Orthodox Christian

Wishing you all a very blessed Easter weekend, our world could surely do with some of the hope offered through Christ's death and glorious Resurrection. May this holy time be one of peace to all. However we Orthodox Christians will celebrate holy week and Pascha beginning on this Sunday, culminating next weekend. Wishing blessings and peace to you all.

As an Orthodox Christian icons are very much part of our worship experience. I guess we see them as representing that many clouds of witnesses and as such like them around us in our prayer corners, as we know that they are only dead in the flesh. These icons are venerated, not worshipped, they kind of act like a conduit to put one into the presence of the prototype. So when we stand before the icon of Christ, the icon leads us to meditate upon Him and enter into his presence in prayer. It's also quite nice when you go into whichever room holds your prayer corner, to see them, and acknowledge them in your heart with a prayer of thanksgiving.

No worries, God bless.

Hello 3DOP, tbh, I'm a bit flummoxed by the defensiveness of your reply. I haven't accused you of apostasy, in fact I haven't mentioned the word. You want us to present a united front to the people here and the world. But we are not united, if we were we would truly share the name of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. We are separated by our theologies, and the hold outs as you call them on both sides do not want our theologies compromised. We do not see attributes of God as did Augustine and Anselm, therefore to many Orthodox Augustine is Blessed rather than saint. I don't know why you are asking me why I am here and what is my interest. Couldn't I ask you the same question? I am not here to hash out our theological differences, there are better people than me who can do that. I am here because I almost became LDS many years ago, but I simply did not believe and did not commit. I have retained an interest however, so that's it. I have no understanding of your references to Salt Lake LDS or your brush with Evangelicalism. I find the people here diverse and interesting, I don't know about formidable. I am sure that the RC church is not desperate for us, the feeling is pretty mutual. But I respect you. I don't know how you reach the conclusion that the Orthodox don't care about the rest of the world , that we may view things differently is true, and that's not likely to change any time soon. Anyway enough, God bless you, forgive me if I offended you in any way.

Hello again, thanks for you generous response. The primary end in Orthodox marriage is the mutual salvation of the couple. If this marriage results in children that is a blessing and the children's (family's) salvation through this Orthodox family situation becomes the primary end. If the marriage is not blessed by children, then the mutual salvation of the couple remains their main focus, and in both circumstances, the physical aspect of marriage is to be lovingly enjoyed. That's very much it in a nutshell. On another note, do the Orthodox need the RC church? Not really, we are doing OK. If being together means accepting a Pope, or Roman theology, or encroaching secularism in the guise of progressiveness, millions of Orthodox would rather go into the desert. I don't believe that Orthodoxy is Catholicism's other lung, so I guess I too am a hold-out.

I apologise if my reply was flippant, I didn't mean to cause offence. We weren't discussing marriage specifically. I think the Orthodox probably don't venerate Augustine as much as other Church Fathers, he certainly isn't quoted as much in the Orthodox church. I think that for him to promote the idea that original sin is transmitted to humanity through the male sperm during intercourse is somewhat strange. And to logically reason from that that any baby who dies before baptism will go to hell, or limbo has struck very real fear into the hearts of generations of RC mothers. Also that any sex that isn't procreational is sinful, and this from a man whose early life seems to have been the epitome of licentiousness seems a twist too far. It's a bit like poacher turned game keeper. We venerate many saints obviously some can be off the mark at times, but we accept that though they are sanctified, they were human and capable of mistakes and form our own judgements in light of Scripture and the teachings of the Church. In the East this particular view of original sin is not held.

When God finished creation he stood back and saw that all was good, very good in fact. Sex as part of creation is a blessing, and is good. What is fallen about it, I suppose is fallen man's attitude and use of it. Of course Christ was capable of sin, otherwise why tempt Him? To see our Lord and our God incarnated as man in every aspect I guess should give us comfort, not make us feel uncomfortable. He knows first hand what being a man is, but all His humanity He laid at the Father's feet, as we as Christians should strive to do. Well that is part of Orthodox Christianity, and it's flippin hard.

