It is still a matter of wonder to me how the Orthodox Church has maintained, for two thousand years, the proper balance of fidelity to Tradition and meaningful living of that Tradition in one's time and place. Take, for example, the matter of the priesthood of all believers. This has been among the, if not the, Protestant sine qua non. Yet, the Orthodox Church, in my study and experience, has maintained the proper exression of that biblical doctrine for two thousand years.
That may sound like a rather bizarre statement coming from a lifelong Protestant such as myself. Particularly so when the Orthdoox Church, as the Roman Catholic Church, has restricted the sacramental ministry of the Church to a strikingly small percentage of male Christians--a percentage that grows even smaller when women are included in the tally. The Reformers, after all, in reaction to the clericalism, among other abuses, of the Western Church, brought to the fore a seemingly long-forgotten doctrine. But somewhere along the way, perhaps due in part to the clericalism that was so much a part of their history, the later Reformers, and later Protestants in general, fell back into the clericalism trap themselves.
Even my own heritage churches are a case in point. Aspiring to something like a second Reformation, the Stone-Campbell churches sought to return to the pristine simplicity of the New Tetament Church. Gone were ordained priests and other clergy. Local bodies were merely governed, shepherded and led by a group of male elders, assisted by a group of male deacons (and in some churches, deaconesses). But lo and behold, over time, each local church was served by a duly called and trained minister. In time, this minister was assisted by a youth minister, or an assistant minister. Then came children's ministry. Then worship leaders. Then church administrators. And the much-vaunted priesthood of all believers withered away, when local congregational leaders gave over their responsibilities to men who were specially trained.
And this was not unique to my own heritage churches. Protestant churches generally, have fallen back into the clericalism, though perhaps in our era it is more properly called "professionalism." Indeed, for many Protestant seminaries--mainline and evangelical--ministry is more about professionalization than it is about classical, traditional ministry. Think about how many administrative, counselling, homiletical, and paedagogical classes are required. Then contrast that to how many classes are required in biblical exegesis, training in the biblical languages, and spiritual direction (which is not the same thing as counselling).
This is not to say that Orthodox seminaries fare any better or worse. I have never been to or otherwise had any experience with Orthodox seminaries. My point is merely to point out the failure, on our own terms, of us Protestants to uphold our own primary doctrine.
My experience in Orthodoxy, however, has been much different. In Orthodoxy, the home is explicitly called a little church, and the father and husband functions as a priest of the home. He leads the family in gathered liturgical prayers and Scripture reading. He leads by example and teaching in the disciplines of the faith: fasting, confession, and so forth. But he also blesses the members of the household, and the house itself. Walking through the house at night just prior to bed, he prays for angelic protection, sprinkling holy water. He anoints the foreheads of the members of his home with holy water, or with oil from the vigil lamp, praying prayers of blessing over them. He bows in a metanoia and asks forgiveness of the family members he has wronged.
Of course, in our human fallenness, there are exceptions among the Orthodox to this ancient model. Given the anti-male tenor of our current society, we men fight an uphill battle to accomplish our God-given responsibilities. And too many of us, weak and fallible, fall prey to these rampant misandric heresies. But it is precisely because this is the model in Orthodoxy, and precisely because it is kept and lived in home after home, that Orthodoxy never had its own Reformation. Because it had never lost the practice of the priesthood of all believers (though I have only described the husbandly/fatherly aspect of it). Of course, being killed and tortured by Muslims didn't allow for much time or energy to do much else but stay focused on the essentials.
One wonders what might have happened among Protestants and Roman Catholics, if Protestantism had been able to maintain its own teaching, and had not fallen back into the clericalism it rightly rejected.
Posted by Clifton at May 13, 2003 09:31 PM | TrackBack