Jesus said, “Everyone then, who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Min and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.”
Matthew 7:24-27
In the last reflection, we discussed the three things that one needs to believe in order to be a Christian, at least these are things that most Christian denominations would agree on. Now that we have defined faith, and reflected on the basic tenets of the Christian faith, it is time to move to Orthodoxy. Christianity is our faith, Orthodoxy is our religion, our expression of our faith. (Different people define these terms “faith” and “religion” interchangeably. Some will say our “religion” is Christian and our “faith” is Orthodoxy. I have always believe is that faith is what you believe and religion is how you practice what you believe. Thus Christianity is our faith and Orthodoxy is our religion.)
There are over 38,000 Christian denominations in America. Not churches. Denominations. Thirty-eight thousand different ways to express the Christian faith. One of the challenges to our faith is, with so many other options out there, how do we know that Orthodoxy is the right one? Of course, you might say that I’m biased because I am an Orthodox priest, of course I think our denomination is the right one. And you might say that I have a narrow view of the subject because I have been Orthodox my entire life, I didn’t experience other denominations before finding this one, and that is true. However, there are three specific reasons why I believe that Orthodoxy is the most authentic expression of Christianity.
The first reason is an historical one. Both the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church claim to be the original church of the Apostles. They share a common history that is the first 1,000 years of Christianity. The One Church split in 1054 A.D. in an event called “The Great Schism.” And it is after 1054 A.D. that the names Roman Catholic (church of Rome) and Eastern Orthodox (church of Constantinople) began to be used to identify the two churches. A further fracturing of the Catholic Church happened in 1517 with the Protestant Reformation. With the exception of the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, all other Christian denominations were born through “protest.” Someone didn’t agree with the main body of the church and decided to protest, to leave and establish their own church, their own brand of thinking. This continues to the present day. This is not a criticism of any denomination. There are certainly many devout Christians who are not Orthodox and plenty of nominal or lapsed Orthodox Christians. I personally do not believe that salvation and eternal life are exclusively for the Orthodox. That being said, going back to the early centuries of Christianity, if we go back in time to the Byzantine Empire of the fifth and sixth centuries, their expression of Christianity (worship, theology, set up of the church, vestments of the clergy, rituals, and so many other examples) most closely resembles the Orthodox Church of today. Many people who are finding their way to Orthodoxy today are coming via this historical route. They are looking back at the church of the early centuries and they are seeing that our Orthodox church of modern times is the closest match to the churches of ancient times. We can point to so many examples in our theology and practice of an “unbroken line” back to early Christianity. Our bishops have something called “Apostolic Succession,” a way to trace their lineage back to the time of the Apostles. No one can be “self-proclaimed” as a bishop. And ordination of a Bishop requires many bishops, which speaks to the universality and historicity of the Church.
The second reason that I believe Orthodoxy is the most authentic expression of Christianity is a practical one. Fasting, as an example, is not meant to be an exercise in deprivation, but in discipline. The Church, in her wisdom, knows that one of things we think about the most in life is eating. If we can discipline our thoughts about food, perhaps we can discipline thoughts we have about other things, like getting angry or being greedy or giving into lustful thoughts. There is a practical reason couples don’t say vows at weddings. That’s because no imperfect person can make a vow they will keep forever, and because it is God who “effects” a sacrament, not imperfect words spoken by imperfect people. The Divine Liturgy is the consummate prayer. It includes everything we should be praying for but often neglect. It is comforting to know that after properly celebrating the Divine Liturgy, we have covered all the bases as far as prayer goes.
And finally, the third reason I believe Orthodoxy is the most authentic expression of Christianity is a personal one. Simply put, I like the way we “do it.” I feel comfortable being an Orthodox Christian and practicing Orthodoxy as my expression of Christianity. I cannot imagine receiving “communion” that hasn’t been consecrated by the Holy Spirit. I can’t imagine a Sunday worship service that does not have the Eucharist as its purpose and climax. I cannot imagine a Holy Week without all the late services, and the physical and emotional fatigue that accompany them. Because when we arrive at Pascha, we truly have something to celebrate. I can’t imagine a calendar without feasts and fasts, cycles and seasons. I can’t imagine not having the sacrament of confession to wipe away not only sin, but the associated guilt and shame that goes with sin, or having a spiritual father to guide my steps.
Is Orthodoxy perfect? No. Nothing and no one are perfect except the Lord. Any church which is administered by fallen human beings will fall short of perfection. But this expression of Christianity has a history and practicality that no other church, in my humble opinion, has. As for personal preference, one become comfortable and convicted about the Christian faith and their particular denomination when they have invested in it, when they have knowledge about it, when they practice it. The topic of our next reflection will be the importance of investing time in your Orthodox Christianity.
Lord, thank You for the Church that provides a place to grow in the Christian faith. Thank You for preserving the Orthodox Church through two thousand years of triumph and struggle. Thank You for the practical aspects of the Church that make faith a source of comfort and give a sense of purpose. Help me to choose not only faith, but involvement in the Church, so that I can grow in and express my Christian faith. Be with all who are searching for a Church, and those who are searching for faith, and lead them to You, in whatever expression of that faith will bring them closest to You and lead them to salvation. Amen.
Faith is a choice. And one’s expression of faith is a choice as well. There are historical, practical and personal reasons that I feel convicted that Orthodoxy is an authentic (and the most authentic) expression of Christianity. This choice comes from a lifelong investment of time in learning and practicing Orthodox theology.
