Orthodox information?

[Rae]

One thing that's always puzzled me about Christianity is this. It has three branches, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and (Eastern) Orthodox, but Orthodox is rarely mentioned. Sometimes even I know more about the Orthodox than do the Christians I ask about them. Is there a good place here with info on what makes a Christian an Orthodox one, rather than Roman or Protestant, or any good Web sites someone could recommend? I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[Bizzlebin Imperatoris]

Well, there are more than three branches. Anabaptists are another major one, and smaller ones are out there as well. And, technically non-denominational Christians are not in any of those branches. I'd PM Oblio, he can tell you more.

 

[Matrona]

Hello Rae!

It's true that Orthodox are not very well known in the West. When the Americas were colonized, people from Orthodox countries got on the boat kind of late, so our beliefs and worship are pretty much unknown in the United States. But if you are familiar at all with churches called "Greek Orthodox" or "Russian Orthodox", that's what we are. Ours is the native Christian religion of North Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, and of course Greece and Russia.

You will probably hear us compared with Catholics since we are a liturgical church, but the truth is, ontologically speaking, Catholicism and Protestantism are much closer to each other than either one is to Orthodoxy, as difficult as that could be to believe.

"Liturgical" means we follow a set ritual of worship for each service. Certain things in the service vary on the time of day and the season, and we have different services for different times of the day. Our worship is partly modeled on Jewish worship from 2000 years ago, and also on Biblical descriptions of heavenly worship.

Also, our worship is oriented towards engaging the senses. We try to make our churches look pretty in order to draw people into worship and, more importantly, to glorify God. All around the church are depictions of Christ and the saints, called icons. Our services are chanted and sung for the most part. Incense is used frequently; the rising smoke represents our prayers and the prayers of the saints ascending to God ("Let my prayer arise in Thy sight as incense; and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice").

If you have any more questions please feel free to post them!

 

[Orthosdoxa]

Hello Rae - check out my website at stienekel.tripod.com for some good links about Orthodoxy.

Thanks for asking this question.

LK

 

[Photini]

Hi Rae. This link is to one of my favorite Orthodox websites. There's a LOT of information there, and lots of pictures too. www.kosovo.com/default1.html

 

[Nickolai]

Another good site is www.orthodoxinfo.com,
as well as www.fatheralexander.org

 

[TheMainException]

Interesting question. I'm glad someone asked it.

 

[Marjorie]

Hey Rae,

Cool to see that you are a pagan-- I am a former pagan and now I am (well, will be soon) an Orthodox Christian. I would really suggest visiting the The Ancient Way (TAW), the Orthodox subforum, where we could answer any question you might have... we also have a lot of links there to other sites and just a lot written on the Orthodox faith. You might also want to read some of our conversion stories if you are interested, mine is there towards the end!

Orthodox Christianity, when I first encountered it, was wholly unlike anything I had ever approached. It seemed quite an injustice that I had known nothing about it. Perhaps you will be as surprised as I was.

Please come visit us!

In IC XC,
Marjorie

 

[LegomasterJC]

"Liturgical" means we follow a set ritual of worship for each service. Certain things in the service vary on the time of day and the season, and we have different services for different times of the day. Our worship is partly modeled on Jewish worship from 2000 years ago, and also on Biblical descriptions of heavenly worship.

I didn't know anything about this before, so I am glad I popped in.
Set ritual worship and scheduled services are a nice idea and serve a purpose but If there is not allowed flexibility for the Holy Spirit to lead... It can get in the way.
Do any of you Orthodox agree with that?

 

[Rae]

Matrona:
if you are familiar at all with churches called "Greek Orthodox"
--Not really, though we have a big Greek Orthodox church in town. St. George's. Always makes me chuckle because IIRC, St. George is an ENGLISH saint. The people who worship there seem nice. We see them at Corn Fest every year. I startled a nice lady there once by thanking her for showing up but not being Orthodox...

Matrona:
If you have any more questions please feel free to post them!
--I'd love to know more about your theology and history. Anything y'all want to tell me, I'm listening. I'm also curious. Do you not evangelize much? I'm not even sure, despite St. George's, that there's even an Orthodox campus ministry at the local university.

Marjorie, hon, I'd love to join y'all at the Orthodox board, but we non-Christians aren't allowed to post there. If you want to post there and let the other Orthodoxes know I'm interested in knowing more, I'd sure appreciate it. Thanks! Pagan to Orthodox, hm? Cool. Glad you found your path. I've known people who went Pagan to Hindu, Pagan to Evangelical, and Pagan to Roman Catholic (though unfortunately to a narrow and nasty form of RCism...sigh), but never Pagan to Orthodox before.

Links: Thanks to Anonykat, Photini, and Nickolai. I love reading and learning and I'll check your stuff out.

Thanks to everyone who posted. If you want to post more, I'd love to learn anything you have to tell me. BTW, I believe I read recently that one of the Patriarchs died...is that correct? So sorry if it's true.

 

[Bizzlebin Imperatoris]

I didn't know anything about this before, so I am glad I popped in.
Set ritual worship and scheduled services are a nice idea and serve a purpose but If there is not allowed flexibility for the Holy Spirit to lead... It can get in the way.
Do any of you Orthodox agree with that?

I like it how there is not enough flexibility for HUMANS to get in the way
God works through anything

 

[Marjorie]

Matrona:
if you are familiar at all with churches called "Greek Orthodox"
--Not really, though we have a big Greek Orthodox church in town. St. George's. Always makes me chuckle because IIRC, St. George is an ENGLISH saint.

