CIM Briefing Papers
C.I.M. Outline #62
Author: Bill Crouse
THE ORTHODOX CHURCH: Eastern Christianity
I. INTRODUCTION
A. There are 215 million people in the world who align themselves
with one of the branches of Orthodox Christianity sometimes known
as The Eastern Church. Beyond some stereotypes, Westerners
(Protestants) know very little about the distinctive beliefs of this
large branch of Christianity. There are an estimated 5.6 million
Orthodox Christians in the U.S.
B. Over the last decade or two the Orthodox Church has experienced a
revival world-wide. This has been due to a number of factors: The
fall of communism in Eastern Europe and Russia is certainly one of
the most obvious. In the United States, the OC has been attracting
disenchanted Protestants who are discouraged by postmodern
influence in the church, lack of unity among denominations, and a
rekindled desire to be connected to the past. In 1987 some former
Campus Crusade leaders led several congregations (about 2000
people) into Orthodoxy (See: "Westerners on the Eastern Orthodox
Trail," CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL, Summer, 1995). St.
Vladimir Seminary Press reports that three-fourths of its
publications are sold to non-Orthodox readers! The most recent
issue of the ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA YEARBOOK lists the OC as
among the fastest growing in the U.S (hence the reason for this
briefing).
II. A Brief Overview of the Orthodox Church
A. There are currently 13 branches of the OC which are in
substantial agreement with regard to sacraments, liturgy,
doctrine, and church government. Each branch is directed by a
"Patriarch," with the Patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul,
Turkey) granted special honor as the first among equals. Its 13
branches in order of size are: Russia, Romania, Greek, Serbia,
Bulgaria, Constantinople, Georgia, Poland, Antioch, Cyprus,
Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Albania. OC members in the U.S.
usually come under the jurisdiction of Antiochian, Greek, or
Russian. There is also an independent Orthodox Church in America,
but it is currently not recognized by any of the 13 patriarchates.
B. The OC claims to be the one true Church of Jesus Christ founded
by the Apostles. It split from the Roman, or Western Church in
1054 A.D. Factors behind the split were theological, geopolitical,
cultural, ethnic, and linguistic. Seeds for the split were planted
hundreds of years earlier when Emperor Constantine moved the
seat of the church from Rome to Constantinople in 311. As the
language barrier grew and the conquests of Islam ensued in the 6th
Century, Eastern Christians were further isolated from those in
Rome.
Two theological controversies finally drove an irrevocable wedge
between the Eastern and Western Church. The first was over papal
supremacy. While the East had respect for the Pope as the bishop
of Rome he was seen as an equal to other prelates. The Roman
church, however, insisted on supremacy. The other dispute was
known as the "filoque" controversy. Somehow, no one quite knows
how, the Roman Church added the phrase "and the son," to the
statement in the Nicene Creed about the procession of the Spirit.
Originally the creed read that the "Spirit proceeded from the
Father." The Eastern Church was adamant about changing one word
of the ancient church councils. They believed this was a threat to
the authority of tradition, was not true theologically, and was a
threat to the doctrine of the Trinity. In 1054 Pope Nicholas, to
assert his authority, excommunicated the patriarch of
Constantinople. To make matters worse, the Crusaders in 1204,
ransacked the Church of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople. Any hope
of reconciliation died with this act of desecration.
III. General Distinctives of the Orthodox Church
When one thinks of the OC several things immediately come to mind:
A. Its Connectedness to an Ethnic Group
The branches of the OC are usually defined by their ethnic group,
e.g. "Russian," "Greek," etc. In most cases, the key to
understanding the culture of these groups lies in understanding the
OC. In some countries, where the OC is dominant, it also
constitutes a monopoly or state religion. In the U.S., this
ethnicity has hampered its growth among the general citizenry.
Congregations are generally made up of immigrants and children of
immigrants. Liturgies are in languages other than English. This
ethnicity has also made the OC culturally invisible in the sense that
it has had very little impact on the culture as a whole. Instead,
the church is like an island where a particular culture and
language is featured and sustained.
B. Its Icons
Icons are indelibly tied to the OC. Their use in worship was
established by the 8th Century, though not before much blood was
shed over the matter. Those who argued against icons (iconoclasts)
believed it was idolatry to make images of Christ. Gradually the
argument developed that since the incarnation (when Christ
became visible) it was permissible for Christ to be represented by
images.
When one enters an Orthodox sanctuary one is overwhelmed by the
icons and frescoes on every square inch of the walls. They are for
the OC a form of theological expression much as commentaries are
for the Western Church. Contrary to the stereotype, they are not
worshiped, but they are venerated and considered holy, much as the
Bible is not a profane book, but rather the Holy Bible.
