The Orthodox Church (also called “Eastern” or “Greek” Orthodox), is one of the three main branches of Christianity, along with Catholicism and Protestantism. It is, in fact, a group of independent churches located mainly in Eastern Europe, as well as in the Middle East. This community of Christian churches was historically formed from the church of the former Byzantine Empire.
From an etymological point of view, the Greek word “orthodoxy” has a double meaning—“right belief” and “right glory” or “worship.” It is in this sense that Clement of Alexandria used this word in the second century, contrasting the orthodoxy (right belief) of faithful Christians with the heterodoxy (wrong belief) of heretics.
After the final schism between the Eastern and Western branches of Christianity in 1054 (both in matters of liturgical practice and in the field of dogmatics), the word “orthodoxy” was adopted by the Eastern Church. The Eastern Church saw her orthodoxy primarily due to the fact that, unlike the Western (Catholic) Church, no new dogmas had been created since the ecumenical councils. According to the belief of the Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church seriously deviated from the true apostolic faith by adopting the filioque (the idea of the procession of the Holy Spirit from both the Father and the Son) and accepting the dogmas of the immaculate conception of the virgin Mary and the infallibility of the pope.
For many people in the West, Orthodoxy is either completely unknown, or seems to be a mysterious version of Christianity. Because of some external similarities, many Protestants do not see a significant difference between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, which is completely wrong.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
The Orthodox Church consists of separate local, so-called autocephalous (self-headed) churches. There are fourteen fully recognized autocephalous Orthodox churches today (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Georgia, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia, Greece, Poland, Romania, Albania, and Czech Republic and Slovakia) and two partly recognized (the Orthodox Church in America, formed in 1970, and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, created in 2019). As independent churches, they are not linked to each other by a central organization and do not have to swear allegiance to one particular person, as Catholics do to the pope. The number of Orthodox Christians in the world is 219 million. One third of Orthodox believers are residents of Russia.
THEOLOGY
The theology of the Eastern Church has a pronounced mystical character. Eastern theology does not resort to irrationality, but, recognizing the limitations of the human mind and the abstract nature of the language of theology, focuses on the mystery of the mystical union of the human being with God, rather than on the rational understanding of God.
THE BIBLE AND TRADITION
For the Orthodox Church, the Bible is the main written source of God’s revelation, since God Himself inspired its writing by the Holy Spirit. Though the Scriptures are considered the highest divine revelation by the Eastern Church, it is the Sacred Tradition, being older and larger in scope than the Holy Scriptures, that contains the fullness of the divine revelation. The Bible is only a part of Tradition, or rather one of its forms. In the Seventh-day Adventist Church it is believed that the Holy Scriptures, being divinely inspired in nature, contain everything necessary for the assimilation of God’s truth, as well as for faith and piety. Tradition is generally considered suspect, but some things may be acceptable on the condition that it does not contradict the Scriptures.
GOD
God is understood in the Orthodox Church as the Trinity (the loving communion of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit). Faith in the Trinity is at the heart of the Orthodox faith.
There is a certain difference between the Eastern and Western conceptions of the Trinity, and this difference defines the whole character of theological thought and especially the understanding of salvation. It comes about from a different understanding of the origin or procession of the Holy Spirit. Orthodox Christianity, based on John 15:26, asserts that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son, while Western Christianity has maintained the position that the third hypostasis (person) of the deity proceeds from the Father and the Son (the filioque).
HUMANITY
Orthodox anthropology differs significantly from the Adventist understanding of the human being. The Orthodox Church has adopted a virtually dualistic, Platonic view of the human being as consisting of a body and a soul. The soul is considered as a certain substance but is disembodied and insubstantial. It is emphasized that the soul is able to live on its own, without the body, remaining immortal. Adventist anthropology, in its teaching about the nature of human beings, follows a more wholistic view of humanity that reflects the biblical teaching.
SALVATION
While salvation may be described in Eastern Christian theology in a number of ways, one image seems to assume a preeminent place—the concept of theosis. Theosis refers to the divinization or deification of humanity as the goal of salvation and is a distinctive feature of Orthodox theology. The very purpose of theosis is the ontological transformation or transfiguration of created beings, a process which has already begun on earth in and through the Incarnation of the Son of God and the work of the Holy Spirit.
In the Orthodox understanding, the actual accomplishment of theosis is realized through the church. The practical expression and existential application of theosis is found in the sacramental practice of the church. The sacraments of the church, in particular baptism and the Holy Eucharist, are the divine actions by which the sacramental grace of God is communicated to the believers.
The Orthodox view of salvation as a process of transformation gives more attention to the idea of sanctification, which is generally downplayed in Protestant tradition. It is a prevailing Protestant tendency to separate the categories of justification and sanctification to make sure that there is no confusion of works with faith, of what sinners do with what Christ does for them. This kind of thinking, according to Orthodox theologians, creates a deep gulf between believers and the work of Christ from whom they receive the gifts of grace.
The Wesleyan-Arminian orientation of Adventist soteriology with its persistent emphasis on sanctification and a real transformation of the Christian’s experience, attainable in this life through one’s free and active cooperation with God’s grace, more closely approaches the Greek Patristic understanding of salvation as opposed to the Western Augustinian and Lutheran-Calvinistic tradition with their ideas of total depravity and predestination.
