Biblical & Theological Issues

by Craig Branch –

Christendom’s Diversity
Christianity appears to those outside our faith as a large confusing collage of many diverse groups, all claiming to be the one true Christian church. And indeed, as the Bible warns (2 Cor. 11:3-4, 11-15; 2 Pet. 2:1-2; Gal. 1:6-9; Rom. 10:1-4, Mat. 7:15; Jude 3-4), there will always be false or counterfeit “Christian” groups embracing varying degrees of heretical or false teachings. These are cults like Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, The Way, Unity School of Christianity, United
Pentecostals, and more. Any religious body that worships a “different God,” a “different Jesus,” or presents a false gospel of works salvation, and not salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ’s finished work alone, is theologically a cult with fatal heresy (2 Cor. 11:3-4, 13-15; 5:21; Rom. 3:19-25; 10:1-4; Gal. 2:16).

Another common cult characteristic is the matter of scriptural and human authority. Most cults require allegiance to a scriptural authority other than the Bible. Others may use only the Bible but the leader(s) will require strict submission to their interpretation of it.1 Yet there is still another category. There are religious bodies which may acknowledge belief in the Triune God, in the Deity of Christ, and much else that Christians have essentially believed, but still teach a different gospel, a works system of salvation. These are groups like most Churches of Christ and Seventh-day Adventism. They teach the necessity of baptism for salvation and numerous other acts of obedience to qualify for salvation. I must say, however, that there is a reformation movement in a growing number of individual Churches of Christ. These have come into a biblical understanding of grace and the gospel. Recently a similar movement has arisen within Seventh-day Adventism.

Part of the confusion people have about Christianity thus involves these many competing groups that all make an exclusive claim to be authentic Christianity. But there
are also many Christian denominations on the landscape. Among the hundreds of denominations there has traditionally been a consistent voice on what the Bible teaches
on foundational doctrines such as the Trinity, Christ as fully God and man, his virgin birth and bodily resurrection, man’s Fall and original sin, the gospel of grace, the final authority of the Bible, and judgment day. Though differing on many secondary matters (which can often be confusing and sometimes divisive), Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Pentecostals, Nazarenes, Episcopals and Lutherans (and hundreds more) recognize each other as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ because
of agreement on the essentials.

Now I must add a further distinction. Within most Christian denominations there is a liberal and neo-orthodox movement which began in the past century which denies the plenary inspiration of the Bible and therefore usually ends up with a different gospel—a social gospel of works or a universalistic “gospel.”

So the “Christian” landscape so far includes true Christian denominations who agree on the essentials, pseudo-Christian groups which present a false God or Jesus, a false gospel and false authority, which include the cults but also liberal churches. But there is still another category, the one that is the focus of this issue of Areopagus Journal: Eastern Orthodoxy. When most Americans think of major religions we tend to think of four: Protestants, Catholics, Jews and Muslims. Most have a vague and confused view of Eastern Orthodoxy, assuming they have any idea of it at all.

A Brief Introduction to Eastern Orthodoxy

Often Eastern Orthodox churches are confused with Roman Catholicism. Eastern Orthodoxy, like Protestantism, does have some roots in Catholicism, but also like Protestantism, it has a unique history and theology. Like Protestants and Catholics, there are some shared doctrines but like cults there are different doctrines which are viewed as fatal heresies by many.

There are common beliefs held by Catholicism, Reformation Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. They include belief in the divine inspiration of the Old and New
Testaments, the two natures of Christ, the Trinity, the historical crucifixion and bodily resurrection of Christ, a belief in the early creeds (AD 325-451). For example, all would agree that a rejection of the Trinity constitutes fatal heresy. But there are several significant doctrines which ultimately separate us from each other. And there are some doctrines jointly held by Eastern Orthodox churches and the Roman Catholic Church that Protestants reject as unscriptural. These controversial and disputed doctrines will be addressed in this journal.

As I wrote earlier, most Americans and Christians do not think of the Eastern Orthodox Church as a major part of professing Christendom. But the membership numbers
will surprise you and demonstrate the significance of Eastern Orthodoxy as a mission field. First of all, the Orthodox Church is not a single church but is a family of 14 self-governing churches. They are still united in their understanding of the sacraments, doctrine, and liturgy, but each group governs or manages itself. The head of each group is called a Patriarch.

The Orthodox membership lists vary in numbers because like some Protestant and Catholic Churches, the actual membership rolls are much higher than actual attendees. The most consistent count is 218 million members on paper worldwide with about 5.6 million in the U.S. That makes it the 4th largest religious community in the U.S.

The 14 world-wide Orthodox churches are the Russian Orthodox (164 million); the Romanian Orthodox (18.8 million); the Greek Orthodox (10 million); the Serbian Orthodox (8 million); the Bulgarian Orthodox (6.5 million); the Georgian Orthodox (3.5 million); the Patriarchate of Constantinople (2.8 million); the Patriarchate of Alexandria (1.5 million); the Patriarchate of Antioch (900,000); the Orthodox Church of Cypress (650,000); the Polish Orthodox (600,000); the Albanian Orthodox (300,000); the Patriarchate of Jerusalem (130,000); the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia (110,000); and last, the Orthodox Church in America
(100,000). (Do not be misled by this last figure. The number of Orthodox members in America is 5.6 million because the other Orthodox communities have many members here due to immigration.2

Eastern Orthodoxy is much more in line with Roman Catholicism doctrinally than it is with the Protestant churches. It evolved out of and is connected with the developing
Roman Catholic tradition. There are four basic developmental periods in Eastern Orthodoxy.

