Pastor or Priest?

 

Are you interested in Orthodoxy?

You are not alone. Each year the number of Western Christians finding a secure, stable and transforming life in Orthodoxy is growing. The British Orthodox Church is made up almost entirely of converts from a wide range of Christian backgrounds, other religions and no faith at all. We have all come together to find the fulness of the Christian life in Orthodoxy.

We are very glad that you have taken the time to visit our website and we hope that these resources will help you understand a little more of what Orthodoxy is all about, experience something of our spiritual life, and even discover how you can be a part of real Christianity for yourself.

Orthodoxy has so much to offer the modern world. It has a stability of faith and doctrine that rejects our preoccupation with the immediate. Orthodoxy does not change its moral base to reflect the mores of those around us, rather it demands that we ourselves be transformed day by day. So the practice of any form of homosexuality, or indeed the practice of heterosexuality outside marriage, is not condoned. There is no agitation for the ordination of women. The Bible remains the central pillar of Church teaching, and the traditional doctrines about Christ are vigorously defended. Our life in the Church has the aim of transforming us, we do not seek to make the Church merely reflect our own spiritual mediocrity.

If you have any questions then please make sure you ask them. We will do our very best to support your spiritual pilgrimage as best we can.

 

Are you a pastor or priest interested in Orthodoxy? Do you have a group of people who share your interest? Of course the British Orthodox Church cannot accept your ministry without coming to know you personally. Nor does Orthodoxy accept on their own the orders or position which you might have, but just as Orthodox baptism is the fulfillment of our Christian experience before becoming Orthodox, so the fulfillment of our ministries in the Orthodox Church requires that the Orthodox Church seals our vocation and calling by her own ordinations.

There are no absolute guarantees that a pastor or priest will become an Orthodox priest, but we can promise that ministries exercised outside of Orthodoxy will be taken into account as a personal relationship develops between a clergy enquirer and the British Orthodox Church. We value your previous service and ministry and this will be recognised in the process of Orthodox catechesis.

If you are leader of a group of enquirers then it may be that you might be ordained a subdeacon after a period of catechesis with such a group so that you can continue to exercise a ministry of leadership within that group without either party being committed to considering any further ministry at such an early stage.

Our aim is to be as supportive of you and any group that seeks to become Orthodox and we will do all we can to facilitate this process. If you already have a ministry of leadership then we will try to ensure that you regularly meet clergy of the British Orthodox Church, and it will be important that you meet and are in contact with our bishop and senior priests as often as possible.

Becoming Orthodox is never an individualistic or isolated decision it is always a becoming part of a living community and Church family and therefore it is important at every stage that there be an experience of fellowship within the wider British Orthodox community.

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