The Greek Orthodox church I attend use a mixture of English and Greek. Congregational participation is also affected by the amount of non-English used. Much of the services there are sung or chanted. I often visit a nearby Russian Orthodox church. It’s important to keep in mind that congregational participation vary across jurisdictions. You’re not engaged in lengthier prayers and responses. (7:51) Other than that you’re not doing much. The Orthodox church service is completely chanted or sung. I wondered: Did Pastor Wedgeworth visit mostly Russian Orthodox churches? He notes: Remember, you cannot see or read peoples’ hearts or their motives.Ĭongregational Participation in Worship (7:51) Or, they believe they possess true understanding long before they have all the facts at hand. Some people (Protestants included) are far too ready to make quick judgments before they understand both sides of the argument. The ability to suspend judgment is critical to intellectual growth. Let me offer an exhortation to first time visitors: Be slow to judge that which is unfamiliar to you. Be respectful of your host culture and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Visiting an Orthodox service is a lot like visiting a foreign culture. The best thing is to just observe what is going on in the services and don’t be quick to judge. My advice to Evangelicals visiting an Orthodox worship service is: Don’t feel obligated to venerate the icons or to cross yourself. He does not see any problem with Evangelicals attending a lecture or Sunday School class at an Orthodox Church (10:34). Pastor Wedgeworth did a good job of describing what one can expect to see upon entering an Orthodox church. The problem comes when you’re actually participating in the use of icons in worship.
Many Protestants will want to leave because of what they think is idolatry. Your nerves will get tight when you see people bowing, burning incense, praying to the icon. He notes that some Reformed Christians might get anxious at seeing Orthodox Christians venerating icons: Typically, the Orthodox answer is that you are not praying to the icon, but you are asking the saint pictured in the icon to pray for you. It’s a connection between heaven and earth. He does a good job presenting the Orthodox understanding of icons: You see icons of the Virgin Mary (they call her the Theotokos), of John the Baptist and of Jesus himself. You walk into an Orthodox Church and to see an Orthodox sanctuary is an amazing thing. Wedgeworth describes what it’s like to enter an Orthodox church: Nicholas Orthodox Church – Springdale, Arkansas To facilitate the review I will be referencing his statements by minute and second in the pod cast. Given the large number of topics covered, I have grouped them into four broad categories: (1) Orthodox worship, (2) the Orthodox Church, (3) Converts to Orthodoxy, and (4) West versus East. This review will be structured along the lines of topics than chronology. In this blog posting I will be responding to Pastor Wedgeworth’s November 16 presentation. The interviews took place on November 2, 16, and 30, 2009.
Ancestral sin romanides preachers institute series#
Trinity Talk, an Internet radio blog, did a three part series with Pastor Steven Wedgeworth on the Eastern Orthodox Church. Response to Pastor Steven Wedgeworth’s “What is Eastern Orthodoxy?” - Trinity Talk Interview No.
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