Instead, an adolescent has to figure out and establish his adult persona in the face of affection. 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. But whether a non-Orthodox person can even be saved is an open question in Orthodox ecclesiology. 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. Another issue is becoming Orthodox because one thinks the Church will reward them in some way for doing so. John 17:14.16). Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to Christianity. Rather, each of the thirteen Orthodox churches has its own head, variously referred to as the patriarch, archbishop, or metropolitan. My ideas havent changed, and Im always glad for a good discussion, but maybe Im past the need to belabour them. A person can read a dozen books on swimming, but that which he or she has read will not come alive until he or she actually gets into a pool. Lol. 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. She is conscious of being the true Church founded by Christ. Those who will guide you through your period of instruction and formation surely will help you in this regard. 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?" So they begin the process of "converting.". Everyone associates Orthodox worship with sensory richness, but its also rich in theological content. its the same every year, year after year), it soon becomes familiar, and perhaps even boring for some. Orthodoxy appeals to the soulnot just to the intellect or the senses. Russia, 50-85 million Before you start the process of converting, you will want to speak with a priest in the Greek Orthodox Church. The Spirit of God himself, realizing the sacramental presence of Christ in the church, speaks to us in tradition. 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 . It is not about rules and regulations but rather guide posts to make choices to transition to what we were designed to become. Orthodox believers see things very differently. Wow, like it very much. For employment at a seminary? Orthodox Christianity offers a third solution, that is faith with an emphasis on symbolism, inner experience, and Church communion. Similar differences and disputes existed within early Christianity, but disputes within Christianity extended also to the place of Mosaic Law or Old Covenant in general in Christianity. I can remember, after Id been Orthodox a few years, developing an increasing sense of tension or frustration. 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. Romania, 19.8 million Missiological concerns surface here, too. Sizable groups of the Russian population are disenchanted with Orthodoxy for a number of reasons. She has offered more martyrs in the twentieth century under communism than most churches have members. This is the ultimate reason an ultra-Orthodox Jew would turn to Jesus. For example, their local parish was too ethnic; the priest wasnt nice or outgoing; their spouse wasnt interested; they found logical inconsistencies in the writings of the fathers; and so on. We must be willing to embrace mystery, to submit to other authorities, and to ultimately submit to the Church Herself. Paganism was a mental mindset of the Eastern Slavs living in a world where a majority of the European countries surrounding them had already converted to a monastic religion. Put another way, we must invoke the spirit of irenic disagreement in the formula: "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity." As the Body of Christ, the Church is a Divine-human organism, just as with the Person of Jesus Christ, the God-Man. The Orthodox Church in America, with roots in Moscow and about 85,000 adherents . Orthodox Priest Explains Why Many People in the West are Converting to Orthodox Christianity. If someone is approaching the Orthodox Church from a purely rationalistic standpoint, they will almost surely find it wanting. An evangelical explores the ancient and alien world of the Eastern church. 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. Orthodox Christians were more inclined to appeal to the ecumenical councils than to a single bishop to settle theological matters. Orthodoxy is true to the Lord, to herself and to her past. And during those years of discovery, my mind was constantly cranking away as I laboured to absorb new ideas and excise stubborn old ones. They conceded a special honor to the Western papacy but insisted that the bishop of Rome was only the first among equals. Heres a clue to a third possibility. 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. We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendor or beauty anywhere upon earth. 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 . From the Orthodox perspective, both Catholics and Protestants seek to ground theological authority in an external norm. 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. Tom Hanks Legion Media The famous Hollywood actor converted to Orthodox Christianity as an adult. The Puritan John Foxe, for example, insisted that "God conducted the Reformation by printing, writing, and reading." Albania, 160,000. Converts from Protestantism claim that Orthodoxy is strongest where evangelicals tend to be weak-its robust liturgical celebration of the majesty and mystery of God, its unyielding insistence on the indispensable role of tradition in theology, and its admirable heritage of perseverance amid terrible fires of persecution. Why did Vladimir convert to Orthodox Christianity? It was like seeing a face emerge from a random pattern of dots, and then wink at you. After his marriage Vladimir I officially changed the state religion to Orthodox Christianity and destroyed pagan temples and icons. ", Icons are not merely sacred art. She is not the endshe is the way. Although she is in this world, she is not of this world (cf. He states that in Gaul, before setting out towards Rome, Constantine and his army saw a great cross in the sky. Harakas asked. But that was too little, too late. Becoming Orthodox means being willing to submit to the Church and Her bishops, who might not be interested in ordaining you. If a richer liturgical life is what a believer wants, converting to Orthodoxy is hardly necessary. 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. * 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. 