CommittedToTheG
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User ID: 3371
Is the main issue that the Orthodox Church doesn't practice open communion? I would say that the Orthodox can certainly recognize other Christians. Canonically you are only allowed to marry a fellow Nicene Christian (Mormons, for instance, would be out), so there is a recognition of a degree of sameness. Likewise, the Ecumenical Councils say that if someone has already had a trinitarian baptism with immersion performed by another Christian group they can simply be received into the Orthodox Church via chrismation. In the case of some churches which are seen as especially close, like the Oriental Orthodox, confession and a statement of faith is all that is required, demonstrating that in practice the other apostolic churches are viewed as having a degree of validity to their sacraments and ecclesiology (for an ecclesiology example: Catholic priests can be received by vesting if they become Orthodox, they do not have to be re-ordained). The precise way in which all of the above should be formulated in a systematic theology is not without controversy, of course, and there are more rigorist factions, but these are practices that are rooted in the dictates of the Ecumenical Councils.
As someone who was raised Orthodox in the United States, it has been interesting to see the growing awareness of the Orthodox Church in the English speaking world and the Eastern Orthodox entry into the internet apologetics wars. There are certainly some Orthodox personalities who do not put the church's best foot forward, so I understand why people get turned off in various ways. But I also think there are ways in which the Orthodox Church gets misunderstood (strawmen abound in apologetics, and the Orthodox are certainly guilty as well).
When it comes to the issue of communion and church unity, the Orthodox Church has a pretty strong sacramental view. Joining the church and becoming part of the body of Christ is like a marriage (as in Ephesians). We can see the other Christian groups, they are like a woman who shares many/most of our values and may even be very beautiful with a great personality, but until we are formally married I cannot commune with her. And you probably shouldn't get married until you agree on the important issues (and on which issues are the important ones). For Protestants who have a "mere symbol" view of communion I think this paradigm can be difficult to inhabit.
CommittedToTheG
22d ago
Did not expect to see a reference to Fr. Thomas Hopko here… he baptized me as an infant.
I am Eastern Orthodox and would be glad to recommend a church if you DM me (especially if you happen to live in the Southeastern US or the US in general - though if you feel like the walls of wokeness are really closing in I'm guessing you may live in a very blue area).
Thoughts on some of your questions/concerns:
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I don't think you have to choose between wokeness and the fear of hellfire. Traditional/high church Christians in this day and age tend to be fairly sophisticated when it comes to hell (you might be more likely to encounter people who have full blown universalist tendencies, though I may be generalizing too much from my own experience). The early church fathers tended to be fairly nuanced on damnation. CS Lewis' The Great Divorce is a good example that is more modern. My point is - I don't think you have to worry too much about someone feeling the need to scare your daughter in some crude way in order to teach her Christian orthodoxy.
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What is a genuine religious revival supposed to look like? I think it would look something like the strategy of the early Christians. Scott recently wrote about this, and N.S. Lyons writes about it here (he speaks of conservative strategy in the piece, but in the comment section he confirms that Christianity is a successful example).
(apologies if this is too promotional or inappropriate in some way - this is my first time posting after a year+ of lurking)
The thread uniting the various autocephalous churches (lifted from Wikipedia):
I think the recent "splintering" has been pretty overblown, lay people under the Ecumenical Patriarch can still commune at churches that are under the Moscow Patriarchate, and vice versa. Our clergy cannot currently serve together, but this is not a total breaking of communion. This sort of thing has happened throughout church history and generally gets resolved (though sometimes not, certainly). Most likely outcome is: the war in Ukraine ends, tensions cool, the Patriarchs (or maybe their successors) start commemorating one another again, and full communion is restored.
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