“Metropolitan Jonah was once an Episcopal priest and he is the successor of St Tikhon (whom the Episcopalians are adding to their calendar of saints next month).”
I am aware that Met. Jonah is both a convert and a former Episcopalian priest. I had not heard, but am not surprised, to hear that he claims to be the successor of +Tikhon. The Russian Orthodox Church as well as the Greek Orthodox Church likely disagree.
“He, more than anyone else, can serve as a “bridge figure” between Anglicanism and Orthodoxy,”
What is it with Western Christians and bridges to Orthodoxy? The Latins have tried that with the Uniates...with absolutely no success at all.
“I took the time last night read the 39 Articles of Religion again. It is interesting to note that Article XIX declares the Churches of Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch and Rome to have erred. It does not say anything about the Church of Constantinople.”
That’s odd; an oversight perhaps? There is absolutely no difference in the theology of the Churches of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem and that of Constantinople. With Rome, of course, there is.
“Icons are not unusual in Anglican churches, but they are not central to worship like in Orthodoxy.”
So I have seen but the Anglicans at least of Elizabeth’s era and for a couple of centuries thereafter were committed iconolclast heretics.
“I think the biggest obstacle for Anglicans embracing Orthodoxy is not theology, but culture.”
I agree with Kosta. There is a sort of Anglo Orthodox mindset surviving in Anglicanism extending back to the pre-Council of Whitby era. That makes it easier for Anglicans to become fully Orthodox than for others. Culture at other levels, as in ethnicity, is another matter entirely. That can be a problem but with a little humility it can be overcome. Theology is the real problem. Yours is sort of an amalgam of Latin and Reformed and as such really is very, very different from Orthodoxy. Met. Tikhon may wish it were otherwise, but its not and the OCA is in no position whatsoever, especially since the reunion of ROCOR with Moscow, to change that.
He was raised Epsicopalian, but converted in college after reading The Orthodox Way. He had great difficulty in finding an Orthodox priest who would instruct him, very much like the difficulties that Kalistos Ware himself experienced.
Metropolitan Jonah lived in Russia as a monk, and then founded a monastery in California.
Also to comment on one of your earlier postings on this thread, while some former EOC parishes may preach atonement theology, I can state from personal experience that not all do.
Forgive me, brother.
Good to hear from you again.
Before becoming Patriarch of Moscow, St Tikhon was head of the Russian Orthodox Church in America, which is now OCA. Metropolitan Jonah is currently head of OCA. I know the Russians and Greeks debate which has primacy in America- the Russians cite Alaska and the Greeks cite New Smyrna.
The Churches of Jerusalem, Alexandria, etc, often called “Oriental Orthodox”, are historically monophysite. They broke from Constantinole and Rome in 451 because they could not accept the Definition of Chalcedon.
In the 16th Century, while the Western Church, at least on paper, held correct teachings regarding images and invocation of saints, popular piety in the parishes was completely different. By the time of Luther, actual practice regarding images and saints had become indistinguishable from idolotry and polytheism. And Church leaders did nothing to correct it. That is why Protestant and Anglican leaders removed the icons and relics (althought they did not eliminate stained glass windows). Icons are not evil, and in and of themselves have never been held to be evil. It was the excesses of “Romish doctrines and practices conerning them” that prompted Anglicans to get rid of them for a few centuries.