C. Its Liturgy and Worship
The OC worship service centers around the Eucharist and a liturgy
which is about 80-90% Scripture. According to OC scholars, it is
virtually unchanged since the 7th Century. The main goal of
Orthodox worship is a mystical union whereby Jesus Christ, The
Head of the Church, is united with His Body, i.e., all believers,
past and present. The worship service is generally more than 2
hours in length with worshipers either standing, kneeling , or
lying prostrate (no pews!). All the senses are to be engaged in
worship and involves art (icons), architecture, crosses, music,
stained glass, gilded religious objects, vestments, candles and
incense. The purpose for the decoration and layout of the Orthodox
sanctuary is to convey to the worshiper that they are standing in
the presence of the Living God and the saints of all ages. The
service is meant to be foretaste of Heaven with its emphasis on the
beauty, mystery and majesty of God.
D. Its Monasticism
Historically monasticism was a very important part of the OC. It
began in Egypt in the 3rd Century. There are three main types:
(1) The austere version which involves isolation and a life devoted
to prayer. (2) The communal form where monks work and pray
together. (3) The third is known as the Middle Way; it is a small
group of monks who live together under a leader in a small
settlement. Most monasteries were located in very remote regions,
e.g., St. Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai desert.
In the Eastern Church, monasteries were places of prayer and
spirituality, however, in the Western church monasteries were
for the most part centers of scholarship where manuscripts were
copied and books written.
E. Its Persecution
The OC has undergone brutal and lasting persecution, perhaps more
than any other Christian body. In recent times, under the Soviet
regime, 98 percent of its churches were closed as well as hundreds
of monasteries and seminaries. After the revolution in 1917,
50,000 Orthodox priests were martyred. Earlier, the Eastern
Church suffered untold persecution under the religion of Islam.
IV. Specific Theological Teachings
A. The Godhead
The OC considers the doctrine of the Triune God the foundation of
its theology. It is believed that if one deviates even in the most
insignificant detail it will affect the outcome of all other
doctrines. This Triune God is utterly transcendent and unknowable
by mere finite beings. They teach that God can only be described in
a negative manner, i.e., what He is not. "God cannot be grasped by
the mind. If he could be grasped, he would not be God." (Evegrius of
Pontus 4th Century). This form of theological reasoning is known
as apophatisms, e.g., God is not finite; He is not limited. Hence in
the OC there is resistence to the use of logic and reasoning to
explain God. They believe that the human response to the
incomprehensibleness of God is worship and praise. How does this
God work in the world if He is totally transcendent? It is believed
that we can experience His energies but not His essence. It is as we
experience the heat from the fire but not the fire. Comment: The
OC is certainly to be commended on maintaining its witness
concerning the Trinity, but goes to the extreme on God's
knowability. If Westerners rely too much on logic as they would
charge, then the East goes too far in the other direction. While we
cannot know exhaustively, we can know what He has revealed about
Himself in His Word, and above all in His Son.
B. The Source of Authority
The OC believes the great sin of the Reformation was sola
scriptura. They charge that Protestants neglect tradition. They
teach that the church is the guardian of Apostolic tradition, and
that the Scriptures are only a part of that tradition. There is also
the 7 early church councils, the Church fathers, the liturgy, canon
law, and icons. OC theologians differ as to how they explain final
authority but most mention some or all of the above. Comment:
When one has more than one source as final authority there is
bound to be conflicts, e.g., Scripture as opposed to tradition.
Ultimately what happens in the OC, is similar to what happens in
the Roman Catholic Church: the Church itself becomes the official
interpreter of tradition (in which they include Scripture). They
are to be commended for their high view of the inspiration of
Scripture and their commitment to the early creeds of
Christendom. Their interest in the early church fathers is
likewise commendable. May a revival of interest in these giants of
the faith come, but hopefully, their works will be evaluated in the
light of Scripture. They are right to be interested in tradition, but
it too, must be tested against Scripture. Nobody should ignore what
God the Holy Spirit has taught the Church over two millenniums,
but false traditions can arise in any church. The OC belief in the
final authority of the Church as the infallible interpreter of
Scripture is tied to their belief in Apostolic succession, i.e., the
authority of the leaders (patriarchs)is passed down from the
Apostles. Once this is understood, one can understand how the
Creeds from official councils have the authority they do.
