The Chinese Evangelicals Turning to Orthodoxy. More believers from China and Taiwan are finding Eastern Christianity appealing. I sought to uncover why.

In the late 2000s, Li became a believer through a campus Bible study shortly after he began attending its meetings.

Li worshiped in an evangelical church that held contemporary services shaped by joyful, fast-paced praise songs. But the upbeat worship music, coupled with his busy work schedule, “made his heart even less quiet,” said Li, who is in his mid-30s.

Then he stumbled upon Ancient Faith Radio, a digital network of broadcasts offering Eastern Orthodox liturgical music and teaching. The melodies he listened to were simple, solemn, and contemplative. “It felt like another world,” he said.

Li began exploring the Eastern Orthodox tradition while studying theology at the University of Oxford’s Wycliffe Hall. He read widely, comparing Protestant and Orthodox arguments about the faith, and found the Orthodox responses “more persuasive than expected.” He joined the Orthodox church in China in 2022.

“There was a deep dissonance between the beauty I found in the writings of the early church and the functional pragmatism of much [of] evangelical church life,” Li said on a Zoom call from a room lined with Chinese evangelical theology books, now flanked by Orthodox icons and a wooden cross.

Li is not the only evangelical of Chinese descent who has turned eastward in recent years. A burgeoning number of Chinese believers find Eastern Orthodoxy appealing because it offers a connection to a historically rooted faith and a richer experience of the spiritual life—aspects that contemporary evangelicalism seems to lack.

Li remains at peace with his decision to become an Orthodox believer. “People are looking for a faith that is not only true but solid: something that can stand when everything around them is changing,” he said.

Message from Jim Robinson:

Dear FRiends,

We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.

If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you,

Jim

From the article "Many of these Orthodox adherents long for historical depth. Because their theological imaginations had been shaped largely within modern evangelical frameworks, many discovered—often for the first time—the vast expanse of early Christian history that lies between the New Testament and the Reformation.

As they read the church fathers, learned about the early councils, and studied how the canon of Scripture was discerned, they asked whether their inherited evangelical structures had adequately preserved the breadth of the apostolic tradition."

The depth of Orthodox thought and prayer is staggering.

Reading John Chrysostom is just scratching the surfacd

Orthodoxy demands a radical shift in daily life, including strict fasting, a structured prayer rule, and a focus on humility

Orthodoxy doesn’t allow half measures. It is an entire way of life. Those who are ready start preparing for that reality. Those who are not either remain on the sidelines or take the easier, more familiar path

So encouraging!

Geographically, it made me think of the storied city of Harbin aka “The Moscow of the East.”

“Jerry Feng writes about the fascinating mix of Russian, Jewish, and Chinese histories of Harbin, China, and how this rich diversity plays a role in today’s Harbinite identity.”

https://chinahandsmagazine.org/2024/12/24/harbin-the-moscow-of-the-east/

I'm Catholic as you know, but I've listened to Ancient Faith Radio quite a bit and mostly enjoy it. They are of course very close to Catholicism in their theology, but they have an extra layer of ancient wisdom and reading of the Scriptures and the early Church Fathers than Catholicism has not retained very well (although that seems to be changing). The one thing off-putting about their speakers is they seem to make it a point to negatively differentiate themselves from Catholicism which comes across (to me) like a bit of an inferiority complex. As I often say, a man's religion is weak if he has to denigrate other religions to practice his.

As I recall, Hank Hannegraff, the long time Evangelical Christian radio "Bible Answer Man" (who succeeded the great Dr. Walter Martin, may he rest in peace) also had something of a conversion experience after visiting Christians in China, and subsequently became an Eastern Orthodox.

The fusion of the two is what is just so so beautiful. I attended Christmas mass while in St. Petersburg, Russia at the church of St. Catherine of Alexandria…and the candlelight… combined with Catholic hymns with Orthodox chanting. Ahh!

And the priests were from Ukraine and Poland.

Yes, it does seem that way.

7 years ago we went to https://monaster-suprasl.pl/ - Suprasl, a town next to the Belarussian border. Beautiful Orthodox monastery. We went in to visit and the guide was a Polish Orthodox monk, speaking in Polski to an audience of Poles (most of whom were I would guess, Catholic). But instead of focusing on the beauty of the place, or the deep faith, he did what you experienced and I found that off-putting and purposeless.

Sad that a political standoff keeps us apart

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.