the Eucharist and the Holy Prayer Oil services. During my project I gained. Shortly after the beginning of our own catechumenate as a family, we saw friendsand their familiesbegin journeys towards the East. Bulgaria, 8 million For example, if a person goes through a great deal of hardship, sacrifice, and turmoil in order to join the Churchas in the case of former clergy in a different communion, or when ones family does not approvethey might feel that the Church owes them for converting. As I realized what the big difference is,I grew more insistent, I'm afraid. Almost everyone around me was a Baptist. It was electrifying. What do they find so attractive? Why do people convert to Orthodoxy? As a young convert to Orthodox Christianity myself, I can testify that confession and Communion have filled my life meaning and have directed me when I have felt lost. 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. Orthodoxy, advocates suggest, reveals and corrects evangelical reductionism and superficiality. To support our efforts, join us as a member . 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. 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.). Through the centuries, theological, geopolitical, cultural, and linguistic factors have combined to differentiate the Orthodox ethos from Western patterns of Christianity. At the beginning, I thought I knew what I was getting into. Luther urged that Christianity would stand or fall with this doctrine; Calvin called it "the hinge upon which all true religion turns.". In any event, feel free to introduce yourself to and speak with the priest and his parishioners. Indeed, in a letter of 865, Pope Nicholas made it clear that he intended to extend the power of the papacy "over all the earth, that is, over every church." Such a question cannot be answered through the use of dogmatic assertions or theoretical musings. Conversion means belief and acceptance in Jesus Christ, the God-man, as the Savior of the world. 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." Another danger is converting to Orthodoxy simply because it is beautiful. But why is our kind so characteristically obnoxious? As Saint Paul reminds us, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another [Romans 12:5; see also Ephesians 4:25]. It takes a while to get it, because its received by a process of immersion, by soaking in a context of worship. Thats surely a factor, but I think theres something else going on, more specific to Orthodox converts. It is a good question, one I will answer in due course. 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. 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. A Christian representation of Vladimir I, who was the first Rus' leader to officially bring Christianity to the region. 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. Orthodox Sep 9, 2019 #1 For those who converted like myself, why did you? Her admirable heritage of perseverance amid terrible fires of persecution has been noted even by non-Orthodox admirers, as one of her strongest attractions and sources of strength. It doesnt matter how long they have served, or how extensive their education. It was like seeing a face emerge from a random pattern of dots, and then wink at you. A person (who is searching within) goes through clerical education to explore questions. For them the fundamental schism occurred 500 years earlierin the year 1054 (more about that below). Spiritual enlightenment changes everything. ", Icons are not merely sacred art. 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. 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). An evangelical explores the ancient and alien world of the Eastern church. Before long, in Reformation churches the sermon had replaced the Eucharist as the defining moment of the liturgy. Why would a Protestant Christian convert to Eastern Orthodox Christianity? In 978, Vladimir returned to . 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. Contact | 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. It is not always easy to advance strong arguments for these conversions. 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 is why I think a number of people have a list of groups they have been in here. 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. Although my parents intentionally raised my brother and me without a focus on . 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. They are the efficacious means by which God transmits his salvific and sanctifying grace to us. But whether a non-Orthodox person can even be saved is an open question in Orthodox ecclesiology. In this video, Fr. A second theory is that converts of any sort have a tendency to exuberance that is wearying to outsiders. It took awhile because I grasped it through hearing the hymns of the church year, week in and week out. He mentions one Church, not many. Like baptism, the Eucharist is administered to infants. 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. For me it was due to the fact that papal supremacy is a later doctrine, yet I could not become a Protestant because the writings of the Fathers do not agree with Protestantism. Orthodoxy is true to the Lord, to herself and to her past. The reason Orthodoxy is stable is because she is grounded in the truth. 5:12). Other times it is a youth group or Bible study group inspiring and educating. Made using e, Book Cover for the Epistle She rightly claims the wholeness of the truth. 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. All Rights ReservedDesigned by Fr. Orthodoxy, in contrast, is a thoroughly aesthetic tradition, as attested by the central role played by icons. Your email address will not be published. In Orthodoxy one encounters the eternal, unchangeable God. 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. The Catalog of Good Deeds is the official blog of the Catalogue of St. Elisabeth Convent. Its just that Orthodoxy still passes on the early churchs knowledge of how to tune in to the presence of Christ. 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. I've chosen Oriental Orthodoxy over the Byzantine Church because I believe that ours is closer in doctrine and liturgy to the earliest Christians.