Greek Orthodox Church

[rynner2]

This local story piqued my interest:

A much-loved Falmouth vicar is preparing to bid farewell to his parishioners after resigning from his post ahead of a move to Plymouth.

Father Mark Mesley has been vicar of St Michael's and All Angels Church at Penwerris for the past seven years, but has now decided to embark on a new chapter of his life.

"I have really enjoyed the seven years I have spent in Falmouth," he said. "I personally have been very happy here and I have enjoyed all I have done, but I have made the decision to leave the Church of England and not only to leave it, but to join the Greek Orthodox Church."

http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/new...lmouth_and_the_Church_of_England/?ref=mr&lp=3

The Greek Orthodox Church is not mentioned much on FTMB. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of it? Wiki says:

The name Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἑκκλησία, Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía, IPA: [elinorˈθoðoksi ekliˈsia]) is a term referring to the body of several Churches[5][6][7] within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Koine Greek,[8] the original language of the New Testament,[9][10] and whose history, traditions, and theology are rooted in the early Church Fathers and the Byzantine Empire. The Greek Orthodox Church has also traditionally placed heavy emphasis and awarded high prestige to traditions of Christian monasticism and asceticism with origins in Early Christianity in the Near East and in Byzantine Anatolia. Today the most important centres of Christian Orthodox monasticism are Saint Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt) and Mount Athos in Greek Macedonia (Northern Greece).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Orthodox_Church

CoE priests who leave the church usually join the Catholic Church, especially if they were already inclined to High Church practices, but Father Mark seems to have jumped past Rome and into the Eastern Orthodox wing of Christianity.

 

[GingerTabby]

I wonder if Father Mark is planning to be ordained in the Greek Orthodox Church. The article doesn't mention it and, given his age, I would assume he isn't but it's not impossible. If he does plan to be ordained he would never be able to become a bishop because his marital status would prevent it. The Orthodox churches insist that only single men can become bishops.

Kallistos (Timothy) Ware is an Orthodox bishop and writer who was raised an Anglican but became Orthodox in his twenties. I don't think he was ever ordained in the C of E but I may be mistaken.

A few times a year I attend services at an Orthodox church in my neighbourhood. It's not the Greek one, however. The Greek Orthodox Church in my city is a bit far from me. I don't have a car, so getting there by bus on a Sunday morning would be a bit of a trek.

Orthodox churches have sometimes been described as "ethnic ghettos" since they tend to be associated with specific ethnic groups, e.g. Greek, Ukrainian, Russian, Antiochian, etc. People who join these churches but who do not belong to the ethnic group typically associated with them can experience a good deal of culture shock, at least initially. Hopefully Father Mark and his wife will not have that experience.

 

[Mungoman]

I was always under the impression that the 'orthodox' churches were considered to be more close to the original idea of the kirk, rather than the roman and the anglican.

Wasn't the division due to the acceptance/non acceptance of the Trullan canons and the divide between the east and the west?

 

[GingerTabby]

I was always under the impression that the 'orthodox' churches were considered to be more close to the original idea of the kirk, rather than the roman and the anglican.

Yes. A lot of odd things happened in Western Christianity from approximately the 5th/6th centuries until the late Middle Ages that caused it to move away from the idea of church as it had been known in the early centuries of the Christian era. In my opinion, one of the most significant of these events was the shift in the understanding of the celebration of the Eucharist. Over time it ceased to be viewed as a community celebration and instead became a performance conducted by a priest: members of the congregation were no longer active participants but instead became passive observers. Also, the Reformation created another layer of difficulty. Eastern Christianity didn't experience these events and it has therefore been seen as being closer to the original idea of church.

Wasn't the division due to the acceptance/non acceptance of the Trullan canons and the divide between the east and the west?

Following the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, e.g. Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian, etc., split from the rest of the Christian Church. From about this time onwards there was a growing estrangement between the remaining parts of the Church, Byzantine and Latin. This estrangement culminated in a split between the Eastern and Western churches in 1054. The dispute over the Trullan canons should probably be seen as one more step in this gradual estrangement.

 

[heisenbear]

Whatever Christian faith I ever had is now the size of a microbe, although I listen to Greek Orthodox chant as I find it both mystical and beautiful.

 

[ramonmercado]

It isn't just holy rollers and Bush Baptists who use snakes in religious services.


Athens, Greece, Aug 15, 2017 / 03:03 am (Church Pop).- Every year, on the Orthodox feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, a monastery on a Greek island experiences a miracle – dozens of snakes come to 'venerate' an icon of Mary.

In a phenomenon that has reportedly been happening for hundreds of years, black snakes begin appearing on the Greek island of Kefalonia between Aug. 5 and Aug. 15, the days when the Greek Orthodox Church celebrates the dormition of the Theotokos (Mother of God).

According to tradition, the miracle of the snakes began in 1705, when nuns of the monastery were about to be attacked by pirates.

Legend has it that the nuns prayed fervently to the Virgin Mary, asking her that she turn them into snakes to avoid capture. Other versions say that the nuns prayed that the monastery be infested with snakes so as to scare away the pirates. Either way it happened, they were spared.

Since then, the small black snakes, known as European Cat Snakes, appear every year just before the feast, and make their way to the walls and entryways of the Church to 'venerate' the silver icon of Mary known as the Panagia Fidoussa, or the Virgin of the Snakes.

The snakes' patterning can produce a small black cross on their head, and they have a forked tongue, adding to the legend that these snakes are marked by the sign of the Cross. ...

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/n...an-feast-days-strange-stunning-miracle-12114/