Let's Talk About Eastern Orthodox... [Archive]

choirfiend

17th October 2006, 05:57 PM

Hello! Welcome to TAW!

I'm Eastern Orthodox because I believe it to be Christ's Church, His Body on earth.

Brief history: The Church was united for the first 1000 years or so. Eventually, the Roman Bishop, through poltical, cultural, and ethnic means, never mind the added religious ones, expressed the desire to assert authority over the entire Church. The rest of the Church, with it's conciliar nature of all bishops, priests, deacons, and laity coming together to express the Faith once delivered unto the saints, disagreed with this. The issue reached the boiling point when the Bishop of Rome changed the Christian Creed that the entire Church had settled upon and decreed unchangable, except by another entire-Church council. So Rome left the other 4 main centers of Christianity, and is the Roman Catholic Church today. So this is why we do not answer to the Pope. The Orthodox teaching and historical background is that we never answered to the Pope! Not unless we lived in Rome or his disrict of the West, anyway. So this separation, which occurred in 1054AD, is the root of the schism of Rome from Orthodoxy (from our view, of course).

We believe that the RCC teaching on any number of things has gone off track---especially in the following areas, which we do not believe in whatsoever:

RCC's take on Original Sin
which led to
Immaculate Conception of Mary

The Filioque ("the Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son) change in the Creed, which we believe creates a distorted teaching of the Holy Trinity, which is formative in creating
Supremacy of the Bishop of Rome and
Infallibility of the Bishop of Rome

Then there are lots of practical differences, such as approaches to Spirituality, Sacramental purposes, married clergy, etc etc etc.

This just gives the titles of some of the major doctrines that we do not believe in, but I'm sure we can discuss what Orthodoxy teaches in more depth if you wish!

Saint_Rita

17th October 2006, 06:07 PM

This just gives the titles of some of the major doctrines that we do not believe in, but I'm sure we can discuss what Orthodoxy teaches in more depth if you wish!

WOW Thank you so much for the great reply... Does Orthodoxy practice intecessory prayer through Saints and Mary?

I know I will be having more questions. I'm going through some searching right now re: Roman Catholicism (and it has been very difficult for me) so please bear with me.

Lotar

17th October 2006, 06:11 PM

Yes, we pray to the Mother of God and the Saints. :)

Breaking Babylon

17th October 2006, 06:18 PM

WOW Thank you so much for the great reply... Does Orthodoxy practice intecessory prayer through Saints and Mary?

I know I will be having more questions. I'm going through some searching right now re: Roman Catholicism (and it has been very difficult for me) so please bear with me.

Yes, we pray for their intercession. :)

May God be with you in your searching. Ask as many questions as you want, you won't leave empty-handed I assure you.

ClementofRome

17th October 2006, 06:38 PM

Welcome to TAW. Pull up a rocking chair and ask away!

Greg the byzantine

17th October 2006, 07:01 PM

Welcome to TAW :) .

Why am I Eastern Orthodox?

Well My mother and Father took me when I was a baby to this big building with icons that smelled like candles and incence, and then this big guy with a beard dunked me in a big vat of cold water and said I baptize the servant of God, Gregory (as in the The Servant of God whose name is Gregory ;) ), in the Name of the Father :Whoosh Splash: and the Son :Whoosh Splash: and the Holy Spirit :Whoopsh Splash:. Then they covered me in oil, and then he annointed me with Chrism saying "The gift of the Seal of the Holy Spirit" And the rest is history ;)

ModernDaySpyridon

17th October 2006, 07:40 PM

Why are you Eastern Orthodox? Not looking to debate Roman Catholics /vs/ Eastern Orthodox.

I am EO because I became tired of being Protestant and having to rely on myself as the arbiter of truth and authority. :D (People say the Bible is, but what they really mean is their interpretation of the Bible. ;) ) Once I was introduced to the ancient faith of the EOC, I quickly knew that I had come home.

I am not RC because, even though much of my earlier reading was in the RC mystics (St. Francis, St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, Henri Nauwen) I still couldn't get past Papal Infallibity, the immaculate conception, etc.

So I understand there is no allegience to Rome... do you follow other teachings of the Roman Catholic Church? Is it the same in all other ways?

There are similarities, such as a formal liturgy, the honoring of the Mother of God and the Saints, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, etc., but their are quite a few differences as well

I'm just looking for information and don't plan on debating your theology at all... :)

Thank you...that will be refreshing.:thumbsup:

WOW Thank you so much for the great reply... Does Orthodoxy practice intecessory prayer through Saints and Mary?

