The Prayer Letter - Part 2

The second thing that I'd like to touch that I wrote about in my letter was the Eucharist, referred to as Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper in Protestant congregations. I can count with one hand the number of times I have received the Lord's Supper since I was baptized at the age of 9. Three times and I am now in my early 20's.

I suppose we could say that is the danger in looking at the Eucharist as only symbolic. As a child of a Protestant ordained minister, attending most services and church activities, I have had the ample opportunity to participate in those types of things. But even so, due to many reasons, I have only received the Lord's Supper three meager times, and as something entirely symbolic, on top of that.

The irregularity of taking the Eucharist/Lord's Supper has been for different reasons. But quite recently I have heard a strange reason why at my congregation we don't do the Lord's Supper every Sunday as how the first Christians did. One of the church leaders was giving a bible study on the Book of Acts, and the topic of the Lord's Supper arose. He had said, "It is very important to take the Lord's Supper, also known as Holy Communion in other churches, because it is mandated by the Lord. We are to do so in remembrance of him, symbolically. Depending on the Church, some will do the Lord's Supper once a month, every three months, and so on. We need to start doing it as well but one of the reasons why we don't do it every Sunday is so that it doesn't become a ritual."

The irony is that this congregation is staunchly Sola Scriptura. While it doesn't consider itself Protestant (due to misinformation), it is Protestant vastly to the letter. Funny how we say that our aim is to live by Sola Scriptura and live like the first Christians, and yet we don't hold Communion every Sunday so that it doesn't become a ritual?

For the Orthodox Christian, I have come to understand that the sacrament of the Eucharist is life and the center of worship. It is an extremely important part of the liturgy of the Church, which according to my reading, it is ancient and without or very little reform. For the Eucharist/Lord's Supper to not be taken with such seriousness causes much concern to me. Why are we avoiding the practice of "the breaking of the bread" every Sunday just so that it doesn't become a ritual?

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."  - John 6:53,54

To be continued...

The Prayer Letter - Part 1

This morning when I sat down to write in my journal, I started out my journal entry as a prayer to the Father about my struggles. But as I wrote my prayer, it turned more into a reflection of my spiritual life presently as a Protestant Christian, and I expressed my needs as someone who feels like they are stuck in a ruck, unable to move in any direction. And since it pertains to Orthodoxy, I thought it would be good to share this to anyone willing to read of my experiences.

I started out writing of how badly I serve God. And how at this moment, I find it even harder now to serve him as I am unable to reconcile the differences of Orthodoxy and of the faith I am presently in. It's almost like I am being pulled from both sides; almost like a struggle, a hindrance to serving God with my whole heart, to which I also must confess, I don't think I have ever served God in truth and in spirit because unfortunately for me, without realizing it, it has always been about appearances and doing the minimum to get by.

As I continued in writing, I started to think about how there are so many dangerous things about my current situation. The first thing I'd like to touch is that of confession. I don't truly confess my sins, not to God, or anyone. It's a habit that I never really formed. When I pray, I utter at the end of almost all prayers, "forgive me of my sins", and somehow expect that to be enough; some form of a magic formula that cleanses me. When I think about it, I realize that I don't genuinely repent of my sins, nor am I held accountable by anyone. On a side note: Sure, I have my parents to hold me accountable for certain things that I do, but what about the things that I don't confess and keep inside me?

I think about the sacrament of confession in the Orthodox Church, and how even though certain Protestant groups protest of its function and criticize it as unbiblical, it makes me wonder with what regularity do ministers implore the members of their congregation to confess and repent of their sins on a daily basis? How often do ministers preach in their sermons about humility before the Lord, contriteness, repentance, and confession as something that must be continual and not a one-time thing?

Paul said, "Confess your sins to one another." Protestants would be quick to point out that it says to one another, not a priest. But my question is do these same people who protest of such practice of continual confession of sins to priests even make it a practice to confess their own sins to anyone at all? At least there is a safeguard in the Orthodox Church that encourages continual confession and repentance.    

To be continued...

