SS
#0
Dear friends, I don\'t know how people will take this question, but I hope it won\'t cause trouble.
Some one asked on a poll which Orthodox jurisdiction they thought was the most liberal?
Which Orthodox jurisdication do you think is the most conservative?
I don\'t mean legalist, though perhaps legalism could be a trap some fall into.
I mean traditionalist, anti-ecumenist, following the canons, perhaps old calendarist, too.
Also, hopefully, they are open to converts, too, and don\'t go infor ethnicityism, phyletism.
Well, take care.
I don\'t mean to imply which jurisdiction is the most Orthodox.
I mean, which is more likely to follow old
ways, than not.
Some openness to change may be acceptable,
provided it comes from the Spirit of God,
and does not violate any law, canon, or teaching or doctrine, and is from the grace of God; and which explains the old faith
in a new way that makes the old doctrines
easier to understand and to apply.
New wine in new wineskins, and both are preserved.
Take care.
Always
:confused:
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Giannis M
#1
There is reality, and then there is perception of reality. On Judgement Day, people who are alive in the year 2007 A.D. will look to their left and right, and see people who were alive in 1007 A.D. also rise, and face Judgement. At that moment, the typical excuses we hear in the year 2007 - about why liturgies have to be truncated, why we spend more time watching TV than praying, why we make sure we install comforts such as air conditioning before we open the doors of a Church for service, why Orthros is at 9 a.m. when the word Orthros itself implies \"pre-dawn\", etc - won\'t really matter because everyone is going to be judged equally for what they did and how much they suffered for Christ. Why did the guy living in 1007 have to suffer more than me, and why should I dare to ask for equal treatment, when I was a glutton in the year 2007?
We are living in good times, with plenty to eat and drink, and our gluttonous demands have spilled over to our spiritual demands as well, creating a skewed perception of spiritual reality in the year 2007... let us each examine our spiritual efforts in comparison with what the Desert Fathers, or even our grandparents endured, and only then can we figure out who is \"conservative\" or \"liberal\"...my opinion though is that it is dangerous to seek religious conservatism and asceticism from the comfort of a temperature controled room, in front of a PC screen.
Wanna be a conservative? Look at the experiences mentioned in \"The Ladder\" (or other Desert Father writings, or the lives of the saints), since those experiences were derived from the application of Biblical teaching in real life, and see how conservative you are compared to those writings.... it would be cool if all the hierarchs and clergy do this self-comparison, too.
Giannhs
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SS
#2
I guess my question is somewhat misguided, but perhaps that, too, is a mis-statement.
All I know is it seems way out of my league the Orthodox practice of fasting. Only some Pentecostals seem to do that, or maybe some other denominations. My Lutheran upbringing taught us nothing about fasting along with prayer.
I guess if I change to an Orthodox ethos, I
need to understand their tradition of fasting, and how it helps with prayer.
The thing is to be true to God in prayer,
and not think any thought which goes against the truth and Spirit of God.
Life is a struggle, and it is difficult to be a Christian.
An Orthodox Christian is rare in America.
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John Chan
#3
In some ways, I think I was \"better\" at fasting when I was a Protestant. I didn\'t exactly know what I was doing when I was doing it - but it was out of fervency, expectancy, urgency that would drive me to observe a fast for a set period of time.
Now that I am Orthodox, I am not-so-good at keeping the fasts. I forget what day of the week it is and when I remember, it\'s too late - and I feel that twinge of \"oops\" again.
But from what Fr Joseph tells me, it\'s always a reminder that we constantly have new beginnings in Christ.
Fall down. Get up. Keep going.
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MI
#4
ROCOR/Old Rite :)
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