Putin, patriarchs, and thugs...
(Tim, w/thanks to Lucas) From my perspective, there's little difference between the claims of unity of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Both amount to little more than, "We're real, real old."
No duh.
Read Calvin's Institutes and you'll see that evangelical reformed doctrine and practice are much older, going back to the Apostles themselves with much support in the early and medieval church. I like to tell my congregation that the Roman Catholic church didn't exist until the Council of Trent when it went off in schism. Yes, it's slightly hyperbolic, but a good bit true, too.
Here's an article from the New York Times documenting something those of us with brothers and sisters in Christ working in former Soviet bloc countries knew already. Just as Orthodoxy's scribes were tight with the KGB before Communism's fall, they're tight now with the blinkered nationalistic thugs governing these countries today. And Orthodoxy's patriarchs are in The Man's hip pockets...
Listen to a couple lines taken from the article:
Just as the (Russian) government has tightened control over political life, so, too, has it intruded in matters of faith. The Kremlin’s surrogates in many areas have turned the Russian Orthodox Church into a de facto official religion, warding off other Christian denominations... They have all but banned proselytizing by Protestants and discouraged Protestant worship through a variety of harassing measures, according to dozens of interviews with government officials and religious leaders across Russia.
“We deplore those who are led astray — those Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baptists, evangelicals, Pentecostals and many others who cut Christ’s robes like bandits, who are like the soldiers who crucified Christ, who ripped apart Christ’s holy coat,” declared (Orthodox) priest, the Rev. Aleksei D. Zorin.
The Rev. Vladimir Pakhomov, the minister of the Methodist church, recalled a warning from an F.S.B. (successor agency to the K.G.B.) officer to one of his parishioners: “ ‘Protestantism is facing difficult times — or maybe its end.’ ”
God have mercy on these lands and their people. Doesn't the pic the Times has at the top of its article say it all? Who needs the Roman Catholic Pope when we can have so much pomp and circumstance (not to mention idols of gold) without him? Imagine emerging from Communism's darkness only to be shoved back into the darkness of this coalition of Putin, patriarchs, and thugs, all intent on suppressing evangelical Christian faith--the True Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Pray for those who preach the Gospel in former Soviet bloc countries, that the Lord will protect them from persecution and expulsion already suffered by many, including men and women I know personally.
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If I'm not mistaken, I believe that while there was a part of the Orthodox Church in Russia that was friendly with Communism, there was also a part of that communion that divided itself from the Commie-friendly priests. It was called ROCOR (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia) and I think it was only recently that the two communions came back together.
As one serving in Ukraine we appreciate your prayers. We have not had the flat out persecution that Russia is experiencing but we have most of the other Orthodox baggage. We are considered a sect/cult and it is very difficult to get past the superstition of the common Orthodox person when telling someone the Good News of Jesus. The Orthodox church brought in bones of a saint and other relics that were supposed to have healing powers and people all have their icons/idols on the dash of the their car or bus and in their house. Despite the outward appearance of being Christian, this is a people who desperately need the light of the Gospel to break through the superstition and darkness. Thank you again for your prayers.
Good to hear from you, dear brother; God bless your work for Him.
The persecution of non-Orthodox Christians in Russia began under the Czars/Russian Orthodox, not as many suppose, under the Communists. In fact, when the Russian revolution first took place, there were Christian workers and missionaries who hailed it as an open door to the advance of the gospel. For a few years, it was. These last few years may be a similar sort of open door that is closing in new and not-so-new ways. But there is a small but faithful church there. Pray for God to give them strength and wisdom to be crafty, silent and outspoken as needed.
My family converted to Eastern Orthodoxy about 15 years ago. We have since returned to evangelicalism. It ain't all its cracked up to be. I appreciate this post.
Well, this is true with the eastern orthodox. Many of them actually support freedom of religion in the United States and are critical of Roman Catholics and protestants for putting to death some people for heresy. But when it comes to the Russian Orthodox church in Russia, they turn a blind eye. Actually, the church today is not quite as bad as during the Russian Empire and better on freedom of religion compared to the Byzantine period but when discussing that maybe the church would be wiser to allow protestants freedom more in their country-Russia, even US converts don't understand that the Orthodox faith could double its size in the United States if the Church was proceed as being more open to letting non-orthodox operate in Russia. Actually, the church which tends to be somewhat anti-west recently had some members sign the Mattanhan Declaration with Roman Catholics and Protestants, a first for them.Time will improved the Orthodox church that still lives under the shadow of th Byzantine empire or Russian Empire.
Well, I agree that some of the things with Relics are supersitous but I think Protestants sometimes ignore that those saints that are with the Lord sometimes may be asking God to help us. One Orthodox man related that when he was trying the Jesus Prayer that Serpham of Sarvoic said it with him, and when he turn to look at him, Serpham told him to turn to Christ. A orthodox priest that converted from Evangelicism years ago relates that when he had a serious spinal problem that John Maxivitch, an Orthdox saint appear to him to give him assure that he would be alright and this priest thought that God was talking to him thru John Maxivitch that said nothing that he wouldb alright. There are Orthodox that are actually christians and others that are not. Same goes for Evangelicals that say the sinners prayer, some are christian and some not.
The idea that Calvinism doctrinally predates Orthodoxy is hard to take seriously and anyone interested in the genesis of Reformed ideas can simply visit the extensive literature on this topic - the Reformed are the off spring of medieval Roman Catholicism, which is neither good or bad, just a historical statement.
More to the point, anyone seriously interested in this topic should just read the ante-Nicene literature and the early Trinitarian and Christological debates through the 5th century. What you will find are Orthodox Bishops explicating Orthodox doctrine - from the Scripture, in terms of the teachings they received. I am not suggesting you should accept that as "the True Faith" - one could very well still believe that Calvin got it right and they didn't - but let's at least aspire to some basic historical accuracy.
Dear "Anon,"
Bunk, starting with your hiding your name. If you're going to make such ridiculous claims, use your real name. It will lend a certain gravitas your arguments themselves lack.
Read the Biblical reformers of any age and you'll find the sort of consistency among them that honoring the Word of God produces. This is the reason that one reformer, John Calvin, could quote Augustine and Bernard so constantly in his Institutes--more often than any other authors. It's also the reason he could demonstrate the Biblical nature of the Protestant faith being in agreement with so many patriarchs of the early church. And note I do not capitalize that word 'patriarchs.'
Across the history of the Church, Scripture stands alone and men themselves stand or fall regardless of their non-profit agency affiliations based upon their agreement or disagreement with Scripture.
You also capitalized the word 'orthodox.' What's up with that? Are you making a sectarian claim there, also, for your schismatic communion? (And I say "schismatic" because of your division from the True Church which you justify by repudiating the confession of Scripture's teaching that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Son and the Father.)
Of course, those Early Church fathers you claim for yourself would repudiate your schismatic communion's schism over this issue, including no one less than great Athanasius. Which is to say so-called "Eastern Orthodoxy" is Eastern, but certainly not "orthodox."
Your claim of upper-case "Orthodoxy" reminds me of the Romanists' claim of upper-case "Catholic." Both are high-handed and, historically and biblically speaking, ridiculous. It's "Roman Catholic" and "Eastern Orthodox"--which is to say, neither "catholic" nor "orthodox."
Love,
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