You bet we do!

Although we typically refer to her as the Theotokos, or "Mother of God" (sorry if you already knew that, I don't mean to be condescending:sorry: ).

I know I will be having more questions. I'm going through some searching right now re: Roman Catholicism (and it has been very difficult for me) so please bear with me.

You've come to the right place!

Saint_Rita

17th October 2006, 08:00 PM

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I am EO because I became tired of being Protestant and having to rely on myself as the arbiter of truth and authority. :D (People say the Bible is, but what they really mean is their interpretation of the Bible. ;) )

I am finding this a lot.

You bet we do!

Although we typically refer to her as the Theotokos, or "Mother of God" (sorry if you already knew that, I don't mean to be condescending:sorry: ).

Not condescending at all. I saw Theotokos often over at OBOB and was curious but eventually figured it out.

Welcome to TAW :) .

Why am I Eastern Orthodox?

Well My mother and Father took me when I was a baby to this big building with icons that smelled like candles and incence, and then this big guy with a beard dunked me in a big vat of cold water and said I baptize the servant of God Gregory in the Name of the Father :Whoosh Splash: and the Son :Whoosh Splash: and the Holy Spirit :Whoopsh Splash:. Then they covered me in oil, and then he annointed me with Chrism saying "The gift of the Seal of the Holy Spirit" And the rest is history ;)

Great response!!!! Can you explain the baptism? Specifically God Gregory? What is that?

Really appreciate all the responses. I haven't attended an Orthodox service - which I know will probably give me more questions that answers lol... I really want to study as much as I can.

I have 3 Greek Orthodox Churches in my tiny state (RI), 2 American Orthodox and 3 Antiochan Orthodox Churches... am I missing any other branches?

Asinner

17th October 2006, 08:08 PM

Why are you Eastern Orthodox?

Because God had mercy on me. :) For 13 years as a protestant, I never saw His word, which I read frequently, manifested in the church I attended, nor in the people I worshipped with. What I read about the church and what it was supposed to be, was beyond what my feeble human mind could begin to contemplate, until God showed me . . . truly, it is more marvelous, more glorious, more beautiful, more awesome than I imagined. His Church is perfect. Glory to Jesus Christ!

God Bless

ThePosterFormerlyKnownAs

17th October 2006, 08:19 PM

Great response!!!! Can you explain the baptism? Specifically God Gregory? What is that?

Just a typo.

Males are referred to as "servant of God" so it means the servant of God, Gregory.

Saint_Rita

17th October 2006, 08:24 PM

*blush* feeling silly...

DonVA

17th October 2006, 08:46 PM

Welcome to TAW :) .

Why am I Eastern Orthodox?

Well My mother and Father took me when I was a baby to this big building with icons that smelled like candles and incence, and then this big guy with a beard dunked me in a big vat of cold water and said I baptize the servant of God Gregory in the Name of the Father :Whoosh Splash: and the Son :Whoosh Splash: and the Holy Spirit :Whoopsh Splash:. Then they covered me in oil, and then he annointed me with Chrism saying "The gift of the Seal of the Holy Spirit" And the rest is history ;)
My experience is exactly like Greg's. I was baptized as a baby, and for many years this was the only church I knew of. I spent some time exploring what others do during college and through my 20s, and whaddya know... I decided I was in the right place from the start.

Greg the byzantine

17th October 2006, 08:46 PM

Thanks Brad :).

See what a little comma can do. Yes Doulos tou Theou, Gregorios, as in The servant of God (named Gregory) ;)

I would figure Baptism would be similar in Catholicism, but then again I don't know what Infant Baptism is like in Catholicism so maybe I am wrong?

Greg the byzantine

17th October 2006, 09:05 PM

If you have real player you can watch a nice little video on Infant Baptism in Orthodoxy here:

http://www.goarch.org/en/multimedia/video/#sacraments

Just click on the red link below Baptism and Chrismation (and above Holy Matrimony)

choirfiend

17th October 2006, 10:22 PM

What differs the most, aside from our doctrinal differences, is most often spoken of as a mindset, or fundamental approach to the basics. Tonight at Inquirer's Class (please, no offense intended to all our RCC lurkers) we discussed the difference in the Eucharistic rites of teh RCC and the EOC. My priest spoke of a time when the RCC elevates the host and wine for the people to see, because they have become the body and blood. Vs. the Orthodox way, which only elevates the gifts because we are offering them up to Christ. It's a mindset of the "confection" of the host and wine by the priest (which my priest says is a valid Catholic word used to describe the action) versus the mindset of calling down the Holy Spirit upon the gifts offered to God to make them the Body and Blood. That may not be the clearest example, but there's A LOT of things in which we may sound similar, may even use the same terms, but mean completely different things because of the underpinning foundational beliefs and practices that may differ.

