The Orthodox Church is a Traditional Church

 

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.

 

Orthodoxy is a Traditional Church

Anyone who has ever had anything to do with any Orthodox Church will know that it is Traditional. But the Tradition is not a constricting straight-jacket which prevents change and growth, rather it is the skeleton or structure which enables the Church to be both dynamic and remain in continuity with the values and doctrines which define her life.

It has been said that in Orthodoxy 'the dead have a vote' and this is so because the Orthodox Church knows that it does not exist for any one generation, nor are those who have died in Christ dead to the world and the Church. The 'dead have a vote' because they have lived the Christian life before us. We are not starting from scratch in each generation, or even in each year. We are participating in a Church, a spiritual body, that is transforming us, we are not seeking to transform the Church.

In practical terms being part of the Orthodox Church, a Traditional Church, has several advantages.

i. We do not need to make it all up as we go along. Instead of everything in the Church depending on us, we depend on what the Church provides for our spiritual growth and transformation. There is no need to make up new services, they have been the same for centuries. Instead we can concentrate on making the words of each service our own. Perhaps you are not used to using written prayers. Many members of the British Orthodox Church have come from Evangelical backgrounds where extempore or made up prayers are more normal.

But the advantage of written prayers is that how we pray does not depend on the priest or whoever is leading the services having a good day. If we are praying at home then using the daily prayers of the Church means that we are being helped to pray as we should not merely as we feel able.

ii. Having the Tradition of the Church means that there are few arguments about how things should be organised, or what is believed. These have all be defined. We are not wiser than the saints who lived before us, nor is our life so different. We face the same sins, the same temptations, the same heresies and errors.

Orthodoxy does not believe that practicing homosexuality is consistent with he Christian faith, nor does it believe that the ordination of women to the priesthood or the episcopate is endorsed by a proper understanding of the teaching of the Church. These are NOT issues in Orthodoxy. Almost every other Christian group is being ripped apart by these and other liberal ideas infiltrating the Churches, even Roman Catholicism is having to face them. Orthodoxy alone is preserved from their debilitating influence because what is believed and what is practiced is never a matter of a show of hands. The 'dead have a vote', and they say 'No!'.

iii. The Tradition is not the same as a collection of traditions. It is not simply folklore. Tradition stands for 'that which is handed on'. It is in fact the whole life of the Holy Spirit in the Church. So it includes the Scriptures, the body of doctrine, the writings of the Church Fathers and Teachers. It is a rich treasure of spiritual things, both practical - how to pray, how to fast - as well as theological - what do we believe about Christ?.

Everything worth hanging onto is part of the Tradition. There is no need for Christians to try and start from scratch. Rather, by immersing ourselves in this treasure - the Scriptures, the Prayers, the Sermons and Writings, Poetry, Art, Music - we find all we need to begin the transformation which is the goal of the Christian life.

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