Abstract
When considering the relationship between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Church, can we both celebrate progress towards unity, while acknowledging where growth must still occur? Dr. George Hancock-Stefan, who fled the oppressive communist regime of Yugoslavia with the rest of his Baptist family, now frequently returns to Eastern Europe to explore topics of modern theology. During these travels, he has recognized a concerning trend: the religious unity and interfaith fellowship celebrated in Western academia does not reach the Eastern European local level. This is primarily due to the fact that Orthodoxy is a top to bottom institution, and nothing happens at the local level unless approved by the top. This lack of religious unity and cooperation at the local level is also due to the fact that the Eastern Orthodox Church claims a national Christian monopoly and the presence of Evangelicals is considered an invasion. In this article, Dr. Hancock-Stefan unpacks the history of the spiritual revivals that took place in various Eastern Orthodox Churches in the 19th–20th centuries, as well as the policies established by the national patriarchs after the fall of communism that are now jeopardizing the relationship between Orthodox and Evangelicals. By addressing this friction with candor and Christian love, this article pleads for the Orthodox Church to relinquish its monopoly and hopes that both Orthodox and Evangelicals will start considering each other to be brothers and sisters in Christ.
Highlights
In 2010, Reverend Dr Eddie Glaude shocked African American churches by writing an essay entitled, “The Black Church Is Dead.” In the article, Glaude articulates three reasons for making his inflammatory statement:(1) First, black churches have always been complicated spaces. (2) Second, African American communities are much more differentiated. (3) Thirdly, and this is the most important point, we have witnessed the routinization of black prophetic witness.As to be expected, hundreds of people responded by evaluating, critiquing, and criticizing the article (Fluker 2016)
In the hope that a candid critique can lead to growth, this article will make a statement that may lead to visceral reactions in its readers: the Eastern Orthodox Church has become an oppressive church
Going back to Glaude, he is not accusing the Black Church of being oppressive, taking the main three points from his article and applying them to the Eastern Orthodox Church leads to some thought-provoking similarities: The authors agrees that the EOC has a highly nuanced and complicated history
Summary
In 2010, Reverend Dr Eddie Glaude shocked African American churches by writing an essay entitled, “The Black Church Is Dead.” In the article, Glaude articulates three reasons for making his inflammatory statement:. Going back to Glaude, he is not accusing the Black Church of being oppressive, taking the main three points from his article and applying them to the Eastern Orthodox Church leads to some thought-provoking similarities: The authors agrees that the EOC has a highly nuanced and complicated history. This focus on the importance of the past creates a powerful sense of nationalism as the Eastern Orthodox Church takes great pride in what it has overcome and tells any new groups that because they lack this historical connection, they cannot be considered part of the present It is this historical, nationalistic approach that has become oppressive to anyone who comes into the national space (Djuvara 2012). Likewise, when it comes to the concept of nationalism, the Romanian Cathedral that was dedicated in Bucharest is called The Salvation of the Nation. This dedication was done despite major protests by Catholics, Protestants and Neo-Protestants.
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