THANK augustine for the jaundiced view of sex that Western Chritianity is saddled with, probably due to guilt about his own sexual excesses. Any how, Christ's sexuality, although I am sure was normal as he was tested by all sin, isn't the issue is it, because He came to do the will of the Father, not His own.

If Christ was true man and true God, why should it be assumed that he wasn't?

Hello everyone. On the subject of salvation, which for us Orthodox is theosis: spiritual union with God through grace. Of course His crucification, death and resurrection are central to Christ's overcoming death for our reunion with the Father. I would recommend Bishop Kenneth Myers YouTube videos on Salvation and How We Got it Wrong. Bishop Ken is an Anglican Bishop but admits to being spiritually Orthodox, and this set of short videos sets forth certainly the Orthodox understanding of salvation. I hope you find them interesting and enlightening as to as the Orthodox view of the saving work of Christ. These videos and others can be found at Kenneth Myers website through Graceworks. Just click on the menu and scroll down to videos. .Why Christ's salvation and death? Because God so loved the world. Simply that, and our understanding of love falls very short of our understanding of God's.

I am so sorry to hear of this attack on an LDS church. May God have mercy on the souls of the dead and healing to those who are wounded. Shocking, really shocking!

The subject of yes/no answers is interesting. I was a member of a different tradition before embracing Holy Orthodoxy. However, that tradition was troubled by factions and sensational controversies which was very unsettling for me. This period was very painful. So I randomly sought out an Orthodox church and priest who said I could attend and would be welcome. That was it as far any attempt at proselytising went. I actually didn't intend to leave my church. I just needed a breathing space, a place where I could experience an undisputed Liturgy, and then, after that return somehow strengthened. My first impression of the Orthodox Church was one of beauty, the icons, candles etc, sensually pleasing. However the rest of the service seemed very different, foreign actually, so I didn't think I would be going back there. I didn't pray about it, I didn't feel any questions about if Orthodoxy was true or false so yes/no questions and answers were not in my mind...yet there was something. Something that drew me back, something that I can't articulate easily. The priest was always happy to see me, but no pressure. The members were respectfully friendly, but no more than that, no love bombing or anything of that kind. It was the worship. The more I became used to it the more I began to feel that I was actually worshipping God. He was the centre. The was also the impression of anscientness , as if the Liturgy reached right back in time to the beginning of the Christian faith. During this time I started to learn, but again no one pressed me, and it took 2 years before I became Orthodox Christian. Did I get answers to the question, of whether it is the true faith? I never asked the question. Was it the Spirit drawing me back?I believe so. Did I feel as though I had reached home? Yes, eventually, because I realised that He is my home, and Orthodoxy introduced me to Him in a way I had not known before. It was a gradual process, and it is still, or I am still a work in progress. And for me, I can now say a resounding Yes to the question of whether it is the true faith. But it has taken time and trust, faith and a relationship with prayer that has brought me to that answer.

Not being LDS, I haven't experienced Christians trying to talk me out of my faith by creating doubts etc. However I do know some LDS, and their faith runs very deep and strong. So I would imagine that the loss of that faith is shocking to the individual who then needs time to heal. I don't think that trying to get the exmo to join another denomination after you have destroyed or helped to destroy an ailing faith is at all helpful to that person, in fact I would imagine it might drive them in the opposite direction. I think a person living through a crisis of faith needs everyone to back off and give them space. I am sure that the last thing they need is for some zealot from another tradition trying to supplant their faith with their own, I can imagine they are going through enough already. For those who try to destroy another person's faith, however well intentioned, don't realise the damage that they may be doing to that individual, and possibly their family relationships. I also wonder if some of those Christians who strive to destroy another's faith are motivated by pride and vanity rather than by love.