It is the ancient Christian way of life that seeks to live a
life totally in union/communion with God.
When a Protestant Christian first looks at Orthodoxy, they often
see something that is foreign, antiquated, and perhaps
irrelevant. When one scratches the surface a little deeper, with
a hard, honest, and sober look, they are blown away by the
uninterrupted theological and historical continuity. They
discover the ancient roots of the New Testament and what the
early church taught. They realize new doctrines need not be
created and that the ancient church is not divided theologically
like Western Christianity is today (23,000 different
denominations according to the U.N.).
The
Orthodox Church is still one, worldwide, and today only divided
administratively because of geography and culture that often
corresponds often to a country’s borders. Orthodox unity is
organic. It is not forced. This unity transcends borders and
time. You can ask any Orthodox authority any question on the
person of Christ, etc. in any century, in any country, the
answer wouldn’t change. Eternal truths do not change!
When Christ stood before Pilate, he asked our Lord “What is
truth?” (Jn 18:38) Pilate was looking at Truth (but failed to
see it standing in front of him.) (Jn 14:6). The Orthodox life
is all about standing soberly before Christ, in prayer, in
worship, by fasting, etc., and seeking and discerning the Truth.
It is a 24/7 effort.
Many
ask, “Where has this church been?” Annually, thousands of
Americans, including clergy and whole parishes are regularly
converting to Orthodoxy. Becoming Orthodox is not a rejection of
one’s past, but is adding to, building up upon it, and even the
fulfillment of one’s spiritual journey.
Orthodox Christians are people of prayer. Prayer defines us. The
life of God flows into people when they pray. Orthodox are
called to follow a strong prayer discipline. When people pray,
their lives become more Christ-like. We fast regularly to
improve our prayer. Approximately one-half the calendar year is
devoted to some level of fasting.
Orthodox
Christians are people of worship. For practical reasons, we do
not have daily services in our local parish, but we worship
regularly and often. Orthodox worship is not entertainment
oriented. Instead, we understand that we enter in to the eternal
worship that takes place in the Kingdom of Heaven continuously
(Is 6, Rev. 4&5). We stand throughout the service because we are
really before God’s Throne! Orthodox worship is liturgical, just
like the Temple worship was. Christ worshipped liturgically. The
Apostles worshipped liturgically (Acts 2:42f). Some say Christ
ended liturgical worship but this is not provable in
Scripture . Contrary to popular belief, liturgical worship is
not dead. It is entered into. It takes 6-12 times attending
worship services to begin to be able to truly enter in to the
worship.
Orthodox Christians practice ascetical discipline. Ascetical
discipline is spiritual athleticism. The Apostle Paul in Col 3:5
tells us to put to death what is earthly in us. Asceticism is
this process. We practice asceticism so that there may be fruit
in our lives. Just as an athlete trains to compete, so do we
train to run the race! Asceticism includes, but is not limited
to (and in no specific order), regular: prayer, fasting, study
of scriptures, regular church attendance, studying the Fathers
and other spiritual readings, almsgiving, tithing, missions
work, etc.
Orthodoxy answers all the questions people have about faith. It
is spiritually and intellectually deep. I encourage you to
explore further, but beware; there are many pseudo-Orthodox on
the web. They claim to be Orthodox, but are not united to the
225 million Orthodox Christians worldwide.
Orthodoxy
is a way of life.
The
Orthodox Church is still one, worldwide, and today only divided
administratively because of geography and culture that often
corresponds often to a country’s borders. Orthodox unity is
organic. It is not forced. This unity transcends borders and
time. You can ask any Orthodox authority any question on the
person of Christ, etc. in any century, in any country, the
answer wouldn’t change. Eternal truths do not change!
Many
ask, “Where has this church been?” Annually, thousands of
Americans, including clergy and whole parishes are regularly
converting to Orthodoxy. Becoming Orthodox is not a rejection of
one’s past, but is adding to, building up upon it, and even the
fulfillment of one’s spiritual journey.
Orthodox
Christians are people of worship. For practical reasons, we do
not have daily services in our local parish, but we worship
regularly and often. Orthodox worship is not entertainment
oriented. Instead, we understand that we enter in to the eternal
worship that takes place in the Kingdom of Heaven continuously
(Is 6, Rev. 4&5). We stand throughout the service because we are
really before God’s Throne! Orthodox worship is liturgical, just
like the Temple worship was. Christ worshipped liturgically. The
Apostles worshipped liturgically (Acts 2:42f). Some say Christ
ended liturgical worship but this is not provable in
Scripture . Contrary to popular belief, liturgical worship is
not dead. It is entered into. It takes 6-12 times attending
worship services to begin to be able to truly enter in to the
worship.