Intercession, Veneration, and the Theotokos

Since beginning my research on Christian Orthodoxy, it has shifted to becoming a journey. My research on the Orthodox Church from the perspective of the Oriental Orthodox Church has shifted to studying also the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Christian Church, and the Greek Orthodox Church. And quite frankly, my views on Orthodoxy are changing.

In this small lapse of time, I've come to learn that the doctrine taught in these churches of the Christian East is the same, each Church with a history of its own, but the same teaching, nevertheless. Many would contend that they don't uphold the same doctrine, due to the history of the schisms within the Orthodox Christian Church. But in the little that I have scratched from the surface, I have so far seen that the 'Church of the seven councils', regardless of its internal schisms, still 'hold fast' to what is supposedly the traditions passed down to them by the Apostles 2000 years ago.   

For the past weeks, I've spent a lot of time looking into the doctrines that as a Protestant I most have difficulty coming to terms with; namely, the intercession of the Saints, the Theotokos, and the veneration of the Saints and their relics (all three of which all Orthodox Christian Churches practice to this day!). While I still struggle with these concepts because I am fairly new to it, thanks to wonderful contacts and new made friends, I have a better understanding of these principals that so many Christians in the West (namely the Protestants) have dubbed as heretical. And I have come to the conclusion... those principals really are not heretical. They are, in fact, enriching, miraculous, and a mystery. 

In summary, I have learned: According to the Orthodox Christian Church,

• The Saints intercede for us before the Lord. I learned that intercession and mediation are two different things; the Lord Jesus Christ is INDEED our only mediator before God the Father, but that the Saints also participate still in praying for their brothers and sisters who are still on Earth. It's not wrong to ask for their prayers because as Paul has stated, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much". For the Orthodox Christian, the Saints are as righteous as righteous one can get as they are with the Lord, the Righteous One above all.  
• The perpetual virginity of the Theotokos is an extremely important aspect of the Christology taught in the Orthodox Christian Church. Through this concept I came to understand the elevated importance of purity, both physical and mental. In years prior, I always agreed with the teaching that Mary and Joseph had children after Jesus. But then the Orthodox Christian Church pointed out something, among other things, so overwhelming to me that I immediately was awed by the concept. How is it possible to even think that God after dwelling in the womb of Mary would allow Mary's body to be used by man? This concept in itself isn't an attack against holy matrimony nor the natural use of sex to procreate or enjoy intimacy with your spouse as  it is God who is the creator of life and designed these things to be so. But St Mary's perpetual virginity has a special place in the theology of the Orthodox Church; one that I so wished our Protestant Churches in the West were exposed to because of the lack of zeal for purity in today's society by the younger generation, even in the Protestant Church. Ezekiel 44:1-4 is the reference made by the Orthodox as to support the theology behind the perpetual virginity of St Mary, the Theotokos.  
• The veneration of the Saints and their relics is not idolatry. For the Orthodox Christian, veneration is not worship as worship belongs to God and God alone. Veneration equates honor. When a Saint is venerated, it means a Saint is being honored for what they have done in the name of Christ. When the Orthodox celebrate the Saint's feast, it's the day for the Saint to be honored and exalted as a Saint. For the Orthodox, to remember and celebrate the Saint is a way to inspire one to imitate the Saint because the Saint imitated Christ (which is why they are even recognized as a Saint to begin with). As the Lord Jesus Christ has stated, "Give honor to whom honor is due". And as Paul had stated, "And you should imitate me just as I imitate Christ."

Of course, there is so much more to these three concepts that I have briefly summarized, and that I need to build on. One thing that I would like to point out is that one overlapping principal that I have learned is the importance of Holy Tradition along with Holy Scripture (more on that later). The intercession of the Saints, the theological aspect the Theotokos, and the veneration of the Saints are all supported by the beam of Holy Tradition. I would have to include that not only is my view changing about Orthodoxy, but also that of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition.

So much of my views are changing, and I am aware that they will continue to change as I continue on this 'journey' into Orthodoxy. I can't say for sure that I will become an Orthodox, but I can't say for sure that I won't. But one of the many things I can most definitely assure you, Orthodox Christianity is changing the way I see myself, the Church, and most importantly, God! And I believe it for good!

- Protestant Reverting