At the beginning, I thought I knew what I was getting into. 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. 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. A person (who is searching within) goes through clerical education to explore questions. There are two accounts of Constantine's conversion to Christianity. 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. And for Orthodoxy, this argument from holy tradition is of great significance. We have challenges here in Africa to find such information for, So glorious+++ Most Holy Theotokos save us, Pectoral Cross 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. 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. I assumed this would somehow convince me not to continue on my discovery of the Orthodox Church, but it has more solidified it! 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. Even more obnoxious, though, must be the tendency to reject hospitality. Why Are Protestants Converting To Orthodox Christianity? Rather, for Orthodoxy the whole people of God is the protector of apostolic tradition. Ignatius's followers, however, refused to acknowledge the transition, and eventually both Ignatius and Photius appealed to Pope Nicholas (858-67) in Rome. Step Two: Repentance There is no salvation without repentance. True, Luther and some other Protestants have not viewed baptismal regeneration and justification by faith as mutually exclusive. "I was A. For the past year or so I have been considering conversion to Orthodox Christianity. All Rights ReservedDesigned by Fr. Other religions and faiths occupy themselves with this life, with this world. 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. In the year 311, Emperor Constantine moved the political capital of his empire from Rome to Constantinople. I had been to the east and discovered something wondrous that I assumed all Christians crave. However, they rarely spent any time in Orthodox worship services or their local parish, developed no relationship with a priest, and did not engage their spouse or family in their studies and interest in the Church. I sincerely wish to know everyone's reasons for converting to Orthodoxy. Worshipers prostrate themselves before them and kiss them. And these prayers are jam-packed. Theological disputes combined with these geopolitical and cultural factors to divide the Christian East and West. That is, Orthodoxy's commitment to "right belief" provides a natural link to evangelical concerns. Icons are absolutely central to Orthodoxy, distinguishing it from both Catholicism and Protestantism. Orthodox churches are full of them. Required fields are marked *. At a minimum, Protestants need to move beyond ignorance of these neighbors. The rise of Islam after Muhammad (died 632) was likewise crucial. But unlike the other two large branches of Christianity, which have spread throughout the developing world, Orthodoxy remains largely confined to Europe. 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 . Thank you for this post! And while they are just beginning to recover, he says, Protestants invade, with all their Western resources, and attempt to draw away the very people the Russian Orthodox Church is attempting to nurture in the faith. No doubt, I felt at home when first attending the Divine Liturgy, but this was after months of study and discussion with other Orthodox people. Orthodox spiritual life gives central prominence to the sacraments. 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. The essence of it was to evangelize younger aristocrats, future leaders of the land. He promptly left Constantinople. What Scripture proclaims by word, the icon proclaims by color. Submitted by Fr. The pairing of both secular groups with the Orthodox in a religious freedom case is rare they have frequently been on opposite sides on church-state separation issues such as same-sex marriage . Baptism is the primary and fundamental basis of the entire Orthodox Christian life. Its not something you can figure out by studying the Church Fathers. These arguments wont convert anyone. This book cover is mad, Worship Gospel 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 took me a few years to sense that there was a whole other something going on. St. Theophan The Recluse On Spiritual Practice. 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. I love the Church, and so I find it difficult to understand how a person could not see the beauty in our faith, leaving it all behind. Needless to say, Rome was indignant; not until the Lateran Council of 1215 did it acknowledge the status of Constantinople. My ideas havent changed, and Im always glad for a good discussion, but maybe Im past the need to belabor them. Heres a clue to a third possibility. "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. So Christianity would not have been completely alien to the Rus, and even Vladimir's grandmother, Olga, would become enamored with Christianity. And these prayers are jam-packed. 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. There is an organic quality here, and the thing itself is inexpressibly alive. Why Converts to Christian Orthodoxy can be Obnoxious, People who've found their way back to Orthodoxy, Theophan the Recluse on Spiritual Practice. And during those years of discovery, my mind was constantly cranking away as I laboured to absorb new ideas and excise stubborn old ones. 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. The stability that the Orthodox Church provides for the seeker consists in the assurance of the truth she possesses, her other-worldly and mysterious character, the beauty of her liturgical celebrations and her crucified lifethey all attest to what she is for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear: the unique, beloved Bride of Christ. Home / Whatever honor Protestants bestow upon tradition, they deny that its authority is coequal with Scripture. Over coffee one day I asked an Orthodox priest whether I, as a Protestant theologian, might be considered a true Christian. Maybe you have to soak in it for years, till the evidence becomes overwhelming. 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. 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 sacraments. Thats surely a factor, but I think theres something else going on, more specific to Orthodox converts. The Mission of The Orthodox Church in America, the local autocephalous Orthodox Christian Church, is to be faithful in fulfilling the commandment of Christ to Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 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. Many would find themselves back in Rus with their new faith and establishing Churches (Spinka, 42-44). Others charge complicity with the state, both past and present. 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. Preeminent among the sacraments are baptism and the Eucharist. Their new group who were so "excited" to have them isn't interested/has no role for them as clergy. 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 is not always easy to advance strong arguments for these conversions. 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. I cant be the only one to have done this. Despite efforts at reunification, to this day the Catholic and Orthodox churches remain estranged. 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. Different Orthodox theories exist as to what, exactly, this means. Buddhists are called to meditate. In the first place, Christians believed Jesus to be the true God rather than a semi-god. All rights reserved. The East allowed some priests to marry, while the West required celibacy. Chrysostom's liturgy says of the Eucharistic sacrifice: "Your own, from your own, we offer you, in all and for all." Here is an overview of the steps you can take to convert to Orthodox Christianity: Talk With an Orthodox Priest. Lol. Rather, they are a source of revelation. 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. 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. There I was, a Protestant theologian teaching in the former Department of Scientific Atheism in the land where Eastern Orthodoxy had reigned for over 1,000 years. 