Posted on 01/11/2007 11:07:18 AM PST by kawaii
Will the 21st Be the Orthodox Century?
Fascination with the Great Tradition may signal deep changes for both evangelicals and the Orthodox.
Pelikan is just one of a growing number of people who are joining the Eastern Orthodox Church. It makes me wonder if the 21st century will be the century of the Orthodox. Will there be a rebirth of the church's theological vision, if not its numerical growth? I'm not a prophet, nor do I want to evangelize evangelicals or reinvent Orthodox identity. But I would like to (a) offer a theological explanation for why I believe more and more Christians, especially evangelicals, may well be attracted to Orthodoxy in the 21st century, and (b) explain why more and more Orthodox need to become more evangelical.
(Excerpt) Read more at christianitytoday.com ...
I can't predict what the century will bring, and I can't speak for anyone else, but I've gotten really tired of the "seeker-friendly" formula of worship where anything goes, the pastor wears jeans and Hawaiian shirts, calls everyone "bro" or "dude," and the music is geared to a demographic between the ages of 15 and 25. I could use a good infusion of "tradition" in my church experience.
ping
Jaroslav Pelikan died last year I believe. I do remeber when he joined the Orthodox Church. I believe he was a Slovak Lutheran before than.
The bottom line is that folks are sick of the church men made in the 16th century, and returning to the church Christ made in the 1st.
Sorry, but I trace my roots back to Augustine-not Calvin. Of course, for the Orthodox, their roots lean more towards John Cassian, Pelagius' student.
Try St Andrew
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Andrew
The problem is that, according to the Orthodox, the Church is free to make changes and modifications as it sees fit. How do I know St Andrew would have approved of the changes that have taken place in the last 1800 years?
Christ empowered the church with the ability to bind and loosen. I doubt St Andrew took any issues with that.
It would be joyous to see a true united Catholic-Orthodox formed though I cannot see how it could, still with God all things are possible.
Even seeing protestantism wither and die as all protestants move to either the Catholic or Orthodox churches would reduce disunity to a handful of very speific questions; preferable to the situation where heresies abound promoting un-Christian doctrines and using God's name to do so as is present rampantly in protestantism.
LCMS Lutheran.
It would be joyous indeed, but I agree that the gulf seems as is was, fortunately with Him all things are indeed possible!
Even seeing protestantism wither and die as all protestants move to either the Catholic or Orthodox churches would reduce disunity to a handful of very speific questions; preferable to the situation where heresies abound promoting un-Christian doctrines and using God's name to do so as is present rampantly in protestantism.
Amen.
I am not overly impressed with this article. Beyond what we Orthodox can all agree on, the article devolves into what is fast coming to be called "American Antiochian Modernism". There is a real danger to Orthodoxy when phyletism creeps in (as a Greek, I know!), especially American phyletism arising from an American Protestant mentality.
As per our former discussion I'm at least as afraid of American-Convert phyletism as I am of ethnic-foreign nationalism. :(
"As per our former discussion I'm at least as afraid of American-Convert phyletism as I am of ethnic-foreign nationalism. :("
I'm a bit more afraid of it.
Here's some links to find various Orthodox churches.
(Watch out for tiny schismatic groups throwing around the Orthodox name... HOCNA is one of those there's a slew thow...)
Antiochian Orthodox
http://antiochian.org/1148443860
Orthodox Church of America
http://oca.org/DIRlists.parish.asp?SID=9
Greek Orthodox
http://goarch.org/en/parishes/
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
http://www.directory.sjkp.org/
http://orthodoxwiki.org/Special:Search?search=parishes&go=Go
Carpatho-Russian
http://www.acrod.org/cgi-bin/db_parish.cgi
Why should this century be any different than the last six? ;))
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