#communions

This question has been revisited in light of the changes that have taken place in world, and in my own life since this question was first asked of me.

The Holy Eastern Orthodox Communion is even more fractured now than it has ever been. Modernity has not been kind to the church of the Apostles.

Our world has some Orthodox Communions who are openly and actively making overtures to the homosexual community, outside of purely pastoral cares and concerns. We have another Orthodox Communion that preserves a very strong legalistic, almost Western understanding of sin, and like the Western Crusaders of old, or modern day Jihadists; believe in their pride that envy leading to murder, rape, or theft in a "Holy War", is no vice for the greater glory of stamping out proxies of the first Communion infidels.

Obviously we here in the United States have no clear Orthodox Communion either, so back-room infighting is common here too. There have been attempts to reconcile the warring groups, but the common sin of Pride runs through all members of Christ's Church, top to bottom, so jockeying for political control always takes precedence over Christian Unity.

The Antiochian Orthodox Church, the church I catechized under, seems to have sidestepped the worst abuses of either side, seems also to be more evangelically focused, and would be the communion I would prefer to join if I were to chrismate into the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Which I have not yet done.

I was born into a family that had been Adventist for many years. On my Mother's large side of the family, I don't know of a family member that wasn't connected to the Adventist church in some fashion (aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc...) - even if it was to leave the church when they came of age. My Dad's small family converted when he was 4 years old, and to the day my grandma died, she maintained a strict Prayer rule, kept Western Icons of Christ around the house, and made a huge deal over Easter. My parents were inconsistent Adventists - alternating between, "Christmas is a pagan holiday", to, "this is what we did for Christmas when I was a kid", year to year. They would do much the same with Easter. Turkey was eaten on Thanksgiving and Christmas, fish on Friday, but otherwise we were vegetarian. The first time my Dad loaded up on chicken at the local all-you-can-eat restaurant was a memorable experience for me.

Denominational schools weren't much different, the spectrum of differences between families who called themselves "Adventist" were phenomenal.

My experience with Adventism, then, is that it's just as dysfunctional as The Orthodox Church and my family. Various groups or individuals with different agendas, each going their way.

In terms of Adventism, Sabbath seems to be the thread that holds us all together. In reflection, I find it interesting to me that when the Priest I was Catechizing under mentioned that Sabbath still had a place of honor in the Orthodox Church, really only second to the Lord's Day. I found that compelling.

Hierarchies, not dichotomies.

Which brings us back to the topic...

I was raised to think of myself as Adventist. Unless something significant happens, I will probably continue thinking of myself as Adventist. However, my Catechesis in the local Antiochian church, and the blog of Fr. Stephen Freemen were critically invaluable to my remaining Christian.

Recently, I heard an Ancient Faith Podcast, that made the point that I should be faithful to the community of which I am a part; that I was baptized into Christ, not into a denomination. I don't know if they intended to convict those of us outside the Orthodox Church, but in my case they did. So, As long as my local church remains my family, I will continue fellowship with them.

That does not preclude me from also attending Eastern Orthodox services on my own, for immersing myself in their theology, for making their prayers my own, or for supporting their ministries from time-to-time as the Spirit wills.

When someone is in a state of evolution, and it is recognized, the question is would it make a good reality show on prime-time T.V? Well, maybe the subconscious answered this question. This was indeed another strange dream; it started off with me observing someone being observed by others in a lab. He was being observed because he was going through some sort of a transition. It was like he was…