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.jpg) I remember early on in our investigations of Orthodoxy hearing a bewildering comparison: If one asks a western Christian what he believes, one is invited to the library. If one asks an Orthodox Christian the same, one is invited to church.
This somehow made a profound impact on me; though I couldn’t understand it fully—at least the part about Orthodoxy. What such a statement attempts to convey, obviously, is that Western Christianity (Roman or Protestant) is somehow, on average, stuck in the cerebrum (as evidenced by my lack of understanding!) and marinated in the academics of God. The more one knows about God, the more one (theoretically) knows God. Whereas Orthodox Christianity is grounded in the experience of God, primarily through prayer and worship.
For many of us coming from non-Orthodox Christian backgrounds, this focus on the ‘experience of God’ can make us nervous. On the one hand, our faith-heritages (which we have come to question) have taught us that the experience of God is only found in ecstatic, outward ‘experiences’ of the Holy Spirit—speaking in tongues, being ‘slain in the spirit’, and even uncontrollable sound-making such as barking and laughter. On the other hand, we have received from liberal Christianity an understanding that ‘experiencing God’ means taking my personal experience—whatever it is—and labeling it ‘from God’, thereby sanctifying it. Both of these miss the Orthodox mark—knowing God by worshipping him in connection with those across the globe, and across time, and outside of time.
To this day I remember the direction of my (now) spiritual father—this was at the time when I was wrestling my way towards the Orthodox faith—“Go sit quietly before and icon of Christ with a votive lit before the icon.” What!?!? Now, six or seven years later, I am only beginning to begin to appreciate what that direction both means and accomplishes. If we want to know God, we must be still and silent before him. Come and see. Watch and pray.
Of course, this involves and requires theological underpinnings. Without knowing the Gospel, we cannot adequately discern what we hear and see in silence and prayer. But the most significant interpretation and amplification of the Gospel comes in the hymns and prayers of our worship, both private and public. For this reason, we go to church and not to the library.
No time is this more evident that during Holy Week and Pascha, especially Holy Friday, Holy Saturday, and Pascha. This, precisely is Orthodox Christianity, showing us the truth about God and the truth about Man, and welcoming us into the redemption of all by Jesus Christ.
This is not Eastern or Western. It is Christianity—though it has been fully guarded and passed down only here, by God’s grace.
Action Item: Well, Go to church! Especially the Sacred Triduum. But if you missed it, begin by the weekend cycle—Saturday-Sunday—and find a way to read the prayers and hymns apart from the service. Don’t read them during the service—watch and pray!
Further reading: Texts of the services—ask your priest or choir director. Another helpful primer of the differences: “Orthodoxy for the Non-Orthodox” by Fr John Garvey. Published by Templegate.
The accompanying episode of Come Receive the Light is available here.
Fr. John Parker, a regular contributor to the Orthodox Christian Network, is Priest-in-Charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, a mission of the OCA. He earned his M.Div. at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA, and his M.Th. from St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY. He and his wife, Jeanette, and their two sons live in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. In this "free time" you can find Fr. John surfing his 9'4 Hobie noserider.
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