C.S. Lewis' church of choice

Gnarwhal · Dec 10, 2013

We all know that C.S. Lewis was and is a prized member of the Anglican Communion, but with that being said, I've heard that he was utterly fascinated with Eastern Christianity (Orthodoxy in particular) and respected Orthodox priests the most. His theology also has very strong Orthodox notes in it, at least from my perspective (which is neither Orthodox nor Anglican, kind of a fly-on-the-wall-ex-evangelical).

So with that in mind, I wanted to ask my friends in this particular forum if they thought that had Lewis had a choice, perhaps if he lived in the present era where Orthodox was a bit more diverse and accessible, do you think he would have converted?

I realize this is a difficult question to discuss, especially if you have a commitment to either tradition. But as objectively as possible, I wonder if he would have remained Anglican or if he would've joined Orthodoxy?

Cheers.

TheDag · Dec 10, 2013

I don't know but I'm inclined to think he would not have thought of it that way but rather as one large groups with different influences. Perhaps not the best phrasing on my part but basically see the church as a whole. That is all denominations part of the one church rather than separate so it would not be converting just changing place of worship.

Gnarwhal · Dec 10, 2013

TheDag said:
I don't know but I'm inclined to think he would not have thought of it that way but rather as one large groups with different influences. Perhaps not the best phrasing on my part but basically see the church as a whole. That is all denominations part of the one church rather than separate so it would not be converting just changing place of worship.

I can see that, good point!

AlexBP · Dec 18, 2013

Lewis was an Englishman who wanted to remain within the English mainstream. I don't say this as a criticism, but merely as a fact. He lived at a time when non-conformists no longer suffered legal discrimination or punishment, but societal opinion sometimes shifts more slowly than the law. Many English people would have had trouble accepting advice or teaching from an Eastern Orthodox preacher.

That said, what Lewis would have done in a different environment is an unanswerable question.

Albion · Dec 18, 2013

I pretty much agree with Alex, and if Lewis had felt as strongly about it as was suggested in the OP, he could have attended Eastern Orthodox worship services in his own country, perhaps occasionally or perhaps more often, even to the point of switching his membership. But he didn't do this.

Gnarwhal · Dec 18, 2013

Albion said:
I pretty much agree with Alex, and if Lewis had felt as strongly about it as was suggested in the OP, he could have attended Eastern Orthodox worship services in his own country, perhaps occasionally or perhaps more often, even to the point of switching his membership. But he didn't do this.

Are we sure he had an opportunity to? I recall reading somewhere that he did experience an Orthodox Liturgy, but I was under the impression that it wasn't in the UK. I could be wrong though.

It seems Bishop Kallistos Ware, an Orthodox Metropolitan in Great Britain considered Lewis an "Anonymous Orthodox" and said, "even though C.S. Lewis' personal contacts with the Orthodox Church were not extensive at the same time his thinking is often profoundly in harmony with the Orthodox standpoint."

Albion · Dec 18, 2013

Cogent said:
Are we sure he had an opportunity to? I recall reading somewhere that he did experience an Orthodox Liturgy, but I was under the impression that it wasn't in the UK. I could be wrong though.

Well, there are Orthodox churches in England, and nowhere is beyond reach. I'd have thought that if the urge were that strong, Lewis would have travelled to such a church at least occasionally, invited Orthodox clergy to his own home, or something else that would suggest the kind of thing you asked about.

As I recall, he did have an interest in several other denominations too, so it looks like he simply was a man of wide-ranging and varied interests with religion high on his list.

Mediaeval · Dec 18, 2013

I doubt that Lewis, whose writings brim with catholicity of the best sort, would have converted to Orthodoxy, which teaches that the Orthodox Church alone is the one true church.

Izdaari Eristikon · Dec 21, 2013

I don't think Lewis would have converted to Orthodoxy, though I do see its influence in his writings... and in myself, a Christian who is much influenced by Lewis. Such Orthodox leanings as I have probably come by way of Lewis, though I'm not about to convert either. Though I agree with Orthodoxy on some important points of theology, I am more in agreement with Anglicanism.

ebia · Dec 27, 2013

I don't see any reason to think he would have joined Eastern Orthodoxy any more than he joined the RCC. Like many Anglican theologians he listened to voices across the Christian spectrum - that's a far cry from taking up one to the exclusion of the others.

HalupkiMonster · Dec 27, 2013

I think that he would have more thoroughly investigated Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. Right now in Britain, Orthodoxy is much more present. In Lewis' times, Orthodoxy in western Europe was attached to national embassies. It wasn't something many in the west saw as accessible because of cultural and political barriers.

We must also remember that Lewis would probably disagree with the turn Anglicanism has taken since his time. If he were around today, I think that he would have embraced the Eastern Orthodox Church, or one of the traditional sects of Roman Catholicism.

(Keep in mind, I'm Orthodox so I'm bias.)

FireDragon76 · May 19, 2014

No, Orthodoxy was not a realistic option for someone like Lewis in his time, not unless he wanted to abandon a great deal that would have made church meaningful to a typical Englishman.

I disagree his theology was inordinately Eastern Orthodoxy. He was simply steeped in medieval western Christianity by way of being well-read in medieval literature. Medieval Christianity in western Europe was a lot closer to Eastern Orthodoxy than many people realize.

He was also heavily influenced by Romanticism and the movements that came after that, and in some ways, that has a resemblance to the Eastern Orthodox approach to theology, moreso than the scholastic methods that have dominated Catholicism and Protestantism.

PurpleRabbit187 · Dec 13, 2014

ebia said:
I don't see any reason to think he would have joined Eastern Orthodoxy any more than he joined the RCC. Like many Anglican theologians he listened to voices across the Christian spectrum - that's a far cry from taking up one to the exclusion of the others.

Couldn't have said it better

grandvizier1006 · Dec 15, 2014

I don't know how pretty much every Christian I know around me will take this information. They're all of the persuasion that Protestant=most true (They're happy that way, and I don't know enough to "correct" them), so if C.S. Lewis had become Orthodox then we'd never know about him.

Thank God Lewis was born in Britain. Had he been Russian, he'd still have been a great Christian, I believe. But would his voice have been heard in the West around the time of the dawn of the Cold War? Probably not.

Lewis has been invaluable to pretty much all of Christianity, so I think it's a good thing he didn't really get a chance to adhere to one denomination or another, much as he might have liked.

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