Yay for Eastern (Greek) Orthodoxy!

If I had to pick another Christian tradition to be a part of, I would pick Greek Orthodoxy. I first started to learn more about orthodoxy in my Doctrine of Christ & Reconciliation class, and I have to admit, there are many aspects that they emphasize that the Reformed/Protestant tradition could get a few pointers from (and likewise, of course.) Then, for Jesus Bus today, we took our group to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on Lakeview Drive (off of Michigan, off of the Beltline) and it was a real treat.

Themas--a member of the church--was our host, and did a wonderful job of making us feel welcome. We went an hour early to get an introduction to the service, the traditions and just about what to expect. Without his superb and enthusiastic presentation, I'm sure we would have been overly critical, confused and, well, it would have been "Greek" to us (wink, wink!) --more than it already was! They even sent us home with thick packets of information and resources to look through and find out more and answered questions after the service.

As I write this, I have the congregation-choir's beautiful songs in my head. I can still almost smell the incense and hear the bells. It was a lovely, poetic service with all the reverence and awe that I think Protestants have lost too easily. It's a wonder that Orthodox Christians even consider Protestants Christians--if any of them came to our services, I think they'd find us much too watered-down and shallow... at least in some aspects. They might wonder why our children are refused from the Eucharist. They would certainly find the lack of artistry and sensory aspects a bit unusual.

Theologically and doctrinally, there's also a lot to take away from the Orthodox tradition. First and foremost, I deeply respect their emphasis towards Christ's life, rather than his death. This and the fact that they consider Christ to have "conquered" rather than "paid" seems to make more sense in my mind/heart. Some of the actual wording and nit picky details are still over my head and I'd have to look into them much more (but same with Reformed tradition!)

Second, they're right when they look more broadly for Truth, rather than individual interpretation of the Bible or personal preference. It's all to easy for Protestants to claim any which way as Truth (think about it--if we don't like the pastor, we get rid of him, or we leave the church and find another one, or we start our own congregation. How do we define Truth, then? By our own individual standards), whereas the Orthodox tradition has a deeper sense of accountability to others, to the Church as a whole. The traditions they have go back to the very, very beginning. No one person is infallible, but as a whole, the Church maintains certain themes and kinds of "rhythms" that everyone lives with. Major decisions are decided ecumenically (universally) with everyone present, and must be made unanimously-- (unlike Catholicism, where the Pope can veto a decision)... the last council was centuries ago, I think like in 770 for the Nicene Creed! Councils are only called to discuss heresy, not just on whims when something new comes up and they feel like an official stance is needed (ahem. Calvinists do have a longstanding reputation for "splitting hairs" when none exist.) What's interesting, then, is that no decision has been made about women in office for the Orthodox church-- and that's what Themas predicts will call the next great Council, but not for quite a long time yet.


All in all, I would love to go to Greece and experience a worship service there. I'd also like to see what one is like in Ethiopia, considering that's also a very long tradition of orthodoxy (remember the Eunuch?) It's a beautiful thing.

This tradition belongs to me, too. This is a dimension of my religion, these are my brothers and sisters, and it's a beautiful aspect to appreciate deeply. Many of our church roots come from the orthodox church, which incorporates many Jewish and early church traditions as well.

Praise be to God.

Betsy