All I know is that dialogue like this that I see on this thread is not conducive to allowing anyone to try to learn / become Orthodox. Yes, I believe that Orthodoxy is right - and I have come to believe that it has the fullness of the truth - but I would have to agree with Timothy Ware (Bishop Kallistos) when he quotes from Khominakov in his book \"The Orthodox Church\" that \"Inasmuch as the earthly and visible Church is not the fullness and completeness of the whole Church which the Lord appointed to appear at the final judgement of all creation, she acts and knows only within her own limits...She does not judge the rest of humankind, and only looks upon those as excluded, that is to say, not belonging to her, who exclude themselves. The rest of humankind, whether alien from the Church, or united to her by ties which God has not willed to reveal to her, she leaves to the judgement of the great day\" Timothy Ware himself states that \"It may seem that this exclusive claim on the Orthodox side precludes any serious \'ecumenical dialogue\' between Orthodox and other Christians, and any constructive work by Orthodox for reunion. And yet it would be wrong to draw such a conclusion: for, paradoxically enough, over the past seventy years there have been a large number of encouraging and fruitful contacts. Although enormous obstacles still remain, there has also been real progress to reconciliation. If Orthodox claim to constitute the one true Church, what then do they consider to be the status of those Christians who do not belong to their comunion? Different Orthodox would answer in different ways, for although nearly all Orthodox are agreed in their fundamental teaching concerning the Church, they do not entirely agree concerning the practical consequences which follow from this teaching. There is first a more moderate group, which includes most of those Orthodox who have had close personal contact with other Christians. This group holds that, while it is true to say that Orthodoxy is the Church, it si false to conclude from this that those who are not Orthodox cannot possibly belong to the Church. Many people may be members of the Church who are not visibly so; invisible bonds may exist despite an outward separation. The Spirit of God blows where it chooses and, as Irenaeus said, where the Spirit is, there is the Church. We know where the Church is but we cannot be sure where it is not.\"
Ware also points out that others believe that others, such as Metropolitan Antony Khrapovitsky believe as follows...\"Heretics and schismatics have from time to time fallen away from the one indivisible Churc, and, by so doing, they ceased to be members of the Church, but the Church itself can never lose its unity according to Christ\'s promise.\" Yet, as Ware points out, this group also says that \"divine grace may well be active among many non-Orthodox - and if they are sincere in their love of God, then we may be sure that God will have mercy upon them ; but they cannot, in their present state, be termed members of the Church\"
So, how does this relate? Well - I guess my point is that it is difficult for me - and I hope for most of you - to say that you fully understand how God works. We know what the fullness of the truth is, and where the true Church lies. But tell me...is it possible that God, in his infinite mercy, will have mercy on those who have searched for him and loved him, yet never realized that the Orthodox church was the one true Church? I agree....there are issues here. But please - for the sake of those of us who are new and still struggling to find our way in Orthodoxy - refrain from throwing insults (whether intended or unintended) to both the places where we converts have come from, and - in the case of other Orthodox Christians - perhaps remove a bit of feeling from it to make it more...effective. Yes, you can\'t water down doctrine to be less offensive - I hate it when people do that - but you CAN be tactful in the way you speak.
Forgive me if I have offended anyone through this post...
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