The Unchanging Changing Church

Our Divine worship is ancient. Our Scriptures are original. Our way of life was established by the Holy Apostles. As Orthodox Christians we like to tell everyone we are the ancient Church that never changes. That isn’t exactly true and today is a reminder of why.

Today is the Feast of Saint Photios the Great. He was Patriarch of Constantinople and was at the center of one of the ancient schisms of the Church. The Photian Schism erupted after he was elected Patriarch having never served even as a priest.

You can read about Saint Photios on your own. My blog today isn’t about him, but about change. Saint Photios was elected and ordained as Patriarch as a layman. This was not normal, but the Church proceeded anyway. This would not happen today.

Since that time, it was forbidden for a anyone to ‘skip’ ranks a clergyman. In other words, things have changed. Today bishops are elected only from among priests, and priests are ordained only from among deacons. So much for the unchanging church.

Before you judge the Church today as ‘departing’ from the past, ask yourself one question. “Which past am I wanting to affirm? Which century do we have to return to be authentically Orthodox?” You will find time travel still evades humanity.

Pews in some churches seem to be ‘here to stay’ whether we like them or not. We don’t have to sit if we don’t want. Organs have become a normal part of our worship in America. They even use drums in Africa. Is there anything sacred in the Church?

The ONLY thing that never changes is the Truth of Christ. Just about everything else is a historical reflection and response to that truth. The more we experience history, the more our way of life will change. Even fasting is not the same today as it was during Apostolic times.

I’m not advocating for random changes. I’m not advocating for no changes. As history presents the Church with challenges, the Church will respond always guided by the Holy Spirit and Sacred Dogmas of the Church. As the ‘way we live’ will change, the dogmas remain unchanging.