Questions about the Eastern Orthodox faith (Jesus Christ, Creator, Earth, crucified)

[James the Persian]

Just bumping this thread so that Buttercup (and anyone else with questions about Orthodoxy) can see it more easily.

James

[bible truth]

Originally Posted by IacobPersul

I was inspired by Scott's efforts over on the Roman Catholic forum to do something similar for our faith. If you have any questions about Orthodoxy I will do my best to answer them, though I have no intention of this thread becoming a debate.

I hope that this might be valuable to the many people here who are unfamiliar with Orthodoxy and would wish that thios might contribute to people understanding my faith better and a reduction in the number of misconceptions I see that people hold about us. Feel free to ask me absolutely anything (on this topic ) and I'll try to respond promptly.

James

Hey James,

I think I have been on this site for about a week. It's a great site! I need to restate my comment about the visible church because I made a mistake on my posting.

I believe the visible church consists of Eastern Orthodox, Roman Church, and legitimate protestant rooted churches. I believe the visible church consists of converted and unconverted professing Christians. Some are united to Christ and some remain united to Adam in the visible church (sheep and goats; wheat and tears inside the visible church). I believe there are converted individuals who are united to Christ that do not belong to the visible church.

The invisible church is only known by God consisting of all believers that have been granted saving faith in Christ and have been united to Christ. Ephesians 4 is a key chapter to verify that the invisible church is catholic (universal in nature). Could you please comment one more time about my understanding of the visible and invisible church? - BT

[James the Persian]

Originally Posted by bible truth

Hey James,

I think I have been on this site for about a week. It's a great site! I need to restate my comment about the visible church because I made a mistake on my posting.

I believe the visible church consists of Eastern Orthodox, Roman Church, and legitimate protestant rooted churches. I believe the visible church consists of converted and unconverted professing Christians. Some are united to Christ and some remain united to Adam in the visible church (sheep and goats; wheat and tears inside the visible church). I believe there are converted individuals who are united to Christ that do not belong to the visible church.

The invisible church is only known by God consisting of all believers that have been granted saving faith in Christ and have been united to Christ. Ephesians 4 is a key chapter to verify that the invisible church is catholic (universal in nature). Could you please comment one more time about my understanding of the visible and invisible church? - BT

Sure. For us your ecclesiology is heresy. In our view the Body of Christ cannot be divided and so the Church must be one. That means that anyone who creates schism or follows heresy does not divide the Church but put themselves outside of Her. As, in our view the Patriarch of Rome unilaterally accepted heretical teachings and walked away from the rest of the Church (the four other Patriarchs remaining with us to this day), that puts the See of Rome, and any of herdescendants outside the Church Militant (the visible Church here on earth).

The invisible Church is not, for us, that Protestant idea of all believers being invisibly united but is the Church Triumphant. This is all those people who have attained salvation (which can only happen after death - OSAS and similar ideas are heresy for us), the cloud of witnesses, the saints. Being outside the Church Militant does not condemn one to damnation but does deprive one of the fullness of the Truth. Being inside the Church is similarly no guarantee of salvation, though we believe it offers the best medicine for your soul. As God is not limited by time and there are, then, people who will be saved outside the Church, there is a tenuous way in which people outside are part of the Church by dint of the fact that they will be in the future. Not sure that made much sense. What I mean is, while from man's perspective, bound by time, they are not in the Church, from God's perspective, which we can never share but which is unbound by anything in creation, they are. Did that make more sense?

Of course, God saves whomsoever He wills and pours His grace out on all equally. Taking all this into account, this is why you'll often hear Orthodox say that we know where the Church is but we do not know where it is not. I think part of the reason Protestants sometimes have a problem with this view is that because they have an idea of an earthly invisible Church, they see salvation and the Church as oinextricably linked, as in 'There is no salvation outside the Church'. For us if by that you mean Church Militant, we are unable to agree and if you mean Church Triumphant it's tautological.

Hope that helps and please feel free to ask any more questions as you have them. I'll generally reply quickly but if you post at the weekend there will be a short delay as I don't visit RF then.

James

[GeneCosta]

Hello! Hopefully someone is still around to answer my questions. They pertain moreso to a project I'm working on than anything else. I'm warning you just because they might sound out *** odd if no context is brought forward.

My questions are:

- Is the equivalent of a priest in the Roman Catholic church a priest in Russian Orthodox?
- Can you be excommunicated?

Thank you for your time.