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. My husband had been an Episcopal priest for 16 years, and we had gradually moved from evangelical-style "low church" to the more liturgically-fancy "high church." The Orthodox Church is the ancient Church that Christ and the Apostles established. 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. Its that Orthodoxy still passes on the early churchs knowledge of how to tune in to the presence of Christ. In Orthodoxy one encounters the eternal, unchangeable God. 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. More than 70 percent of the roughly 75,000 Antiochian Orthodox Christians in the United States are converts. He sailed to Greenland with a priest to convert the people. 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. Because of my interest for eastern culture, negative views on catholicism (I live in a mostly catholic country) and protestantism and my fascisnation for the Orthodox Church, i decided to convert to just that. But dont do it for all the wrong reasons. To support our efforts, join us as a member . 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. What are we to make, for example, of the Orthodox liturgy in Russia today, which is recited in ninth-century Slavonic, a language very few Russians even understand? 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. 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. 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. It was electrifying. It is not a surprise that many Catholics adhering to traditional values are converting to conservative Orthodoxy. Click for reprint information. The reason Orthodoxy is stable is because she is grounded in the truth. Indeed, what Protestant converts to Orthodoxy have often sought is not only a conscious continuity with the historic, apostolic past, but also a richer experience of God's majesty and mystery through a more liturgical worship setting. 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. Other times it is a youth group or Bible study group inspiring and educating. They saw this as a perception skill, something anyone could (with diligent practice) hone; it has nothing to do with emotion. Along with Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity is one of the world's three major Christian traditions. 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. Who can explain why one has fallen in love with a given person? 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.". Since then, Western and Eastern Christianity developed separately, under very different social and cultural conditions. 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. July 2012 edited December 1969 in Coptic Orthodox Church As an Eastern Orthodox Christian, I am interested in finding out why all of you converts out there converted to the Coptic Orthodox Church, and not any one of the Eastern Orthodox Churches readily available in so many parts of the world. People often assume that most Jews by choice convert because they have a partner or spouse who is Jewish. It makes no appeal to a doctrine of transubstantiation and instead simply affirms the mystery. The priest censes them and elevates them in processions. Orthodoxy insists tenaciously on the role of tradition which is her very life and builds upon its past, without revisions. Excellent comment Kosmas, I totally concur. But that cant be the case with me, so lets press on. Thatwould be interesting. Beliefnet is a lifestyle website providing feature editorial content around the topics of inspiration, spirituality, health, wellness, love and family, news and entertainment. 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. 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. One of the problems the Orthodox Church currently suffers in this country is a lack of converts. In addition, a new convert must undergo a formal process of initiation. Put more starkly, Orthodoxy explicitly rejects the historic Protestant idea of sola scriptura. Why did Vladimir convert to Orthodox Christianity? Nicholas Kim. There are other problems as well: overlapping jurisdictions, lack of communication across jurisdictional lines, and a tendency to isolate ourselves from communities in which we live. Those friends benefit, no doubt, from this opportunity to practice patience and long-suffering. These Protestant movements, important in their own right, are liturgical light years from Orthodoxy. He has no good option for dealing with that affection, so he's either sullen or angry. She is the Church of martyrs. It was like seeing a face emerge from a random pattern of dots, and then wink at you. (To be fair, we should note that a large number of Orthodox have become evangelical Protestants as well.). This is no archaic, dusty doctrine, either. 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. Can we attempt to put into words why a host of people have converted and continue to convert to the Orthodox faith? This is particularly notable in the mid-1st century, when the circumcision controversy came to the fore. 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. 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. He has no good option for dealing with that affection, so hes either sullen or angry. I think people just dont believe me, and I hardly provide a good personal example. Thus Luther once wrote, "What else do I contend for but to bring everyone to an understanding of the difference between the divine Scripture and human teaching or custom?" But I slowly came to see that I cant communicate it. But the little guy is not going through a phase. Vladimir I, a great prince of Kiev, reigned from 980 till 1015 and succeeded in the mass conversion of the Eastern Slavs.1 Throughout his reign Vladimir's agenda had . 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. The numbers are staggering! Affectionate attempts to obscure this quest feel suffocating. 1. What was the impact of Vladimir I converting to Greek Orthodox Christianity in the region of Byzantium? Such a question cannot be answered through the use of dogmatic assertions or theoretical musings. Q&A: A closer look at Orthodox Christians. 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. Russia, 50-85 million Each of them had his idiosyncrasies, and they regularly disagreed. 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?" Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. 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." 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. The sacraments of the Church have helped fill countless young people's lives with meaning in ways that are difficult to find elsewhere. There are no doubt some ways that he is the same person he will always be, and there are ways Orthodoxy and every other church has significant points in common, not least that we love the same Lord. YouTube | The last reason Orthodox converts are obnoxious resembles the reason adolescents are obnoxious. 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. 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. But the Church is not dependent upon any one convert or their family, nor will the Church reward people (beyond the mysteries and salvation) for converting. This book cover is made to order i, Hand-painted Icon of Christ the Pantocrator (acryl. 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. 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. Have something to add about this? Affectionate attempts to obscure this quest feel suffocating. 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 of well, 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. Cerularius condemned Humbert and entreated Orthodox believers to "flee the fellowship of those who have accepted the heretical Latins." What was the foreign policy of Yaroslav the Wise? It was electrifying. Orthodox believers see things very differently. Two theological controversies drove the final wedge between Catholic and Orthodox Christians: papal supremacy and the so-called filioque controversy. I cant be the only one to have done this. 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.). tap housing assistance roanoke, va, does security clearance check bank accounts, bear quartz hybrid banger,
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