ESCHATOLOGY
The Orthodox Church strongly believes in the reality of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. On the great day of the coming of the Son of Man the universal resurrection of the dead in transfigured form will be accomplished. The resurrection of the dead will be universal and simultaneous, both of the righteous and of sinners.
According to the teaching of the Orthodox Church, the final judgment will be universal—that is, extending to all people living and dead, good and evil; it will be solemn and open, strict and terrible, final and definitive, determining for all eternity the fate of each one who is judged. The result of the judgment will be eternal reward— blessedness for the righteous and the eternal torments for the evil who are condemned.
HOLY ORDERS
There are three “Major Orders” in the Orthodox Church: bishop, priest, and deacon. Orthodox priests are divided into two distinct groups: the “white” or married clergy, and the “black” or monastic clergy. The bishops are required to be celibate. However, the state of monasticism in many parts of the Orthodox Church today is such that it is not always easy to find suitable candidates for the episcopate, and a growing number of Orthodox consider that the limitation of bishops to the monastic clergy is no longer desirable.
VENERATION OF ICONS
One of the distinctive features of Orthodoxy is the place which it assigns to icons. The icon is, perhaps, the most important symbol of the difference between the East and the West. An Orthodox Church is filled with them: dividing the sanctuary from the body of the building there is a solid screen, called the iconostasis, entirely covered with icons, while other icons are placed in special shrines around the church. The Orthodox Christians prostrate themselves before the icons, and they kiss them and burn candles in front of them. The icons are censed by the priest and carried in procession. Icons are essential to the very identity of Orthodoxy. A Christian life without icons would be unthinkable for an Orthodox believer.
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ADVENTIST CHURCH
In many countries where Orthodoxy is the dominant religion, the relationship between the Orthodox Church and the Adventist Church is not an easy one. Adventists are seen as something foreign to the national culture, as something imported from outside, and are most often considered as a sect. However, the Adventist Church is open to constructive dialogue with any religious tradition, including the Orthodox Church. For example, in the Euro-Asia Division, a Center for Adventist-Orthodox dialogue has been established to change the biased attitude of society towards the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR FRUITFUL DIALOGUE BETWEEN ADVENTISTS AND ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS
The following are some considerations for facilitating a dialogue between the Orthodox Church and Seventh-day Adventists.
Basic principles of doing evangelism in general should be first considered: demonstrate caring in tangible ways, cultivate interest through literature, look for opportunities, share biblical answers. It is important to note that the Bible is highly appreciated by Orthodox people. The Holy Scripture is considered the highest divine revelation, although it is regarded more as an object of Christendom than the living Word of God.
In studying the Bible with Orthodox Christians, the ABCs of Bible studies should be remembered: present Jesus first, reveal the truth gradually, make regular appeals.
Dialogue with Orthodox believers should never begin with doctrines that separate them from us, such as icon veneration, prayer to the Mother of God or the saints, etc. There is much more in common between the two traditions that can help make a bridge and establish a good relationship before moving on to the controversial issues. You can unhesitatingly start your conversation with an Orthodox friend with a discussion on divine love, God as Creator, the law of God and divine commandments, Jesus Christ as our Redeemer, the Holy Spirit as our Comforter, and the soon coming of Christ and the signs of the times (a very popular theme among the Orthodox people today). When you feel that a good relationship is established between you and your Orthodox friend, and your friend trusts what the Bible is saying, you may go further. But the truths of God are best revealed gradually so that people aren’t overwhelmed. Remember that a great deal of friction builds up when confronted with new ideas and a person’s natural inclination is to cling to the familiar things. To minimize this friction, we should progress step by step, making sure a person absorbs and accepts one doctrine fully before going on to the next. All the doctrines we need to share can best be presented in connection with Jesus Christ, who must always be at the center of any doctrinal discussions.
We should be aware of the perils of a polemical mindset. Mutual distrust, reciprocal reprisals, and unchecked suspicion will never lead to a relationship of friendship or a fruitful dialogue. We should be very sensitive to what is of special value and considered to be “sacred” in Orthodoxy. An incautious word or a critical attitude toward Orthodox beliefs could easily offend or hurt somebody’s religious feelings and create obstacles to any further dialogue.
Since salvation is a fundamental desire of human beings, understanding the way God saves humanity from sin is one of the most crucial issues. It is very important to recognize what our understandings of these issues are and to submit these understandings to the judgment of the Scriptures. Only by continually undertaking the task of evaluating whether these understandings are actually consistent with the message and emphases of the Bible can we move beyond a purely “traditionbound” understanding of the Scriptures and approach its full message more closely.
It should be said in conclusion that there is common ground for building friendly relationships between Orthodox Christians and Adventists, both in terms of serving society and in many theological spheres. That commonality opens the way for a fruitful dialogue between Seventh-day Adventists and Orthodox Christians.
Eugene V. Zaitsev, PhD, is a professor of theology at Zaoksky University of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Zaoksky, Tula Region, Russian Federation.
