Never put the cart in front of the horse

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Seraphim Reeves
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Never put the cart in front of the horse

Post by Seraphim Reeves »

There is one danger which I think "traditionalists" are vulnerable to, and it is one which we must avoid like the plague; that being, the danger of forgetting just what the Church "is for".

What I mean by this, is after all of the theological discourse, and canonical scrutiny, if we forget what the "point" of this whole Church business is, then what we are no longer "doctrinal", but simply "doctrinaire" (translation; irrelevent, but well read.)

The Church is both the sanctuary within Christ, and His hands in this world. Being members of Christ, the citizens of the "New Jerusalem" must act as those members (be assimilated to Christ), by gathering those who are His (but who we don't see at first) among the nations, and live in a state of becoming, offering a foretaste of the "world to come", which will replace this sickly and fallen world with something better.

In short, Christians are a bunch of people waiting for the world to end. Marathana! :) Not with an unhealthy, morbid, fortress mentality (which is precisely what forgetfulness leads to) seeking only itself, but rather with a martyr's joy.

Sometimes, unfortunately, those who would be identified (or identify themselves) as "traditionalists" in the Orthodox milieu, forget this. Or at least that is how it seems to me. There is a lot of high sounding language, but little of the "rubber meets the road" Orthodoxy; this is why the blessed Fr.Seraphim (Rose) once said that this is an age overwhelmed with "fakery", and he wasn't speaking simply of the non-Orthodox world.

While it is good to clearly say what Orthodoxy is and isn't (and to not confuse the identify of the Church as modernists do with their "baptismal theology" and other confusing ideas), I hope none of us here ever come off as if we're somehow happy that the rest of the world is perishing. Heaven forbid! Indeed, let us hope for the best for those who seem to be lost (not persevering in the Orthodox Church), while at the same time doing what we can to bring these poor souls into the fold of Christ's Church.

Seraphim

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尼古拉前执事
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Great Post Seraphim!

Post by 尼古拉前执事 »

Good points. I don't feel qualified to add anything to it. God Bless!

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