Actually, St. George was born in Asia Minor in the third century. He is the patron saint of England, but he did not live in England, nor was he English.

--I'd love to know more about your theology and history. Anything y'all want to tell me, I'm listening. I'm also curious. Do you not evangelize much? I'm not even sure, despite St. George's, that there's even an Orthodox campus ministry at the local university.

We don't evangelize nearly as much as we should. As for our theology, would you like me to PM you some basics on the Orthodox faith?

The websites others posted are good too.

And yes, Patriarch +PETROS of Alexandria did die this September 11. (Memory Eternal!) Thank you for your condolences.

In IC XC,
Marjorie

 

[Marjorie]

I didn't know anything about this before, so I am glad I popped in.
Set ritual worship and scheduled services are a nice idea and serve a purpose but If there is not allowed flexibility for the Holy Spirit to lead... It can get in the way.
Do any of you Orthodox agree with that?

I think if you visit an Orthodox service you will see a remarkable blending of flexibility and the unchangingness of the Liturgy, which is taken from Judaism and has to do with the idea of the liturgy being an entrance into the Heavenly Kingdom, where the heavenly creatures repeat without ceasing, "Holy, Holy, Holy!" (cf. Isaiah 6:1-3, Rev. 4:8.) Even within this structure, there is freedom... we walk around, cross ourselves when we feel called to, often with a chaos that Western Christians find unsettling... also within the early Church oftentimes the eucharistic prayers were improvised, along with the prescribed words of sanctification... so yes, it's not "dead structure," but the heavenly structure, which is freedom as well as a solid rock.

In IC XC,
Marjorie

 

[Orthosdoxa]

I like it how there is not enough flexibility for HUMANS to get in the way

Biz, you took the words right out of my mouth!

And Marjorie, your answer rocked, as usual. Thanks.

LK

 

[deornie]

Having grown up in an Orthodox church I would venture to say that average christian that calls himself/herself orthodox does not really understand what is going on during church service...partly that happens because of singing and chanting cos often it is hard to understand the words(they use out of date church language)....

I would not talk for all the Orthodox people...I am talking about the ones I know... my friends and family...and just want to share my personal impressions...and I remember from childhood is the bearded priests with booming voices, dark and detached faces on the icons and an image of Solemn and big God as an old strict man... sadly... I think an average Orthodox person would be horrified by the idea of calling Jesus your homeboy

I am still having a hard time trying to get rid of fear and old images that I got from orthodox church...

Dunno if it helps...just wanted to show a different side of the question...

 

[Rae]

would you like me to PM you some basics on the Orthodox faith?

Fine with me if it's fine with you!

 

[Nickolai]

Having grown up in an Orthodox church I would venture to say that average christian that calls himself/herself orthodox does not really understand what is going on during church service...partly that happens because of singing and chanting cos often it is hard to understand the words(they use out of date church language)....

acctully I can assure you that nearly everyone in my church knows what's going on and what we are doing during services. Ours are in all english except for a few ocaisions (weddings with russians, We had to use Church Slavonic which is a language I love. Svyati Bozhe, Svyati Krepke, Svyati Besmertne, Pomiloi Nas .)

I would not talk for all the Orthodox people...I am talking about the ones I know... my friends and family...and just want to share my personal impressions...and I remember from childhood is the bearded priests with booming voices, dark and detached faces on the icons and an image of Solemn and big God as an old strict man... sadly... I think an average Orthodox person would be horrified by the idea of calling Jesus your homeboy

Your misconception of Orthodoxy is your basis for not liking it. You should base not likning something on the actual beliefs and practices if you are to present them as valid.

The only people I have known that believe as you do are people who don't even understand the Orthodox Faith. I am a convert by the way.

I am still having a hard time trying to get rid of fear and old images that I got from orthodox church...

This confuses me. The only Icons I have seen that can even be viewed as stern are some of the most beutiful Icons I have ever seen. Seeing Christ as the Judge thaty he is is a humbleing experiance.

 

[Rae]

Could I make a friendly suggestion? Hi. I'm Rae, the non-Christian who asked a question about Christianity in this, the Questions by non-Christians board at Christian Forums. If you're a Christian and would like to ask the nice Orthodox people a question about their faith, could you ask it in the Orthodox forum? I'm sure they'd be happy to answer your questions about how the Holy Spirit plays a role in their services there. If you're a non-Christian with your own questions about Orthodoxy, could you start another thread to ask your questions? I'd appreciate it, as what I'm looking for here is answers about Orthodox doctrine and history.

Thanks so much! Have a blessed day.

 

[Marjorie]

Hey Rae,

I PMed you some information.



In IC XC,
Marjorie

 

[ufonium2]

Matrona:
I'm also curious. Do you not evangelize much? I'm not even sure, despite St. George's, that there's even an Orthodox campus ministry at the local university.

It's not that we don't evangelize, it's that we don't evangelize like the evangelicals, if that makes any sense. We want to help you deepen (or begin) your relationship with Christ. We're not going to elicit an emotional response from you, consider you "saved" and never worry about you again. I guess what I'm saying is we go for quality of conversions over quantity. So, we don't generally do the "campus crusade" style evangelism because we want to pay a lot of attention to the individual.

I will tell anyone that I am Orthodox, invite them to church with me, and answer any questions. That's my evangelism. Yelling at people from street corners or passing out tracts is superficial and degrading to the people you are trying to help, if you ask me.