Part Four from the “Becoming Orthodox” blog. Christ did not found a philosophical movement called Christianity, he founded His Church. Then he said that the gates of Hell would not overcome it. From the Orthodox Wiki: The traditional belief in the Church is attested to in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed as the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. By […]
The Church On Antarctica
The priests take care of the spiritual needs of staff of nearby Russian, Chilean, Polish, and Korean research stations. Their obligations include prayers for souls of 64 Russians who lost their lives in various expeditions, and the very occasional, very chilly, baptism. Recently the church performed its first wedding–the first wedding ever celebrated in a church in Antarctica. It was between a Chilean and Russian researcher, and was a proud moment for the southernmost Orthodox church in the world.
My Conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy
As was St. Vladimir over a thousand years ago, I found myself deeply moved by the beauty and reverence of the Orthodox liturgy. The focus of the liturgy is quite clearly the worship of the awesome Creator before whom we stand in humble supplication, asking His mercy upon us. This was often in sharp contrast with the mood (though, to be fair, not necessarily with the theological understanding) of most Protestant church services which I had attended over the years where the latest programs (or fads) or preferences of the local minister too often dictated the format and style of the service.
A Little Here – A Little There
Our investigation and eventual membership in the Orthodox Church had nothing to do with the usual conversion subjects. Ours was an issue of spiritual hunger, spiritual formation, and Orthodox ethos.
Protestant Church Worker goes “East”
It was strikingly beautiful, refreshing, deep, and challenging.