Sincere Orthodoxy and syncretic-ecumenism

Editorial

Reader Daniel

How to live a sincere Orthodox Christian life, and maintain our faith, while living in this mixed heterodox society – and acting with Christian love towards all, but not getting trapped into popular syncretic-ecumenism, etc?

Part One:

Just My Thoughts:

This is my personal outlook and my general conclusions, and I am now 71, which I have gradually arrived at, since I converted to holy Orthodoxy, into Russian Orthodoxy specifically, at age 17, by the guidance of God, from my born mainstream born American Protestant Christian roots, in the American Midwest.

 First, I must state, that this struggle is very difficult and a great life-long struggle!

Why is it so difficult? 

For many reasons this is true, not the least of which thorny daily problems, is the fact that America, from its founding days, has developed a native homogeneous culture which is largely based upon a mixture of various Protestant Christian beliefs as its foundational national spiritual self-identity.

We Orthodox Christians here, of all of our ethnic groups, are mostly late comers to this land of refugees and European transplants, and we are neither Protestant nor Roman Catholic Christians, but we are a unique... though quite old, Christian faith...  [we believe, of course, THE Original One and Only True Church],  ...but yes, basically perceived by others here, as a foreign/imported' rather cultural bound, enslaved to earthly and 'un-American' foreign.... national identities, – ethno-centric', somewhat exotic and strange overly-ritualistic religion and form of Christianity..... one which many average/religious oriented Americans, of all religious persuasions, do not understand or which they feel the need, to convert us to their superior more enlightened/modern churches, [as they tend to see themselves]. 

So, many of our neighbors are non-Orthodox, and also non-Christian in their self-identities, including those who are practicing or non-practicing: Jews, or Moslems, or Hindus, of Buddhists, or humanists, or various degrees of atheists, etc. etc. etc., and we have to deal with them, face to face daily as: neighbors, co-workers at our jobs, on the secular political scene, as fellow American citizens ...and so on.

Also, perhaps the most difficult area of close contact with any and all non-Orthodox, is when we and they are parts of the same families, through marriage... even more so a problem, when the husband and wife are of two different religions [which is common in America].

Also, as time has gone on, as 'time changes all', we witness the sad fact that our 'Christian' America is rapidly becoming much less Christian than as it was originally founded.

And too: we who are struggling to maintain the purity of our Orthodox faith and practice – we who are increasingly despairingly marginalized and labeled as 'Orthodox conservatives,' or 'traditionalist Orthodox', are also becoming estranged from the larger herd, of the so-called 'Worldly-Orthodox', who are in the on-going disintegrating process of giving in to this world and to syncretic-ecumenism, and to what some may label, now as, 'The End Times Apostasy'.

Those people groupings must also include those many poor souls who have run off to the 'Moscow Patriarchy', to the heresy and enslavement of Sergianism, which is but another face of ecumenism, about which profound betrayal of the Orthodox Faith, most of them have no conception of, as blind mindless overly trusting sheep mislead by wolves, as their spiritual shepherds.

THUS, how are we to think of all of these people and how are we to deal with them, [some of whom are our beloved family members] in sincere Christian love [which love, Christ commands us, we must have towards all fellow humans, all made in the sacred likeness of God], ...while still maintaining, and growing spiritually, in our Holy Apostolic Orthodox Faith, pure and untainted? ...as we daily struggle to shed our passions and to acquire virtue, so that we may join Christ and His saints, when we pass out of this fallen world.

We have, of course, many Orthodox church canons, which spell out, often very strictly, what we can or cannot do, in dealings with heterodox Christians or with those in heresy or schism or non-Christians of all varieties.

If we only look at those stern canons, it is clear that our church prefers/indeed demands even, ......that we have little or no contact with them, generally speaking, but certainly, that we may not set foot in their churches or sacred places or worship, nor ...ever ...pray with them, etc.

The 'idea' Orthodox nation or kingdom, is thus ...best... composed of a solid vast majority of faithful Orthodox believers. 

But even in past more seemingly 'ideal Orthodox societies' as in some epochs of Byzantium or 'Holy Russia', was there ever a time, when there was never a social mix of the non-Orthodox, with the faithful? ...of various schismatics and outright heretics and heathens, among and having frequent contact with, the Orthodox faithful?

And, were the officially labeled 'Orthodox faithful' always, truly ...in their hearts and daily lives, really LIVING the Orthodox Faith???

I think not.

But regardless, we live NOW and HERE, not in past 'golden ages', real or perceived/imagined golden times.

This will be the end of my Part One, of this discussion, and I hope to add a part two. 

In conclusion to this partial study of this thorny problem, I ask again: What all must we do, to maintain our Orthodox Faith pure and unaltered, while living among atheists and non-Orthodox Christians and those of other and often adversarial and rival, religions, etc.???

I invite debate and input from readers.

This situation faces us all: Where to draw the line between what we should do/may do, by our Canons and Orthodox Sacred Tradition and Apostolic Discipline,  – which is to be total non-participators in syncretic-ecumenism, and other degrees and forms of betrayal of our Orthodox Faith, while ...we must ...also ...live.... and inter-react, usually on a daily basis, with our fellow non-Orthodox neighbors and even, fellow family members, etc.??? ...and all of whom, we must LOVE, regardless.

Rd. Daniel Everiss
oregdan  @  hotmail  .  com