Catholics and Evangelicals Learning from our Orthodox Neighbours

In June of 2018, I was given the opportunity to participate in the Lausanne Orthodox Initiative (LOI), a gathering of Evangelical and Orthodox pastors, priests and theologians, to speak about and think about issues of Christian faith and discipleship. The event, held on the campus of Holy Cross Theological Seminary in Boston, was a first for many – like myself – for whom the primary ecumenical opportunities had been between Catholics and Evangelicals. I was, for example, honoured to be part of gatherings where I could speak to “What can Evangelicals learn from Catholics?” and a Catholic friend and colleague could speak to “What can Catholics learn from Evangelicals?”. But here I was in a new context or setting: the world of Russian, Greek and Coptic Orthodox thinkers and parish leaders, hosted and moderated by his Eminence, Archbishop Angaelos, the bishop of the Coptic diocese of London, UK.

This event for me came as the culmination of a journey that started when I visited the Russian Orthodox seminary north of New York – St. Vladimir’s Seminary in Yonkers – where while on my visit, my host – the Dean of the Seminary, Fr Thomas Hopko, placed in my hands a book written by one of his predecessors: For the Life of the World, by Fr. Alexander Schmemann (published by St. Valadimir’s Press). Well, I tucked the little book away and took it out after I had boarded my flight that was to take me back home to Vancouver. By the time I had touched now, following a stop over en-route, I knew I had discovered a source of remarkable wisdom. Since then I have read other works by Schmemann, including his memoirs and his important publication on the meaning of baptism, Of Water and the Spirit.

In thinking back over the past 25 years since I first read Schmemann, I am reminded of the diverse and important ways in which those within my own theological tradition – Evangelical/Protestant – have so much that we can learn from those who speak and write out of the Orthodox vision of the faith. And while I am hesitant to presume that Catholics in like manner might also find noteworthy insight and learning from Orthodox sources, it has had me wondering what it might be to give a lecture entitled: “What can Catholics and Evangelicals Learn from Orthodox Christians?” Perhaps the lecture could be jointly given with the friend and colleague I mention above, where we both out of our own context speak to what catches our attention. Perhaps, in due time. For now, let's risk putting out there a few things that come to mind – that is: if as Catholics and Evangelicals we were to enumerate our learnings from Orthodox sources, what might we include on our list?

First, I must highlight the commitment that Orthodox Christians and theologians have to be attentive to the wisdom of the early church. While there is no doubt that there is a growing appreciation for early church voices amongst Catholics and Evangelicals, this has been something that has always marked the theological method and content of the faith of the Orthodox Church: it is very intentionally ancient. Yes, Evangelicals are discovering Augustine and yes, Catholics are restoring the ancient catechumenate, and this is all very good. But our Orthodox friends have always recognized that it would not be inappropriate – perhaps it is even imperative – to actually privilege the voices of the early church. This is manifestly evident, for example, in the second theme I will address below: the person of the Holy Spirit. Orthodox Christians recognize that Trinitarian doctrine is not merely the fruit of the study of Scripture; rather, there is a distinct authority that can and must be given to the Cappadocian Fathers – notably Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa and Basil of Caesarea who, along with Athanasius established what it means to call the Holy Spirit one with the Father and the Son. They demonstrate that the churches theology of the Trinity is only as good as your theology of the Spirit. More on that in a moment, but for now to highlight their dependence on the early church witness.

Second, as others have noted – such as Fr. Thomas Ryan, when he was speaking at an event hosted by Ambrose University – that Orthodox Christians have a deep appreciation of the place of Mary in the life of the Church that might be a common point of reference for both Catholics and Evangelicals. Evangelicals view Catholics as giving Mary too much attention – as though she is one with the Holy Trinity. Catholics view Evangelicals as dismissing Mary and not appreciating the rather significance place she does play in the redemptive purposes of God and the spirituality of the church. As Father Ryan put it – speaking as a Catholic – as he referenced a particular Orthodox icon of Mary, that the genius of Mary is that she points to Jesus and calls us to be attentive to Jesus. If this is the vision we have of Mary, might this be a stance where Catholics and Evangelicals might come to a common understanding of Mary as the mother of our Lord.

Third, thinking here of Schmemann’s Of Water and the Spirit, the title captures precisely a rather major theme within the Othodox theological tradition: the vital place of the Spirit in the life and witness of the Church. To use the Lord’s Supper as a point of reference here, the Orthodox would remind us – again and again – that the ‘epiclesis’, the prayer “come Holy Spirit come”, is indispensable to every aspect of the life and witness of the church and that this has primary expression in the Eucharist. If Catholics seem to locate the efficacy of the Table with the words of the presiding priest and if Evangelicals in turn seem to locate the efficacy with the inner sincerity of the individual Christian, our Orthodox friends – while not discounting either of these – would insist that the grace that is mediated to us is that of the Holy Spirit. That is, both Catholics and Evangelicals might find a good challenge here: to grow in a greater appreciation of the immediacy of the Spirit. And this would also be evident in the reading of Scripture: that we read and proclaim the Scriptures in a deep awareness of our dependency on the Spirit. Thus the ‘epiclesis” is crucial to both Word and Table in our worship.

And then, fourth, I would also note one of the great theological questions of our day is the meaning of the church – and, most notably, that the church in its essence is first and foremost a liturgical community, a worshipping community – that through her worship enters into and dwells in the love of the Triune God. And that thus, both Catholic and Evangelical, find in Orthodox voices essential conversation partners on two key themes at the same time: the Trinity and the church. They remind us that we only truly “get” what it means to be the church when we see the church through the lens of the Tri-unity of God, the three persons of the Holy Trinity who dwell in perfect unity and fellowship. It is the orthodox tradition that has kept current for all Christians the exquisite notion of the ‘perochoretic’ fellowship of Father, Son and Spirit – that is, the fellowship of giving, receiving and enacting the love of each for the other that then powerfully informs what it means for the Christian community to live in fellowship as the communion of saints. And in this regard, perhaps there is a greater corrective for Evangelical Christians than Catholics, but there is no doubt that Evangelicals still tend to defer to the individual Christian as a spiritual monad and the church as a gathering of these individuals, rather than seeing the church as an organic, Spirit-infused fellowship and body that collectively – and that is the key word [collectively] – dwells in real time fellowship with the Triune God.

More could be said, of course: how the Orthodox perspective on the sacraments might be a gentle corrective for both Catholic and Evangelical ways of thinking about baptism and the Eucharist; or how the practice of ‘chrismation’ is and should be integral to Christian initiation; or how a vital dimension of being the church in a secular age means that we sustain and nurture a very distinctive and alternate identity as a Christian community. And more. The main point here is that as both Catholics and Evangelicals, we would do well to be open to opportunities for engagement and learning with those from the Orthodox wing of the Christian church.