DavidBryan

18th October 2006, 12:24 AM

If you've got the time to read it, CullensGirl, here (http://fromprotestanttoorthodox.blogspot.com/)'s why I'm Orthodox.

kamikat

18th October 2006, 07:23 AM

CullensGirl, I was raised Roman Catholic. I fell away as a teen. When I came back to faith, I returned to the Catholic church. I had many questions. I met with a priest and a spiritual advisor. Eventually, I enrolled in RCIA, just to learn because I was confirmed as a child. The more I learned about Catholicism, the more problems I had with it. I also had problems with the individual parishes I went to. The priest at my local church refused to baptize my children until my civil marriage was convalidated. He put up requirments for my (non-Christian) husband to agree to before convalidated that my husband wouldn't agree to. The priest therefore barred me from the eucharist. I felt like I was being forced to jump through hoops in order to return to the church. I began losing my faith. The last straw was when the priest sang his favorite contemporary Christian pop song for his homily at Christmas Midnight Mass. I tried attending TLM. The only one local to me is a low TLM, which was awful. All the bad things that the older OBOBers talk about from back in their day went on at this mass. I kept going, thinking that the TLM was what I needed, but every time I'd walk out of Mass feeling horribly letdown. There was no experience of the Divine. There was no communion with God. It felt spiritually bankrupt. Off and on, throughout this period, I'd come across Orthodox articles on-line or various Orthodox websites. I found TAW. I read some of the books recommended here. I discovered that many of the things I disagreed with the RCC, I already agreed with the EO Church on. The more I read about the EO church and spirituality and beliefs, the more I realized I was already EO in my beliefs. I went back and forth for a while, Mass one Sunday, DL the next. It was a very confusing time, but once I decided to commit to EO, I haven't been to a Mass since.
kamikat

Orthocat

18th October 2006, 08:11 AM

I too am a convert from a protestant church. I decided I wasn't really sure what I was "protesting". :)

I began studying the ancient fathers of the church, like Clement, Polycarp, etc. and was like, "wait a minute, this really isn't what I've been taught".

I deeply love this church, and I really can't explain my thoughts or feelings. But after 20 some odd years of wandering, just like the others have said, I have finally "come home".

May God be with your in your searches....

silouanathonite

18th October 2006, 09:32 AM

Because God had mercy on me. :) For 13 years as a protestant, I never saw His word, which I read frequently, manifested in the church I attended, nor in the people I worshipped with. What I read about the church and what it was supposed to be, was beyond what my feeble human mind could begin to contemplate, until God showed me . . . truly, it is more marvelous, more glorious, more beautiful, more awesome than I imagined. His Church is perfect. Glory to Jesus Christ!

God Bless
As an added note, His Church is complete & perfect. The people (myself included) need some work, but this is why we have the Church. Everything that you will need for your salvation (get the Orthodox view on what this is) is here. This is not to say that those who are not Orthodox are doomed. This is why it's important look at what we believe about salvation.

I became Orthodox because I was beaten over the head with it. Just kidding. I thought they were full of it when they said they were the Church that Christ founded & that they were the True Church. I went out to prove them wrong, and realized what an idiot I was. My first introduction to the Church was from my college roommate about 8 years ago. Another thing that made me realize that this is where I need to be was when I was an inquirer and my priest had me read the life & writings of Saint Silouan. When I read it, I wanted to be just like him, and realized this is what following Christ will accomplish. There are so many other things, but those are the 2 that started me on the path of joining the Church.

Pray for all

Saint_Rita

18th October 2006, 11:04 AM

OrthoCanuck

18th October 2006, 11:10 AM

The priest at my local church refused to baptize my children until my civil marriage was convalidated. He put up requirments for my (non-Christian) husband to agree to before convalidated that my husband wouldn't agree to. The priest therefore barred me from the eucharist. I felt like I was being forced to jump through hoops in order to return to the church. I began losing my faith. kamikat

I went through almost the exact same thing. I had my marriage validated (without my wife's input), but my children couldn't be baptized until I was confirmed (though I was baptized in the RCC) so I had them baptized in the Lutheran church. I was confirmed in the RCC later, but the legalism and "jumping through hoops" is one of the main reasons I'm no longer Roman Catholic.

