JOURNEY TO ORTHODOXY

My journey to Orthodoxy began over 40 years ago when I joined the Roman Catholic Church in my third year of college. Before becoming Roman Catholic, I was a member of the Baptist church. The typical evangelical Protestant church service centered on a long sermon, extemporaneous prayers, and the singing of hymns.

By contrast, the initial attraction of the Roman Catholic Church was the solemnity and beauty of its liturgy, so different from my own experience. I began looking into why Catholics worshipped as they did, and into their beliefs. I was greatly impressed by the concept of the authority of the church, based on apostolic succession, and of the continuity of that authority from the early church to today.

I was also drawn to the Catholic belief in the true presence of Christ in the consecrated bread and wine of communion. This belief explained and made appropriate the solemn liturgy of the Catholic Mass.

After some five years of thought and study, I made the decision to convert to Catholicism. I unfortunately, at that time, knew little of Orthodox Christianity. In joining the Catholic Church, I thought I had found the fullness of the faith in Jesus Christ.

I was happy in my choice and remained a regular churchgoer from then on. However, in the wake of reforms in the church in the 1960's, I became increasingly disturbed by the trends in liturgical practice. We entered the age of "innovation", of individual priests changing the order of the liturgy, of folk masses, and guitars accompanying new, "Christian-rock." songs.

I know that for some people, these were welcome changes; but, for me, on a very personal and emotional level, I felt that we had lost something as a worshipping community. I no longer experienced the sense of awe and mystery that had brought me into the Catholic Church to begin with.

I discovered the Orthodox Church two years ago. Thanks to the Greek Festival in 1996, I signed up for a tour of Sts. Constantine and Helen and a talk on Orthodoxy by Fr. Dean. What I heard and saw immediately attracted me. And. as a result, began reading extensively about the Church, attended adult catechism classes, and started attending vespers and the Divine Liturgy.

I enjoyed and was deeply moved by the Liturgy. I also found that I was more comfortable with Orthodox doctrine. The truth is: I was always uneasy about the Catholic doctrine on the infallibility of the pope and about the tendency to approach matters of faith legalistically. To the casual observer, it may appear that there is little significant difference between Orthodox and Catholic doctrine, but that is simply not the case.

It is not my intent to disparage or be critical of the Catholic Church or any other Christian denomination; rather, I believe that by the Grace of God, I found Orthodoxy, the true early church of the Apostles. It felt like coming home. I somehow knew from the start of my introduction to Orthodoxy that this was the place for me.

My chrismation was on March 13. Since then, it has been a joy to participate in the liturgies and in the life of the Church community. I have truly been made to feel welcome. I will close with a quote from a book by Bishop Kallistos Ware which, in turn, quotes St. Basil: 'Some things we have from written teachings,' said St. Basil. 'Others we have received from the Apostolic Tradition handed down to us in a mystery; and both these have the same force for piety. ' This inner Tradition 'handed down to us in a mystery' is preserved above all in the Church's worship. Our faith is expressed in our prayer." I thank God for the Grace to experience the truth of that quotation and the joy of the Orthodox faith in my life.