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. Kind of like large scale serial monogamous people. Can we attempt to put into words why a host of people have converted and continue to convert to the Orthodox faith? "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 3:15 ). It takes a while to get it, because its received by a process of immersion, by soaking in a context of worship. 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." Forgetting early on that Orthodox worship is liturgical and cyclical (i.e. 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). Here are a few reasons from this man's personal reflection. 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. Your email address will not be published. YouTube | The percentage of foreign born Orthodox Christians is no larger than the percentage in the population at large. As I realized what the big difference is, I grew more insistent, Im afraid. Converting to Orthodoxy. 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. In 858 Photius was appointed as Orthodoxy's new patriarch at Constantinople, replacing Ignatius, who had been exiled and later resigned his duties. They saw this as a perception skill, something anyone could (with diligent practice) hone; it has nothing to do with emotion. Fr. Legislation pending in Russia, for example, could, if implemented, curtail Western missionary enterprises. A wooden pectoral cros, Pectoral Cross for Clergy There is another reason someone should not join Our Church. Let us know if corrections need to be made. "It was a calling of the soul," Devorah Guilah Koren, who converted from Catholicism with her husband and two children, told me. For example, on the Feast of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, the chanter launches into this: Of the Father before the morning star You were begotten from the womb without mother before all ages, even though Arius did believe You to be created, not God, classing You in ignorance and impudence with creatures Thats just a fraction of a thorough march through what happened at the first Council of Nicaea, and why it was important (including Arius unpleasant death from digestive indisposition: his bowels were torn by a divine hookin a repulsive manner his soul came out). 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. 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. More than 70 percent of the roughly 75,000 Antiochian Orthodox Christians in the United States are converts. That is, Orthodoxy's commitment to "right belief" provides a natural link to evangelical concerns. According to the Second Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 787, icons are of equal benefit as Scripture in presenting the gospel message. Here is an overview of the steps you can take to convert to Orthodox Christianity: Women and men who marry into the Orthodox Jewish faith are required to convertand both genders follow an identical process. Such a question cannot be answered through the use of dogmatic assertions or theoretical musings. Rome accused the "Greek heretics" of trying to "humiliate and crush the holy catholic and apostolic church." He sailed to Greenland with a priest to convert the people. 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. The Eucharist, according to the Divine Liturgy of Saint Chrysostom (the normal liturgy for Sundays and weekdays), is "for the purification of the soul, for the remission of sins, for the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, [and] for the Kingdom of Heaven.". Included in this liturgy is an anathema on all those who reject icons. During those years of discovery I labored to absorb new ideas and excise stubborn old ones. Applies to RCC too. Why had a group of conservative American Christians converted to Russian Orthodoxy? I kept finding myself in conversations with nice people who wanted to assure me that this very thing I was so excited about in Orthodoxy is something they have in their church as well. Can you explain why some former clergy (from non-orthodox backgrounds) can enter without formal orthodox seminary education, while other former clergy (again, from non-orthodox backgrounds) are kept away even after the bishop (he who has the control and power) makes a statement that none may come to the clergy with our formal orthodox seminary? But the impulse is to exaggerate the differences when you fear being hugged to death. This may be to some extent true but it is much more than that. Site Map | The reality of the difficulty of living the Orthodox life then bubbles up, and apostasy from exhaustion is a real risk. "I was A. Why did Kievan Rus convert to Orthodox Christianity? 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. I sincerely wish to know everyone's reasons for converting to Orthodoxy. Now, the question stands: If one is convinced that Orthodox Christianity possess the fullness of truth and is God . Growing up in the Bible Belt, I was only ever exposed to Christian theology. Step Two: Repentance There is no salvation without repentance. A priest can provide guidance and support to help converts discern whether the religion is right for them. One thinks, for example, of those committed to full ministerial status for women, the centrality of lay ministry and spiritual gifts, charismatically inclined groups, seeker-sensitive churches attempting to reach baby boomers or Generation X'ers with novel worship formats, and so on. Almost everyone around me was a Baptist. The first, most obvious explanation is that some people simply are obnoxious to start with. Vladimir fled to his kinsman Haakon Sigurdsson, who ruled Norway at the time. 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. Do we mean essential for salvation? The so-called Eastern Orthodox Church is actually not one but thirteen "autocephalous" or independent, self-governing churches. Sad, very sad. The rise of Islam after Muhammad (died 632) was likewise crucial. He has no good option for dealing with that affection, so he's either sullen or angry. 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." And for Orthodoxy, this argument from holy tradition is of great significance. This conception lessens the validity and value of the Holy Scriptures as the primary source of Christian dogma." As we said, conversion is a love affair. Orthodoxy's size alone warrants our attention, despite its invisibility on the cultural radar screens of most Americans. 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. 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. Despite its historical estrangement from Rome, from a Protestant theological perspective Orthodoxy is similar to Catholicism at several points.