I'm becoming Orthodox because I figured if Christianity was true then the EOC was the most likely candidate for the original church of Christ.

Peace.

NyssaTheHobbit

18th October 2006, 05:47 PM

ClementofRome

18th October 2006, 06:57 PM

And that's one reason why I may become EO in the future. :) I realized, one day in a class about Presbyterian views on controversies, that different people with totally different views kept saying, "The Holy Spirit told me thus and so." One woman asked the question which was also on my heart: "So how do we tell who's really hearing from the Holy Spirit?" There was no good answer.

There was a great episode recently of Come Receive the Light where Fr. Peter Gillquist spoke on "Trusting the Church." It was very good. You can d/l it from the CRTL website on MP3 and give it a listen. Excellent stuff....I found it to be so helpful.

kamikat

18th October 2006, 08:10 PM

Wow - so much to take in. It's going to be a long trip. I'm currently in confused limbo mode... I read something posted in OBOB - nothing life-changing - but it just hit me that RCC might not be where I belong.

This is one of the article that started me on my journey
http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/reading/ortho_cath.html
I also recommend listening to "our life in Christ", specifically, the episodes from January 22-February 26. These episodes deal with issues between RCC and EO. You don't need an mp3 player to listen to them.
http://www.ourlifeinchrist.com/archives.htm

kamikat

orthodoxy

18th October 2006, 08:15 PM

Why are you Eastern Orthodox? Not looking to debate Roman Catholics /vs/ Eastern Orthodox.

So I understand there is no allegience to Rome... do you follow other teachings of the Roman Catholic Church? Is it the same in all other ways?

I'm just looking for information and don't plan on debating your theology at all... :)

I am Orthodox because I came to the realization after many years of study that as a protestant I was never really a Christian at all. Searching for a community of Christian believers after having our children became a vain process of finding people that believed as I do. I walked into an Orthodox Church that believed it was not dependant on what I believed but I needed to be dependant on what the Church believed. Soon I saw the deep sin in my life. I determined I was truly sick and needed the healing power found in the hosptial of God called the Orthodox Church.

As far as intercessory prayer we can plainly see the intercession at the Marriage of Cana where Mary interceeded to her Son Jesus Christ to provide wine at the wedding, thus He honored His mother and provided for what she requested. What greater example do we need for her powerful intercession on our behalf?

the unworthy

kyril

Ravenonthecross

18th October 2006, 08:24 PM

It's good to know, that we must rely upon the church, rather than our own personal feelings.. What has attracted me to the EO church has been the mysticism, and aura of holiness, when I not only look at the church, but read about her, and the mystics Christ has made in her.

HandmaidenOfGod

19th October 2006, 02:22 PM

I had what I like to call a “bi-polar religious upbringing.”

My mother was raised Catholic, my father Orthodox, and when they married, they agreed to marry in the Orthodox Church and raise their children Orthodox, even though my mother did not convert. When I was 9, my parents divorced, and my mother became a “born-again” Christian and began attending a Baptist Church. Thus began the alternating weekends of Baptist one week, Orthodox the next. (Although my parents marriage dissolved, my father remained very much an active part of the lives of my sister and me, and made sure we got to Church on the weekends he had us.)

While I’m sure both my parents meant well in taking me to their respective Churches, I must confess this caused quite a bit of confusion in my little brain. Both churches said they were right and the other was wrong. As a teen and young adult I continued to bounce back and forth until I couldn’t take it anymore, and had to figure out once and for all which was the true Church.

I began researching literally every major denomination of Christianity and their history. I visited different churches, and prayed about it a lot.

Ultimately, I came back to the Orthodox Church because it has changed the least of all the churches. It has remained true to its roots regardless of any scandal or communist government the devil may have tried to throw at it. Also, although over the years there may have been changes in aesthetics (i.e. the introduction of polyphonic chant, variations in local customs), the doctrine and truth has remained the same. To a person who was a History major in college, this consistency was important to me.

The more I learn about my faith the more I thank God that I have been able to be a part of this magnificent Church.

May God bless you on your journey.

In XC,

Maureen