tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27046650.post801495130056149570..comments2024-01-03T05:26:38.706-06:00Comments on Journey To orthodoxy: I'm No MathematicianUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27046650.post-41607907174368394922007-09-24T21:15:00.000-05:002007-09-24T21:15:00.000-05:00Valid question Vir. Dare I attempt to answer it? R...Valid question Vir. Dare I attempt to answer it? Repentance. Our leaders must repent, not just confess the problem as Metropolitan Philip has done, but repent. There is pervasive Arab bias as well. Our blessed Metropolitan and others hold to a dichotomy of supporting the Western Rite and the inclusion of Evangelical converts, but also sending a letter to all their churches denouncing Israel and standing in support of Hamas terrorists. What does this have to do with Orthodoxy? Nothing. It is a political statement birthed of Arab bias. Someone must be the first to stand before their SCOBA brothers and repent of putting Culture before Christ. My question to Antioch is, "Will it be you?" <BR/><BR/>Forgive... <BR/>JTOJTO Editor Nathan Lee Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01508044089049795771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27046650.post-26732826303124166302007-09-24T19:27:00.000-05:002007-09-24T19:27:00.000-05:00Megadittoes from me. The problem was made very cle...Megadittoes from me. The problem was made very clear by Met. Phillip: too many people are more interested in being Greek or Russian or Arabs than being Orthodox, and too many people think that only the Greeks and Russians are the true Orthodox (despite St. John of Shanghai saying the opposite) and too many people are stuck in their balkanized ghetto mentality and have no desire to change.<BR/><BR/>Erstwhile people settle for Rome with all it's innovations, or go to various prot sects and make up their own rules.<BR/><BR/>My question to Antioch is: What are you going to do about it?VSOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400266818545081938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27046650.post-74523694126942735942007-09-21T21:24:00.000-05:002007-09-21T21:24:00.000-05:00Thanks Poly. I like that name better than Anon. I ...Thanks Poly. I like that name better than Anon. I have a button problem as well. I was once cast in a TV commercial where all I had to do was ring a doorbell. I missed.<BR/><BR/>JTOAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27046650.post-18105324588299530412007-09-21T19:00:00.000-05:002007-09-21T19:00:00.000-05:00This is "Anon". I am sorry but I pushed the wrong ...This is "Anon". I am sorry but I pushed the wrong button. I am quite happy to stand behind what I write. I would not want what I post to be an offense to anyone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27046650.post-25634335933418198672007-09-21T11:21:00.000-05:002007-09-21T11:21:00.000-05:00I agree totally. The holy Orthodox church has not...I agree totally. The holy Orthodox church has not gained a proper share of Americans or Canadians. I live in Evansvile, IN (notwithstanding that I hold an old Scottish title) and there is no Orthodox church here. The Greeks use to have a mission here, the priest was great and the people were great. They met twice a month at a Lutheran church, but discontinued the mission due to low attendance. While I have great respect for the traditional eastern rite, I have a M.A. in European studies and have had two+ years of graduate theology, and I am more understanding of and open to the beauty of the ancient eastern rite than many who do not have a ethnic tradition of the ER. Most Americans have a western European culture and they find the eastern rite too "different". That is a real shame, but nevertheless true. Most Orthodox parishes have a very large percentage of ethnic members (Greek-Americans for Greek Orthodox; Russian-Americans for OCA and ROCOR/etc.). They are almost without exception very open to all of God's children but still tend to have a high ethnic membership and non-ethnic people thinking of joining look at the "strange" (to them) rite and the fact that they are not a member of the majority ethnic group of the parish and are very often reluctant to join. The history of the early Church was one that included taking the faith to all cultures and adapting it without weakening in any way the dogma of our faith. The Western Rite is very much in this ancient tradition. Further, in this time period, we see the Catholic Church and the Episcopal/Anglican having a real moral breakdown. Millions of Catholics and those in the Anglican and Episcopal traditions are hungry for orthodoxy (small "C") and the Orthodox (big "C") Church has always been true to the ancient faith started by Jesus Christ and His apostles. The real growth (when you factor out normal population growth) in the Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada is in the Western Rite. I think that Metropolitan Philip and the Antiochian Orthodox should be given credit for being the most successful at spreading the ancient faith....is this not a basic duty of all Christians?! I just wish we had a Western Rite parish in my hometown (Evansville, IN).<BR/><BR/>Yours in Christ,<BR/><BR/>Tim Alexander (Earl of Stirling)<BR/>earlofstirling@yahoo.comLord Stirlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14736852228762202003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27046650.post-80966751799775926362007-09-21T10:39:00.000-05:002007-09-21T10:39:00.000-05:00Thanks "Anon". I hope the choice of posting anonym...Thanks "Anon". I hope the choice of posting anonymously isn't because you don't want to go on record with your view. I never intend this BLOG to be a gripe session because I know that some seeking this, the true Church, may be distracted from their Journey and critics may use the few negatives as fodder. On the other hand it is imperative that those on their journey realize that the Orthodox faith recognizes the Laymen as the fourth order of the priesthood. All must use the gifts that God has given to fulfill the commission to win the world. In this respect, one priest (layman) is speaking to another priest (ordained leaders)to bring the effective change within the Church in America and the world.JTO Editor Nathan Lee Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01508044089049795771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27046650.post-112011993485796302007-09-20T23:25:00.000-05:002007-09-20T23:25:00.000-05:00You are absolutely right. The impression some give...You are absolutely right. The impression some give of massive growth in Orthodoxy in North America is is simply an illusion. The Western Rite is a natural and it needs to be massively encouraged and supported. Still in much of Orthodoxy "Missions" are simply the herding of folk from the old country. Of course there are exceptions but the most dramatic growth and potential is in the Western Rite.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com