Why You Shouldn’t Convert to Orthodoxy

[Ромејац]

 

I have only been involved with the Orthodox Faith for about four years now, but I have witnessed many, many conversions, catechumenates and otherwise journeys towards the ancient faith. Some have ended better than others.

Shortly after we became catechumens, we saw other friends (and their families) also begin journeys home. Ever since becoming more involved with a local parish over the past several months — and especially while serving on a parish council and being involved in teaching and other duties at the parish level — I have seen many others approach the Church, test the waters, and either join themselves with the Body of Christ or turn around and walk back out the door.

Given my own personal experience, I find it difficult to understand how or why anyone could get so close to the Orthodox Church, only to inevitably leave it behind. However, I do believe that there are certain factors that perhaps influence and even cause these abandonments and — in some tragic cases — apostasies from the Faith. There are two sides to this coin, as well — some people become Orthodox for all the wrong reasons, while some don’t become Orthodox for all the wrong reasons, as well.

I have personally witnessed many wrong reasons for becoming Orthodox, and these experiences almost always lead someone away from the Church after only a brief period of time.

For example, if someone has been part of a denomination or parish that was surrounded with various controversies or even public, immoral behavior (scandal) on the part of clergy or other leadership figures (especially if these people were close to the person considering Orthodoxy), they will approach the Orthodox Church as a “safe haven” from such controversy and scandal, believing that the Orthodox Church — being the one, true Church — is “above” or even immune to scandals and controversies. However, this is a mistaken viewpoint that will only lead to the destruction of a person’s misled faith.

At the heart of this perspective is a defective ecclesiology; one that fails to account for the anthropos part of the theanthropic Church. Being the Body of Christ, the Church is both a divine and human body (just as the Person of Christ, the God-Man). While the Church is certainly united to the Trinity and shares in that Life and Truth, the Church is also comprised of human beings — human beings that can, and do, err. Without keeping this in mind, one can be routinely scandalized and even lose their faith in the Church, failing to distinguish between the divine and human natures (or confusing the two).

Another wrong reason for becoming Orthodox is because one thinks that the Church will reward them in some way for doing so. For example, if a person goes through a great deal of hardship, sacrifice and turmoil in order to join the Church (as in the case of a former heterodox/protestant minister, or when one’s family does not approve), they might have a feeling through all of this pain that the Church “owes them” for being willing to go through all of that. However, they will only be met with disappointment and even feelings of regret once they realize that the Orthodox Church is neither dependent upon nor adapting for any one individual convert — no matter what they went through to convert.

While someone may have been a successful minister in a former denomination, that is no guarantee that they will be accepted into the holy priesthood (or even the diaconate) of the Orthodox Church, nor does it indicate that they are more “worthy” than any other Orthodox Christian/convert for such a calling of servitude (and again, no matter how well educated or experienced they were in their former life). Part of joining the Orthodox Church is being willing to submit to the Church and the wisdom of Her bishops, who may or may not be interested in ordaining you to the priesthood (or any other related thing). If one is not ready to submit to the voice of the Spirit and the Mind of the Church, one should — quite frankly — stay away.

Yet another reason not to become Orthodox is because one is merely infatuated with the beauty and “mystical” nature of Orthodox worship and piety. Yes, I too felt “at home” when experiencing the Divine Liturgy for the first time, but this was after many months of study and inquiry regarding the Church itself. While Orthodox worship can be overwhelmingly beautiful and attractive (on multiple, deeply-felt levels), this should not be the only reason why a person should convert from their heterodox/protestant/non-Christian past. What happens in these cases is that the convert eventually gets “bored” with Orthodox worship and the emotional attachment wears off (we must remember that emotions are not the purest path to true Spirituality), especially once they realize that we do the same services (more or less) every single week and the same cycle of services every single year! If the “newness” of Orthodox worship is what draws one in, the repetitive nature of it will surely cause such infatuation to quickly wear thin.

On the other hand, I have seen some unfortunate cases where a person rejects the Orthodox Faith for what I would consider to be erroneous reasons.

