CONVERSION TO ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

CONVERSION TO ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY

"So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the Prophet Isaiah, and
said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, ‘How
can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he asked Philip to come up
and sit with him." [Acts 8:30-31].

The eunuch is aware he needs guidance. Here Philip answers that need with BASIC CATECHISM (instruction), something all seekers and new believers need. Entering the Eastern Orthodox Church involves moving from an INQUIRER to a CATECHUMEN, followed by reception through baptism or chrismation. Key expectations include regular worship attendance, formal instruction or catechism, and moral transformation typically lasts from a year to as much as three years. It is most important both for the candidate as well as the Church that the process is not rushed through. Converting is a very delicate and serious matter. Because it involves the sacraments of the Church, the local priest should be careful and judicious before anything is decided. Conversion requires a life-long commitment and therefore the candidate must be very certain and his/her decision must be based on knowledge of the faith, deep understanding, personal conviction, and not an emotional response.

The Holy Apostle in his letter to the Romans !!:13, 16-18) writes: "For I speak to you Gentiles…if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches are broken off and you, a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, with them partaking of the root and nourishment of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches."

The early Church required that inquirers spent three years in instruction befofor baptism. This structured preparation period was known as the catechumenate.
The early text The Apostolic Tradition written around 235 A.D. specifies that person "let him hear the word for three years" before receiving baptism. The time was used not just to learn teachings, but to test the daily life, behavior, and morals of the person wanting to join the faith. "Inquirers started as "hearers" and moved forward step-by-step as they proved their commitment to Christian living.

Currently, however, how a person is admitted in the Church differs from parish to parish and from one Orthodox jurisdiction to another. Also, the background of the individual matters. If the person’s background is a more traditional Christian background, i.e., Roman Catholic, Anglican, etc. he/she have some liturgical worship experience and sacramental knowledge and practice. The Orthodox priest, under these circumstances, will focus on how the theology and tradition differs. If the background is a Protestant background then the attention will be directed in teaching the person liturgical worship, adherence to the sacraments, on fasting, confession, venerating holy icons, making the sign of the cross, conforming to the Holy Tradition of the Church. If one has not been baptized, you will be baptized. If one was baptized but NOT in the name of the Holy Trinity that baptism will not be accepted or recognized as valid by the Church. Our Lord Jesus Christ is very clear with His disciples about how to baptize a person. He said to them, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…" [Matthew 28:19-20].

The Orthodox Church is not known for proselytizing Christians of heterodox traditions. However, the Orthodox Church abides by Jesus’ commision of His disciples and apostles: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations" (Matthew 28:18-19). Therefore, the Orthodox Church has missions and missionaries that bring the Christian gospel to the nations and peoples which have not heard it. The people who seek out the Authentic Church of Christ have been guided by the Holy Spirit and not by Orthodox missionaries knocking at your door.

The local Orthodox priest observes those candidates or catechumens guided by him to see if they are spiritually ready and prepared. The parish priest has an awesome responsibility to make sure that he follows the guidelines of the Church and avoid any sort of compromise. It is best to use good judgment and by the grace of God to use wisdom and common sense before making a serious mistake. It is imperative that the knowledge, understanding and commitment of the catechumens is correct and profound. Prayerfully, the new Orthodox Christian, will in time, attain what is called in the Orthodox Church ‘phronema’ by the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Phronema bridges correct belief (orthodoxia) and correct practice/worship, (orthopraxia), meaning faith is lived out dynamically rather than as an intellectual exercise.

The transition from their old religious affiliation to Orthodoxy must be a normal one and not one which leads to obsessive behavior. When the "new convert" should concentrate in developing the Orthodox mindset and spirit. The change should not be stressful but a natural outcome and peaceful. It is good to be joyful for discovering the true faith but, as an Orthodox Christian now, your focus must be on thinking, feeling and acting as a true member of Christ’s Church. The heart of the Orthodox Christian is overflowing with agape for our Lord, Savior, and God Jesus Christ and our fellow man. That is nothing to prove to anyone, other than, seeking the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. To be an instrument of God, an instrument of goodness, kindness, compassion, humility, mercy, and forgiveness. "Let the mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" [Philippians 2:5).

The above mentioned passage is a hymn already in use in the Orthodox Church, quoted here by the Holy Apostle Paul because it calls all of us to ponder the humility of our Savior Christ, a truth necessary for suffering Christians to understand and live out. The passage has been incorporated into many hymns of the Orthodox Church. Our Lord Christ is He Who, being in "the form of God, is also in the "form of a bondservant, in our likeness, and is voluntarily subject to death. He Who died, God has exalted and given the name LORD.

To be a good Orthodox Christian takes requires the grace of God and our own and free willingness to take up our cross and to follow Him. To worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is to live for Him and in Him. We, therefore, as Orthodox Christians should be willing to worship Him and serve Him obediently and "do all things without complaining and disputing" (Philippians 2:14).

As baptized Orthodox Christians, we are becoming in practice what we are already in spirit. As we die with Christ, so we must will be experience death daily by "killing" old sinful and disintegrating passions. As we were raised with Christ, so we must will to experience life daily by the virtuous desires of the "new man" which we all are in the body of Christ. The "new man" grows from one stage of perfection, to another, becoming "the image of Jesus Christ and throughout eternity "the image" of "Him Who created him." We must lose our focus and goal which is to live Christ daily and always pray for one another. Be patient, determined, committed and decisive. Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ is and will alway be with us always.

Countless Orthodox Christians have sacrificed their lives to protect our Orthodox Chrsitian faith instead of betraying it. Every Orthodox Christian must do his/her best to preserve, defend, and protect the Faith. Holy Tradition is that which Jesus Christ taught to the Holy Apostles, and which they, in turn, taught the Church under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in (a) instruction as they visited the churches and (b) their writings. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit we adhere to Holy Tradition as is present in the Apostles’ writings and as it is resident in the Church to which the truth is promised (John 16:13).

In Orthodoxy today, as in years gone by, the basics of Christians doctrine, worship, and government are never up for alteration. One cannot be an Orthodox priest, for example, and reject the Divinity of Christ, His virgin birth, Resurrection, Ascension into heaven, and Second Coming. The Church simply has not left its course for over two thousand years. It is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. It is the New Testament Church. Her history can be traced in UNBROKEN CONTINUITY ALL THE WAY BACK TO CHRIST AND HIS TWELVE APOSTLES. What is it that’s missing in the non-Orthodox communions–even the best of them? FULLNESS. For the FULLNESS of the New Testament faith is to be found ONLY in the New Testament Church Being in the Church does not guarantee all those in it will take advantage of the fullness of the faith. but that the fullness is there for those who do.

_______
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George