I think it’s worth pointing out that most Orthodox I see, especially with a Roman Catholic background, point to Pope Pius X’s Condemnation of Modernism as to what “Modernism” means, which you can find here.
Pascendi Dominici Gregis (September 8, 1907) | PIUS X
But basically, what is contained in this Encyclical on what modernism is is the following:
That starting with an Agnostic and Deistic / Atheistic perspective, religion is something that is manifested from within mankind, and therefore,
1. all religions that mankind creates are equally valid, or are all incomplete.
2. That no knowledge from what is not physically observable is possible to be True; therefore, all instances of the Supernatural must be rationally denied;
4. That the religious experiences of an individual are in of themselves more authoritative than the institutional Church, as they come from within man
5. That in the relationship between Science and Religion, Religion must always submit before Science (as science only deals with what is physically observable, and denies Supernatural experience in its studies)
6. In the relationship between Church and State, the Church and State must be separate, with the State ultimately having more authority in guiding the conduct of the individual than the Church, and as such the State ultimately has authority over the Church.
7. The belief that dogma and morality “evolves” and “changes,” even to the point of direct contradiction, insofar as these new dogmas and morality are a product of human experience.
It’s worth hearing what the Orthodox think of what Pope Pius X, a Saint in the Catholic Church, has to say on Modernism.
And generally speaking, most Traditional or Conservative Catholics note the striking similarities between these conclusions and the Liberal Catholic Clergy / Theologians which exist today - particularly those who have or want to integrate Pagan or non-Christian rituals in the Mass, want to remove the liturgical spirit of Catholicism, want to abolish the hierarchy, want the Church’s morality to change to fit the times, want to do away with any traditional cosmological viewpoint, want a reconciliation of religions and want to dismiss converting people or missionary work, and want the Church to stay out of telling people how to live their life - with that role belonging to the government - rather being only a Social Justice organization.
Many Catholic inquirers into Orthodoxy or converts notice many similar individuals in the Orthodox Church trying to do the same thing, especially on certain blogs like Public Orthodoxy or Orthodoxy in Dialogue, and as such, call them “Modernist” with this paradigm in mind.
Fr. Peter Alban Heers. The Recognition of the Baptism of the Heterodox as the Basis for a New Ecclesiology (In Step with Vatican II)
With my Catholic background, that’s what I think of when I hear Modernist, but of course, it can refer to different things.
