My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our God Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
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THE PROSELYTE
We find the word "proselytism" in the Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament. A non-Christian in the early Church who wished to become a Christian and went through religious instruction for three years was known a proselyte. In the Septuagint and the New Testament, it referred to pagan converts to Judaism.
"Proselytism" according to the World Council of Churches is "a corruption of Christian witness" that uses bribery, undue pressure, or intimidation, subtly or openly, to bring about seeming conversion." Vatican II defined proselytism as "a corruption of the Christian witness by appeal to hidden forms of coercion or by a style of propaganda unworthy of the Gospel. It is not the use but the abuse of the right to religious freedom."
Today the more frequent word used is "convert". A "convert" to the Orthodox Church is one who after receiving the proper religious catechism freely and without any coercion or persuasion enters the Church.
As the authentic Christian Church of Christ, the Holy Orthodox Church welcomes those who genuinely wish to enter it for the right reasons. A candidate and future convert to the Orthodox Church must first examine his motives on why he/she wishes to become an Orthodox Christian. It is imperative that he/she must free himself/herself from all which he adhered to for most of his life and be willing to assume a new Christian identity and a way of life. It is not an easy task. However, when one is accepted in the Church he or she no longer bears the label "convert" but "Orthodox Christian". No different than a "cradle" Orthodox Christian.
Orthodox Christianity is not a theory but a way of life. Although one continues learning through his or her life as a member of the Holy Church it is not enough to increase or enrich one's knowledge of the Faith but to also live and grow in the faith, in Christ. The criterion is the unconditional love of Orthodox Christianity. An interested person can read numerous books on Orthodox Christianity, but that which he/she actually encounters is the Church as the "holy people of God." Becoming an Orthodox Christian is not an intellectual exercise but an internal and personal conversation that must take place before one is received into the Church.
Whether a convert or a cradle Orthodox Christian our commitment is to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Who is known in and through the Church. This is expressed through the divine services which invite us to "commit ourselves, one another, and our whole life unto Christ our God." The essence and principle purpose of worship is to be united to Christ God through the Dine Eucharist. Through Holy Communion, the Orthodox Christian believer becomes one with Christ and one with one another.
A potential candidate to Orthodoxy must know full well that are many non-negotiable Orthodox teachings i.e., dogma, Holy Tradition, interpretation of the Holy Scripture, worship, ethics, values, Christ's Eucharistic presence, Saints, icons, and morality. The Orthodox Church possesses the fullness of the Divine Revelation and Truth. It is complete in every aspect and does not need to be revised or "updated" by anyone. Just because one has read a few theological books does not make him or her a "theologian." We must all avoid becoming arrogant and egotistical believing that we know all that one needs to know about the Church. Learn from the Holy Fathers and Mothers of the Church who were not only great theologians but were meek and humble. One needs to acquire by the grace of God an Orthodox Phronema or "mindset." To view everything in our Faith through the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Also, to strive for "theosis" or "deification".
It is wrong to desire to enter into the Orthodox Church not because of what it represents and is but for the challenge for one to change the Church from within. We have seen in other Christian groups and denominations the result of people who were able to enter them with sinister intent and in time to introduce various views so as to create division, confusion, and the destruction of that denomination.
One must not hurry to join the Orthodox Church but must be patient and to have a profound understanding of the Faith and to enter it through personal conviction and knowledge. It is said that when one enters the Church quickly that he or she also leaves the Church quickly. It is not enough to enter the Church but to also stay in the Church. Too often a convert to Orthodoxy who lacks true commitment will not think twice to abandon it and move on to another religion.
Each of us is unique and blessed by God the Holy Spirit with different gifts and vocations; therefore our commitments to our Lord Christ will be expressed in different ways. As Orthodox Christians, we constantly struggle against evil by living a virtuous life, faith, charity, worship, prayer, repentance, obedience, asceticism, and participation in the Divine Eucharist. Through these actions, we are transformed by the grace of God, grow closer to Him, and find salvation in Him.
If one is to be embraced by the Church he/she must also be willing to embrace her unconditionally. Entering the Holy Orthodox Church is a life-long spiritual journey. At the end of our journey are the Kingdom of God and eternal life. Saint Paul, the Apostle of the Nations, writes: "so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another" (Romans 12:5; Ephesians 4:25).
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"--Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George