C. Doctrines of Sin and Salvation
The OC doctrine of the atonement stands in stark contrast to the
theology of the Reformation. Salvation is described as a process
called "theosis" which is the means whereby man becomes united
with God's divine energies. Human beings participate in these
divine energies through the sacraments and human effort. Since
the sacraments can only be administered by the church, salvation
can come only through the church (You can't be saved at home on
your knees). Since this process of "theosis" is grounded in
Christ's incarnation, His work on the cross is largely ignored.
There is almost no mention of Justification in the OC theology, and
there is little or no discussion of substitutionary atonement or the
propitiation of sins. Here's how one Orthodox theologian
summarizes the process of "theosis," deification, i.e. salvation:
If God has given us in the Church all the objective conditions, all
the means that we need for the attainment of this end [deification],
we, on our side, must produce the necessary subjective conditions;
for it is this synergy, in this co-operation of man with God that the
union is fulfilled. (Vladimir Lossky, in The Mystical Theology of
the Eastern Church , p. 196.)
Comment: More than one critic has noted the similarities between
the OC doctrine of God and salvation with the 3rd Century Greek
philosophy of neo-platonism. Even the noted Orthodox theologian,
John Meyendorff, admits as much: "Byzantine theology never
escaped from the great problem of the relationship between Greek
philosophy and Christian revelation." (Christ in Eastern Christian
Thought, p. 91.) In our opinion the OC has serious defiencies in an
area of theology that reformers believed the whole system of
Christianity would rise or fall. The Orthodox theology of salvation
is not based on the clear teaching of the Apostles of the First
Century. One critic rightfully notes "that the problem with the OC
(which prides itself in being old) is that it is not old enough"
(Doug Wilson). Its teaching of a salvation by works is foreign to
Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians, indeed at this point the OC is
heterodox!
D. Praying to Mary and the Saints
The OC does not view Mary as a Mediator and Co-redemptrix as does
the Roman Catholic church, but it does view Mary as the perpetual
virgin and as an intercessor to be prayed to. Orthodox theologians
are quick to deny that Mary is to be worshiped, but do agree that
she is to be venerated as the Mother of God. Comment: The clear
teaching of Scripture is that Mary had a normal marital
relationship with Joseph after the birth of Jesus and had other
children (see Matt. 1:25; Mk. 3:21,32-35). Nowhere in
Scripture are we instructed to pray to Mary or any departed
saints. In fact the Bible forbids that believers pray to the dead
(Dt. 18:11). Logic would dictate that for Mary to hear the world-
wide prayers of the saints she would have to have aspects of deity!
Believers are instructed in Scripture to pray to the Father in
Christ's name.
V. Summary
As evangelicals we should be excited about the revived interest in the
liturgy, worship, and writings of the early Church Fathers fostered
by recent growth and interest in the OC. We believe these matters can
only result in a renewal of the church at a time when one is so
desperately needed. We also believewe should pray that the OC would
experience a renewal similar to the one it experienced in the 16th
Century under the leadership of Patriarch Cyril Lucaris of
Constantinople, who tried to lead the OC away from the pagan Greek
philosophy back to the Apostolic faith.
For Further Study:
For Orthodox links on the web, see the following URLs:
http://www.voithia.org/orthlink.htm/
http://www.oca.org/links-and-miscellaneous/
http://www.goarch.org/access/gotel/other.htm/
Bell, Charles. REDISCOVERING THE RICH HERITAGE OF ORTHODOXY
Brown, Harold O.J. HERESIES: THE IMAGES OF CHRIST IN THE MIRROR
OF HERESY AND ORTHODOXY FROM THE APOSTLES TO THE PRESENT.
CHRISTIAN HISTORY. Issue 54, Volume 3. Number 2. See entire issue.
Clendenin, Daniel B. EASTERN ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY: A WESTERN
PERSPECTIVE.
Clendenin, Daniel B. EASTERN ORTHODOX THEOLOGY: A CONTEMPORARY
READER.
Coniaris, Anthony M. INTRODUCING THE ORTHODOX CHURCH.
CREDENDA AGENDA. Volume 6, Number 5. See entire issue.
Cutsinger, James S. RECLAIMING THE GREAT TRADITION.
Davis, Nathaniel. A LONG WALK TO THE CHURCH: A CONTEMPORARY
HISTORY OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOXY.
Dmitri, Bishop. ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN TEACHING: AN INTRODUCTION TO
THE ORTHODOX FAITH.
Gillquist, Peter. BECOMING ORTHODOX.
Lossky, Vladimir. ORTHODOX THEOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTION.
Meyendorff, John. THE ORTHODOX CHURCH.
Negrut, Paul. "What Evangelicals Should know About Eastern Orthodoxy."
CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL. January-March, 1998.
Ware, Timothy. INTRODUCING THE ORTHODOX CHURCH.
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