For example, I know a person that spent over a year studying almost every aspect of Orthodoxy, including many fathers of the Church and practically every nuance of both doctrine and history. However, they rarely spent any time in Orthodox worship services, developed no real relationship with a local priest/parish, and did not engage their spouse in their new-found knowledge of and fondness for the Orthodox Church. At the end of the day, they found a laundry list of excuses for why they shouldn’t convert — it was almost as if they shut their mind off or blocked out all of the knowledge they had acquired during this extensive time of study. Their local parish was “too ethnic”; the priest wasn’t nice enough; their spouse wasn’t interested; they found logical inconsistencies in the writings of the fathers or in other doctrinal minutiae; and so on.

If someone is approaching the Orthodox Faith from a purely rational standpoint, they will almost always find it wanting. The Orthodox Church does not fit into the “terms and conditions” of the modern, western mind (and our primary ways of learning). One must be willing to embrace Mystery, to submit to other authorities (even if we arrogantly think we “know more” than they do) and to ultimately submit to the Church Herself. Those who approach the Church looking for a logically consistent or argumentatively sound Church will be sorely disappointed and left rejecting the true Faith to which they’ve been exposed.

So then, why should one desire to “become Orthodox” and join one’s self with the “one holy, catholic and apostolic Church?” Ultimately, we must desire Orthodoxy because we desire to be part of the Body of Christ. Not only this, but also because we confess and believe in the “one holy, catholic and apostolic Church.” Believingin the Church (as the Creed requires) means that we are not looking for a Church that fits our own preferences, but a Church that teaches us what our preferences should be. We are not seeking to reform a Church, or to teach the Church how itcan do things differently, but are rather seeking to be formed by the Church and to learn how we should be doing things differently as a faithful Christian.

I don’t write this in order to dissuade anyone from becoming a catechumen or from investigating the claims and beliefs of the Orthodox Church, but rather toencourage those who are on such a journey, or perhaps those who have wandered off the beaten path.

The journey to the ancient Faith is not an easy one, nor is it one that promises anything but a Cross and to join with Christ in both suffering and humiliation. However, if you find yourself still intrigued and drawn to the Church — in spite of all of that — then do so with all faith, reverence and fear. Pray for the Lord’s mercy on your journey, and you shall find the strength to endure. Believe in the Church, and the Church will show you the way; the way to “right glory” (Orthodoxy) — but don’t do it for all the wrong reasons.

 

http://onbehalfofall.org/why-you-shouldnt-convert/

[ivona]

 

 

I have only been involved with the Orthodox Faith for about four years now, but I have witnessed many, many conversions, catechumenates and otherwise journeys towards the ancient faith. Some have ended better than others.

Shortly after we became catechumens, we saw other friends (and their families) also begin journeys home. Ever since becoming more involved with a local parish over the past several months — and especially while serving on a parish council and being involved in teaching and other duties at the parish level — I have seen many others approach the Church, test the waters, and either join themselves with the Body of Christ or turn around and walk back out the door.

Given my own personal experience, I find it difficult to understand how or why anyone could get so close to the Orthodox Church, only to inevitably leave it behind. However, I do believe that there are certain factors that perhaps influence and even cause these abandonments and — in some tragic cases — apostasies from the Faith. There are two sides to this coin, as well — some people become Orthodox for all the wrong reasons, while some don’t become Orthodox for all the wrong reasons, as well.

I have personally witnessed many wrong reasons for becoming Orthodox, and these experiences almost always lead someone away from the Church after only a brief period of time.

For example, if someone has been part of a denomination or parish that was surrounded with various controversies or even public, immoral behavior (scandal) on the part of clergy or other leadership figures (especially if these people were close to the person considering Orthodoxy), they will approach the Orthodox Church as a “safe haven” from such controversy and scandal, believing that the Orthodox Church — being the one, true Church — is “above” or even immune to scandals and controversies. However, this is a mistaken viewpoint that will only lead to the destruction of a person’s misled faith.

At the heart of this perspective is a defective ecclesiology; one that fails to account for the anthropos part of the theanthropic Church. Being the Body of Christ, the Church is both a divine and human body (just as the Person of Christ, the God-Man). While the Church is certainly united to the Trinity and shares in that Life and Truth, the Church is also comprised of human beings — human beings that can, and do, err. Without keeping this in mind, one can be routinely scandalized and even lose their faith in the Church, failing to distinguish between the divine and human natures (or confusing the two).

