Books to help me understand the orthodox church

[damo73]

I am a protestant and have been looking in to church history, which has made me look at the Roman Catholic church, but i do have a problem with Papal Infallibility and Mary being without sin i Know you dont agree with Papal Infallibility do you also believe she was born without sin and are there any books that can help me understand the orthodox church.

[Orthocat]

I may be completely wrong, and others feel free to correct me, but the Immaculate Conception of Mary I do not think is a doctrine of the Orthodox. I believe that some do and some don't believe this however.

[QuantaCura]

Do Orthodox believe she committed any actual sin?

I understand that because the East doesn't hold to the same concept of original sin as the west, the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is kind of meaningless in the east.

[Ioan cel Nou]

I may be completely wrong, and others feel free to correct me, but the Immaculate Conception of Mary I do not think is a doctrine of the Orthodox. I believe that some do and some don't believe this however.

No, the Immaculate Conception is definitely not Orthodox. I'd go so far as to say it is a heresy, though I know others who would think that is too strong a condemnation. I know of no Orthodox who would go so far as to actually agree with the IC, however, and believe that it is in direct contradiction to Orthodox teaching.

What many Orthodox (probably most, including myself) do believe though is that whilst the Theotokos was born exactly like the rest of us she, through her own effort and God's grace, remained free of sin through her life. That is, however, completely different from the IC idea.

However, to answer the OP directly, yes we believe that the Theotokos was born without sin (as is everyone else) because she, whilst suffering the mortality that is the consequence of the Fall, was not guilty of Adam's sin. We simply do not view the idea of the Original/Ancestral Sin in the same way as western Christians often do.

If you want to understand the Orthodox Church then I would initially recommend two books by Bishop Kallistos (formerly Timothy) Ware. The first is The Orthodox Church and the second The Orthodox Way. People unfamiliar with our faith usually find them helpful it seems.

James

[Oblio]

The Orthodox Church (http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0804/_INDEX.HTM) complete & online.

[eoe]

Congratulations on your efforts to learn about the truth of your faith and welcome to TAW!


The only thing that I will suggest is that instead of approching all of this with "I believe x so if what I hear does not line up with x then it must be wrong" - approach this with "What is true Christianity and how can I conform myself to it."

You are going to run into things that give you some trouble. It is going to happen. When you do - stop for a little while and investigate what it really is that is giving your trouble, why you are having trouble with it and if it was indeed part of Christainity in the early times.

My God bless and keep you and grant you many years.

[icxn]

I think a lot of the confusion comes from the fact that the word sin has a double meaning. It means transgression (of God's Law) and falling short (of what we were intended to be). None of us is born with sin according to the first definition yet all of us are born with sin according to the later. The later is also partially true for Christ in as much as He was born with a fallen human nature (he thirsted, got hungry, tired, needed to sleep, could be injured and eventually killed – the first man could not suffer such things before the fall). At the same time Christ was without sin according to the first definition.

Likewise the Virgin Mary never committed any sin because of her spiritual struggles, which or rather because, they were assisted by the abundant grace given to her by God.