Orthodoxy & evangelicals – what’s the appeal?

The news that a church affiliated to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) has become Orthodox (see this en article) will have come as a shock to many.

An evangelical Anglican congregation defecting? Possibly we could understand that, since it would be used to formal liturgy and bishops etc; but an FIEC church...!

However, for those with some knowledge of developments in the USA the news that Hope Church in Halifax is now St. Hilda’s Orthodox Church and part of the Antiochian Orthodox Church is not all that surprising. In the past few years there are reports of increasing numbers of people in the USA and especially young men becoming Orthodox. I know of a number of people in this country from evangelical churches as well as from unbelief who have become Orthodox.

What is Orthodoxy? Orthodoxy is basically those churches that acknowledge the seven ecumenical councils and are in communion with the patriarchs of Aexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch and Constantinople, the latter being the first among equals. Once united, the eastern and western Catholic Church split for various reasons in 1054. They reject the claim of the Roman Catholic Church that the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, has jurisdictional primacy over other churches. The ‘Eastern’ or ‘Greek Orthodox’ churches have their homelands in what was long ago the eastern Roman Empire as well as countries such as Russia and Georgia. However, because of migration as well as evangelism Eastern Orthodoxy has spread to the western world and beyond. There are also what are called Oriental Orthodox churches which while similar are considered deficient if not heretical by the Eastern Orthodox mainly because of differences in Christology. Among these churches are the Coptic churches in Egypt and Ethiopia and the Church of the East or the Nestorians historically based in Iraq (and incidentally one of the most missionary minded churches in history having sent established churches as far as China in the 7th century). The church is Halifax is Eastern Orthodox.

What is the appeal of Orthodoxy?

For many evangelicals the image of Orthodoxy is one of icons, candles, incense and elaborate ritual. How can that appeal to Bible believing Protestants? I want to suggest five things that may appeal to some evangelicals and that highlight some weaknesses in evangelicalism and having done that suggest some problems with Orthodoxy as well as some strengths of evangelicalism.

1. Mystery
   
   There is something undeniably mysterious about an Orthodox service. Usually in highly decorated churches in which there are many icons, the language is often one that people cannot understand with priests and assistants performing elaborate rituals before and behind an iconostasis. Much of the service is accompanied by a choir singing hymns, psalms and parts of the liturgy without accompaniment. The service is long with the congregation standing all the time, but usually with people coming and going during it. The impact of the whole thing is of something mysterious, even wonderful. It is seen as the meeting of heaven and earth as the church worships in the invisible company of the glorified saints and angels. Many evangelicals find that very appealing especially when the services in their churches can be anything but mysterious. Many evangelical services are rather casual and lack a sense of wonder.
   
   
2. Liturgy
   
   Related to the above is the Orthodox liturgy. Based on one devised by the great preacher John Chysostom, the late 4th century bishop of Constantinople, the core Orthodox liturgy is very old and surprisingly Biblical. Take out the bits about Mary and the saints there is much to commend it. Again, many evangelicals find it refreshing compared to the often emotionally overcharged or undercharged services they can get in their churches. Free church services can often have too much singing and too little Scripture and are far too casual. And far too many simply don’t have a liturgical direction leading the congregation through the story of salvation by the Triune God.
   
   
3. History
   
   Most Orthodox churches are very old and put a great premium on tradition. Many of their practices such as the veneration of icons and saints are not as old as they think, but nevertheless being contemporary is not a priority. In a turbulent and fast changing world the Orthodox churches seem solid and stable. Sadly, many evangelical churches lack that. It is as if nothing mattered since the close of the apostolic age except for the Reformation. Unrooted from the past it’s as if we come up with everything on our own simply by reading the Bible without reference to the wisdom of those who came before us.
   
   
4. Physicality
   
   Orthodox worship is very physical involving bodily movement. Classical Anglican worship with its kneeling and coming forward to the Lord’s Table does also as does Pentecostalism in a different way. Many think that classic free church services eschew the physical and emphasise the interior appropriation of grace by faith. That is unfair. Certainly, for credo-Baptists baptism is very physical and in the Reformed tradition the enjoyment of creation as part of our whole life worship is important. But in many churches the physicality of the Lord’s Supper and physically meeting together is underemphasised (as it seriously was during the pandemic). The importance of bodily action in Orthodoxy is attractive to some.
   
   
5. Theology
   
   The reason the leaders of the Halifax church gave for their move to Orthodoxy was theological. At heart was the nature of the elements in the Lord’s Supper as well as the authenticity of the church that authorised its administration. I think they are wrong and that in the Reformed tradition there is a better understanding of the real presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper than in either Orthodoxy or Roman Catholicism. CH Spurgeon said that in the Lord’s Supper we get as near to heaven as it is possible in this life, but in many evangelical churches you would not hear much of that or indeed much theology at all. We must take theology seriously and not only in the pastor’s study but in preaching and in the life of the church. However, it must be truly orthodox theology. Another aspect of this that some find appealing is that Orthodox theology leaves a lot of room for mystery and the unknowable whereas western theology, Roman Catholic and Protestant, seeks to understand and explain much more. At its best (see, for example, John Calvin and Herman Bavinck) Protestant theology also acknowledges mystery and incomprehensibility, but perhaps the emphasis is not as strong as it should be.

Weaknesses of Orthodoxy and strengths of evangelical Protestantism

While for these and other reasons Orthodoxy is appealing to some evangelicals it must be said that there are some serious problems with Orthodoxy. Among them are the place of Mary and the saints in its theology, worship and devotional life, the role of icons and its exclusivity in saying that there is not salvation outside of the Orthodox Church. And not least, the gospel of salvation by grace is at best obscured and at worst undermined.

Having said that, the Reformers generally had a more positive view of the Orthodox Church than of the Roman Church. It is also interesting that one of the Patriarchs of Constantinople in the 17th century, Cyril Lucaris, was basically a Calvinist although he was eventually rejected by the church.

And if there are problems with Orthodoxy there are also great strengths for evangelical Protestantism. At its best the theology, worship, spirituality and preaching cannot be beaten. What is better than a service filled with the mystery and wonder of the gospel in which hymns and songs replete with truth are sung, Scripture (and more than just the passage for the sermon) is read with reverence, fervent prayer is offered and a sermon is preached in which there is clear exposition of Scripture, warm exhortation to obedience and joyful exaltation of Christ in the power of the Spirit? And all that accompanied with the meaningful and welcoming fellowship of Christians as they gather around the Lord’s Table. If there was more of that I don’t think people would find Orthodoxy so appealing.