“A truly in touch Methodist would go to some kind of evangelical Orthodox or some kind of evangelical liturgical church. I don’t know if there is such a thing, but I’m sure the orthodox voice on FR will let me know.”
The “Orthodox Voice” will have to give his own opinion later, Padre. As for my two cents worth, the whole idea of an “evangelical Orthodox Church” in the way I suspect you mean it is an American phenomenon. A large group of evangelicals founded just such a thing but they soon we were received into the Antiochian Orthodox Church by Metropolitan Philip where they have continued their evangelical ways to a more muted extent than before. The unofficial head guy of that group is a fellow named Gilquist who is now an Orthodox priest. Their outlook, to no great surprise, is very Western, very atonement theory of salvation oriented which I suppose would appeal to Western Protestants but depending on how it is preached, could also be considered heretical.
I wouldn’t know about 30,000 “branches” of Protestantism; I don’t think the “branch theory” of The Church has any more validity than +JPII’s unfortunate “two lungs” analogy.
You’re too modest, Kolo. When a calm orthodox voice is called for, yours is the voice that normally carries the day.
Wesley was an evangelical Anglican. The Anglicans are in such disarray right now, that it makes no more sense for Mr. Hunt to go there than it does for him to go Roman Catholic. Signing up under an African Patriarch is really doing nothing more than moving chairs on the Titanic.
The history of the Anglican Church lies in Orthodoxy rather than in Rome. I’m convinced that’s an historical fact.
Therefore, we’re looking for some kind of evangelical Orthodoxy. We’d prefer the non-heretical variety, of course. :>)
I would never assume to be such a noble thing, Kolo. I believe our chaplain meant you.
xzins: “A truly in touch Methodist would go to some kind of evangelical Orthodox or some kind of evangelical liturgical church
The Orthodox in America make up barely 1% of the population. Most Americans never heard of such a "thing" the way most Russians would have no idea what a Methodist is.
Kolo is also correct that some American "Orthodox" are actually Protestants in Orthodox vestments and can subsist only in the Antiochan Church.
I agree with you that a truly "in-touch" methodist would look for a liturgical church; as for the evangelical kind, that depends what you consider "evangelical."
From the article, it is clear that he had no particular evangelical reason to be in the Catholic Church other than it made him feel "at home." His theological reason centers on the Eucharist being the true Body and Blood of Christ and not on evangelical issues.
If anything, the Catholic Church is more regimented or "methodical" than the Orthodox Church, and that should appeal to any Methodist.
Besides, he didn't have to change his theology that much or not at all when it comes to such issues as original sin, or atonement, as Kolo observes, in the Catholic Church.
So, even a theological transition would be easier to the Catholic then to the Orthodox side.