Download “what makes you Orthodox.” Just a couple of “things.”

What Makes Us
Orthodox
Anton C. Vrame, Ph.D.
Director
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
Department of Religious Education
A short activity:
Think for a moment about “what makes you
Orthodox.” Just a couple of “things.”
Turn to your neighbor, introduce yourself, and
share.
The need to get beyond
the externals of Orthodox
Christianity, which have
been affected by history
and culture. Move deeper
than the exterior forms.
Like Christ at the Transfiguration,
the Disciples had until that time only
seen the external, the human Christ.
On Mt Tabor, Christ allowed what
was “inside” to be revealed. He is the
eternal and uncreated God.
What we are not
 Living in the past (or recreating medieval Byzantium, 19th century
Russia, etc)
 Defined exclusively by our ethnicity
 A “neo-Gnostic” or “New Age” religion, possessing special and
secret knowledge
 Defined by a political agenda (neither Democrat nor Republican, nor
any other party)
 A Church that “does not change”. The Apostles themselves changed
Judaism to meet the needs of a growing Church (Acts 15). In the 8th
c, the Church took nearly 120 years to define the appropriate use of
art in the Church, alternating for and against.
And in one Lord,
Jesus Christ
“Who do you say that I am?”
Scripture, Councils
Questions about Christ through the centuries:

How is Christ related to the one
God of Abraham? If he is God
and the Holy Spirit is God, how
can we say that there are not
three gods or how can the three
be one?

Did Christ always exist, or was
there a time “when he was not”?

What about His mother? How
should she give birth to God?

Is Jesus fully God and fully
human? How can that be?

Did Jesus have a divine will or a
human will? How could these
two relate?

When you saw Jesus in the flesh,
what did you see? The divinity?
The humanity?
“One Christian is no Christian”
In One, Holy, Catholic, and
Apostolic Church
Our Orthodox Christian Faith
and Way of Life
is meant to be radically communal
We practice our faith together: worship, askesis
We learn together
We support one another – if one mourns, all mourn, if one
rejoices, all rejoice
We decide and work together – councils, organizations
We care about one another
“And behold, it was very good.”
The world is a gift from God, and it is all good; fallen yet good.
At all times, at
every hour.
God has given us the gift of time so that we may
turn to God (A. Calivas). How do we use that time?
Every day is dedicated, saints and feasts
The day is divided into 8 parts so we can pause and
call upon God.
Seasons for preparing for God’s actions in history.
We mark passages in life, from birth to death.
“And the glory of God is man, fully
alive.” (St. Irenaeus)
“There is nothing so great among beings that it can be compared with your
greatness.” St. Gregory of Nyssa
“For the life of the world.”
He who is not a lover of man (philanthropos) is not a lover of Christ (philochristos).
Manuel Holobolos, 13th c.