The first was the apostolic period, the new administration of God’s covenant people (Gen. 17:1-8; Romans 4; Gal. 3: 6-16, 27-29). This period was from the advent of Christ until the time of the Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century A.D.

The second period is known as the medieval period which ran for about ten centuries, from Constantine until the fall of Constantinople to the Muslims. Some significant events occurred early and late in this second period which gave definitive shape to Orthodoxy that we will discuss in a moment.

The third period is sometimes referred to as the age of captivity which began with the extinction of the Byzantine monarchy in the mid-fifteenth century and ended at about 1830. The final developmental period is the current or modern one.3

During the early apostolic period, the most significant event was the conversion of Emperor Constantine to Christianity (313A.D.) and his eventual move of the Roman Empire’s capital to Constantinople in AD 330. At that time there were five patriarchs or apostles or bishops recognized as leaders over the Church. Four of the patriarchs were in the East while the patriarch of Rome was the one in the West. Because of linguistic, philosophical, cultural and social differences there was significant strain between the East and West churches.

During the medieval period, the strain became a fracture. For example, at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, a number of Eastern churches dissented from the decision of the Council over so-called filioque clause that was added to the Nicene Creed.4 Also, the patriarchs had always viewed the Roman bishop as merely the “first among equals.” But the Roman bishop gradually came to see himself as the final and primary authority over the whole church. This came to the surface during the third and
fourth Ecumenical Councils (Ephesus, 431 A.D., Chalcedon, 451 A.D.).

Because of the these disagreements and other issues the Roman and Eastern patriarchs excommunicated each other in the Great Schism 1054. The main doctrines
which now separate the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant churches are the issue of authority and the doctrine of salvation. The Catholic Doctrine of the Pope of Rome being the sole “vicar of Christ on the earth” and therefore ultimate intercessor and authority, is rejected by both the Eastern and Protestant churches. In addition, The Eastern and Protestant churches reject the Catholics’ elevation of Mary as co-mediator with Christ, the immaculate conception (sinlessness of Mary), and Mary’s Assumption. They also reject Catholicism’s doctrine of surplus merits of Saints, the doctrine of indulgences, and purgatory.

But Protestants differ with the Catholics and Orthodoxy over the authority of the Church. The Orthodox Church sees itself as the appointed one true church:

The Orthodox Christian of today sees
himself as heir and great guardian to
great inheritance received from the
past, and he believes that it is his duty
to transmit this inheritance unimpaired
to the future…. This Tradition, which
includes the Bible, the major historical
creeds of the Eastern Church, and the
decision of the first seven ecumenical
councils, is not static, but is anointed
by the Holy Spirit. It is the life of the
Holy Spirit in the Church.5

The Eastern Orthodox believes like Roman Catholicism that salvation is an ongoing process. That ultimately justification is predicated upon sanctification. The seven sacraments, repetition of early creeds (and some later ones), the use of incense and icons, are means of grace and favor which can be gained through the obedience of participation. Both the Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism rejects justification by grace alone through faith alone in the imputation of Christ’s righteousness
(Christ alone). This is a “different gospel,” a false gospel.6

In this issue of Areopagus Journal are articles which present and explain in more detail key aspects of Eastern Orthodox theology. The first article is by Donald Fairbairn
of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He gives us an historical-theological overview of Eastern Orthodoxy, tracing its historical background and describing two major streams of thought found in Orthodoxy rooted in two major figures: Origin of Alexandria and Gregory Palamas.

The second and third articles are written by two Eastern European evangelicals from Greece and the Ukraine. Viacheslav Lytvynenko, former professor of historical theology at Donetsk Christian University in the Ukraine, explores the controversial Orthodox doctrine of theosis. Theosis is the sanctification process wherein
people become more god-like as image-bearers of God. That is, through baptism, participation in the sacraments in worship and human effort, one becomes more and more “deified.” But what do the Orthodox mean by “deification”? Lytvynenko seeks to answer that question and explain whether or not it is compatible with evangelical theology.

Kantartzis deals primarily with the Orthodox understanding of the fall of man in contrast to the biblical doctrine of the guilt of original sin. Orthodoxy understands the Fall
in non-moral terms as involving the human failure to realize its created potential. This has detrimental implications for Orthodoxy’s view of the cross and salvation.

Craig Branch is the director of the Apologetics Resource Center, Birmingham, Alabama.

Notes
1 These points are elaborated in our Areopagus Journal Vol. 2: No. 3, (2002—“They Became Fools . . .”).
2 See www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/numbers.htm.
3 For more discussion of these historical periods, see David Smith, A Handbook of Contemporary Theology, (Wheaton, IL: Bridgepoint Victor Books, 1992), 103.
4The Nicene Creed’s current article on the Holy Spirit reads as follows: “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father
and the Son.” The last phrase (“and the son”— filioque in Latin) was added against the position of the Eastern churches and lead eventually to the Great Schism of 1054.
5Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church (Middlesex UK: Penguin Books, 1963), 204, 206.
6 For a more detailed interactive analysis of these significant differences go to http://www. eastwestreport.org/articles/ew08304.html. This is a report issued by Biola University entitled “Eastern Orthodox Teachings in Comparison with the Doctrinal Position of Biola University.”

(First published in Areopagus Journal Vol. 12 No. 3 – Eastern Orthodoxy)