Ex-Church of Christ Support Board

It is no secret that I am becoming an Orthodox Christian, in a Greek Orthodox Church an hour away from where I live. It has been a long journey to shake off the old way of thinking and to take on a new view of things I have known but not really.

The Orthodox looks very different from the perspective of a bare CoC. My upbringing was heavy in "right worship", "right doctrine" and "right preaching". But was it all of that? Sure I heard about love and compassion but did I see it in action? Maybe sometimes.

It seemed to me growing up that I needed to be saved and know when that happened and then do everything I could to avoid going to the place of torment. I am learning as a catechumen, in Orthodoxy that I am not "saved" but being saved. That is a big difference, instead of running away from something, I am moving towards something. Not running from eternal torment but running towards becoming something. Being saved gives an atmosphere of humility and the recognition that the journey is not finished. The old way seems to foster an attitude of superiority, that I am better than you and that you should be like me, sound familiar? I just don't get the sense, even though it is stated that the Orthodox is right and is connected all the way back in time, that it is not harsh and dogmatic. I'm sure there are some that behave that way, but it is certainly not taught and not something I have witnessed yet.

Thanks, Agricola

Are orthodox priests forbidden to marry like catholic priests?

flawed wrote:Are orthodox priests forbidden to marry like catholic priests?

No. Our priest is married. He did need to be married before becoming a priest though.

Catholic priests can be married. It just depends on which rite they belong to. The Catholics here in the states and most of Europe belong to the Roman rite. They usually are not allowed to be married. But a well trained clergyman from another denomination who converts can often get a special dispensation to become a priest even if he is married with kids.

Eastern rite and some of the Middle eastern rites of the Catholic church allow married priests.

gordie91 wrote:It is no secret that I am becoming an Orthodox Christian, in a Greek Orthodox Church an hour away from where I live. It has been a long journey to shake off the old way of thinking and to take on a new view of things I have known but not really.

The Orthodox are admirable in many ways. Very many old texts have been found in monastery libraries. There is nothing like that in the CoC because they were not there in 325 AD let alone ad 33. The Orthodox are famous for Bibles printed in the native tongue. The Cyrillic alphabet was an Orthodox invention so Slavic people could have a Bible they could read. The Romans kept theirs in Latin and forbade translation into English. Burned at the stake was William Tyndale for a Greek to English Translation. John Wycliffe was exhumed and burned for an English Translation from the Latin. One notable difference is the use of leavened bread in communion. There are probably others.