Another wrong reason for becoming Orthodox is because one thinks that the Church will reward them in some way for doing so. For example, if a person goes through a great deal of hardship, sacrifice and turmoil in order to join the Church (as in the case of a former heterodox/protestant minister, or when one’s family does not approve), they might have a feeling through all of this pain that the Church “owes them” for being willing to go through all of that. However, they will only be met with disappointment and even feelings of regret once they realize that the Orthodox Church is neither dependent upon nor adapting for any one individual convert — no matter what they went through to convert.

While someone may have been a successful minister in a former denomination, that is no guarantee that they will be accepted into the holy priesthood (or even the diaconate) of the Orthodox Church, nor does it indicate that they are more “worthy” than any other Orthodox Christian/convert for such a calling of servitude (and again, no matter how well educated or experienced they were in their former life). Part of joining the Orthodox Church is being willing to submit to the Church and the wisdom of Her bishops, who may or may not be interested in ordaining you to the priesthood (or any other related thing). If one is not ready to submit to the voice of the Spirit and the Mind of the Church, one should — quite frankly — stay away.

Yet another reason not to become Orthodox is because one is merely infatuated with the beauty and “mystical” nature of Orthodox worship and piety. Yes, I too felt “at home” when experiencing the Divine Liturgy for the first time, but this was after many months of study and inquiry regarding the Church itself. While Orthodox worship can be overwhelmingly beautiful and attractive (on multiple, deeply-felt levels), this should not be the only reason why a person should convert from their heterodox/protestant/non-Christian past. What happens in these cases is that the convert eventually gets “bored” with Orthodox worship and the emotional attachment wears off (we must remember that emotions are not the purest path to true Spirituality), especially once they realize that we do the same services (more or less) every single week and the same cycle of services every single year! If the “newness” of Orthodox worship is what draws one in, the repetitive nature of it will surely cause such infatuation to quickly wear thin.

On the other hand, I have seen some unfortunate cases where a person rejects the Orthodox Faith for what I would consider to be erroneous reasons.

For example, I know a person that spent over a year studying almost every aspect of Orthodoxy, including many fathers of the Church and practically every nuance of both doctrine and history. However, they rarely spent any time in Orthodox worship services, developed no real relationship with a local priest/parish, and did not engage their spouse in their new-found knowledge of and fondness for the Orthodox Church. At the end of the day, they found a laundry list of excuses for why they shouldn’t convert — it was almost as if they shut their mind off or blocked out all of the knowledge they had acquired during this extensive time of study. Their local parish was “too ethnic”; the priest wasn’t nice enough; their spouse wasn’t interested; they found logical inconsistencies in the writings of the fathers or in other doctrinal minutiae; and so on.

If someone is approaching the Orthodox Faith from a purely rational standpoint, they will almost always find it wanting. The Orthodox Church does not fit into the “terms and conditions” of the modern, western mind (and our primary ways of learning). One must be willing to embrace Mystery, to submit to other authorities (even if we arrogantly think we “know more” than they do) and to ultimately submit to the Church Herself. Those who approach the Church looking for a logically consistent or argumentatively sound Church will be sorely disappointed and left rejecting the true Faith to which they’ve been exposed.

So then, why should one desire to “become Orthodox” and join one’s self with the “one holy, catholic and apostolic Church?” Ultimately, we must desire Orthodoxy because we desire to be part of the Body of Christ. Not only this, but also because we confess and believe in the “one holy, catholic and apostolic Church.” Believingin the Church (as the Creed requires) means that we are not looking for a Church that fits our own preferences, but a Church that teaches us what our preferences should be. We are not seeking to reform a Church, or to teach the Church how itcan do things differently, but are rather seeking to be formed by the Church and to learn how we should be doing things differently as a faithful Christian.

I don’t write this in order to dissuade anyone from becoming a catechumen or from investigating the claims and beliefs of the Orthodox Church, but rather toencourage those who are on such a journey, or perhaps those who have wandered off the beaten path.

The journey to the ancient Faith is not an easy one, nor is it one that promises anything but a Cross and to join with Christ in both suffering and humiliation. However, if you find yourself still intrigued and drawn to the Church — in spite of all of that — then do so with all faith, reverence and fear. Pray for the Lord’s mercy on your journey, and you shall find the strength to endure. Believe in the Church, and the Church will show you the way; the way to “right glory” (Orthodoxy) — but don’t do it for all the wrong reasons.

 

http://onbehalfofall.org/why-you-shouldnt-convert/

 

fenomenalan clanak!