Doug's Theology Page

Humanity in a Divine Organization?

I’m struggling to come to terms with the controversies going around in the Orthodox Church. I’ve added links to the BLOGs on the left side of this page which show both sides. Combat and words are being thrown around that make the Calvary Chapel battles of the past 13 years seem tame in comparison.

The part that scares me is the authoritarian nature of the responses of the leadership of these churches reminds me so much of the unaccountablility of the non-denominational churches of my earlier Christianity. Calls for audits are met by denials of financial wrongdoing as well as claims that it would be a waste of the Lord’s money to conduct audits. Heard this story in Calvary Chapel, the Vineyard movement and now in I am hearing it again in Orthodoxy.

How do I come to terms with an organization which has such high claims of authority and at the same time such low professional standards? There are established canons which are appealed to and perhaps are being ignored.

Clergy are mass demoted from bishops to auxiliary bishops under the metropolitan. Is the metropolitan now the bishop? How does it all work out?

Seminary students are withdrawn from Orthodox seminaries days before they are supposed to start classes and told to move long distances to other seminaries. All of this is allegedly because the Metropolitan has a grudge against the seminary because there is a BLOGger they haven’t shut down. I feel this personally having taken my family across the country to go to seminary. What would it have been like for me to told I needed to undo that and move to another place days before classes were to start? With a wife days from delivering a child?

Some on the BLOGs say just to wait it out. The current head is old and will someday die. They said that about Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel some 15 years ago. He’s still hanging in there at 82 years of age. Still running the show.

Others say that the Antiochians are just the wrong place to be. From what I can tell they are the best place for a convert. Did I choose wrong?

I’ve long ago given up on a search for the “perfect church”. I haven’t believed in that possibility in a very long time. Is this pragmatism or am I just disillusioned?

Is this all the fall?

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One response to “Humanity in a Divine Organization?”

  1. Acolyte4236 Avatar
    Acolyte4236

    Doug,

    On the one hand, its surely a mess in the AOAD. Its not much better in the OCA, though they seem to be in the clean up stage at this point. I suspect something like this will eventually happen in the next 10-15 years in GOARCH too. Its just that the antiochians have more converts who aren't part of the good ole boy lebanese network. Some of this was bound to happen, given how the home churches were subjugated and how the culture and the religion mixed. Some it would have happaned no matter what since sin knows no limits.

    There simply is no church in which such things don't happen. So you need to decide what you can live with. For me, I couldn't live with a bishop denying the resurrection on Easter sunday or with pastor bob not really knowing (or teaching) what the resurrection was. Corruption will be a matter of degree. In some ages worse, in some better.

    On the other hand, the fact that this is actually going somewhere and is a mess more or less in the open is heartening. I know how bad that sounds, but getting it out into the open is a BIG first step for the mechanisms in place to start to work.

    And it is not as if ALL the clerics are bad. Certainly those standing up for whats right aren't. And certainly there are principles and mechanisms at work here that aren't at work in CC like situation. No contoversy moral or theological was resolved overnight.

    And I wasn't aware that you were chrismated. When did that happen?

    Reply

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