Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • Livestream Services for the Glorification of the Righteous Olga of Kwethluk
    • Washington state targets priests, confidentiality of confession with discriminatory law
    • Archbishop George of Cyprus Speaks Exclusively to “The National Herald” on the Dethroned Metropolitan Tychikos of Paphos
    • ‘The heart of Orthodox monasticism’: Historic monasteries on Mount Athos damaged by earthquakes
    • Ecumenical Patriarchate Issues Statement on Status of Saint Catherine Monastery of Sinai
    • Council of Nicaea anniversary is call to Christian unity, speakers say
    • Call for Nominations: 2025 Medal of Saint Theodora Award
    • Save the Date: October 11, 2025 – Frederica Mathewes-Green to Headline OCL’s 38th Annual Conference
    Orthodox Christian Laity
    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
    • Home
    • OCL
      • About OCL
      • Leadership
      • OCL News
      • OCL Publications
      • Focused Study and Research Topics
      • OCL Archives at DePaul University
    • Orthodox News & Links
      • Orthodox News Stories
      • Headlines & News Archives
      • Governance & Unity
        • Governance Top Stories
        • Governance & Unity Essays
        • Grassroots Unity in Action
      • OCL Forums
      • Orthodox Christian Laity News
      • Web Links
    • Audio & Video
      • Audio Index
      • Video Index
    • Contact
    • Make a Donation
    Orthodox Christian Laity
    You are at:Home»Orthodox News»EVERY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN SHOULD WATCH SPOTLIGHT

    EVERY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN SHOULD WATCH SPOTLIGHT

    0
    By Webmaster on March 16, 2016 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email Telegram WhatsApp Copy Link

    SpotlightSource: OrthodoxOutpost.com

    More good, more often.

    Orthodox Christian writers are often called upon to author articles that focus on positive aspects of life in the Church.  Mission trips, fasting recipes, and ethnic customs are all topics that make for a friendly encounter with Orthodox Christianity.

    But what if the calling to do more good, more often was much more difficult?

    What if doing more good, more often meant being unpopular? What if doing more good, more often meant being cast out by those around us?

    The movie Spotlight recently won the Oscar for Best Picture. It tells the story of how a dedicated group of reporters fought a culture of denial and uncovered decades of abuse in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston along with efforts by its leaders to suppress accountability. Spotlight is a movie that every Orthodox Christian should watch during Great Lent. Child abuse, misuse of authority, and clericalism are not limited to the Roman Catholic Church. They are present in the Orthodox Church as well. Spotlight is a powerful reminder that genuine repentance means coming to understand reality as it is -not reality as one would like it to be. “Servants of the Truth must speak the truth.” writes St. Hilary of Poitiers.

    Here are three lessons Orthodox Christians can learn from Spotlight:

    Secrecy Can Be Misused: The Church often practices secrecy in such matters as the sacrament of confession and pastoral counseling. This confidentiality is normal and healthy. However, secrecy can also be a tool that is misused. This is especially true in the administrative life of the Church where appeals to secrecy have the potential to mask serious problems that need to be disclosed and remedied. There is no moral or theological reason for the Orthodox Church to conduct any part of its administrative life in secret. Transparency and accountability are the foundation of genuine conciliarity. Transparency and accountability are also the essence healthy stewardship. The Church is a hospital that must continually come to understand its own illnesses while serving as a model for what it means to live a healthy life in the world. The truth spoken in love always heals while secrecy that is misused allows sin to flourish. St. Anthony the Great reminds one of this when he writes “The truly blessed are not the ones who can work miracles or see angels; the truly blessed are the ones who can see their own sins.”

    Orthodoxy is About Fidelity – not Success: St. Gregory of Palamas writes: “Whereas love for God is the source and starting point of every virtue, love for the world is the cause of all evil.” One of the most tragic themes that unfolds in Spotlight is how the Church in Boston traded fidelity to Christ for worldly success. Materialism silenced the voice Christ and as a result children were harmed. Elaborate dinners became more important than serving the poor. What the Church owned became important than what the Church did. Today, every Orthodox community faces the temptation of placing its material success ahead of its Christian calling. How many times do we view successful parishes as those with elaborate sanctuaries and expensive facilities? How many times do we measure a person’s ability to be a leader based solely on their wealth and influence? These temptations are constantly present and must be overcome if the Church is to live its mission.

    Obedience Can Be Abused: Spotlight shows how appeals to obedience and “the good of the Church” can be misused by those in authority. Many of the characters in the movie who chose to ignore the evil before their eyes made excuses for it as a result of an unhealthy understanding of obedience. Obedience is a theme that often appears in Orthodox Christianity. Orthodox Christians are to obey their parents, priests, hierarchs and spiritual fathers. Obedience is a virtue for Orthodox Christians but it can also be abused. One of the tragedies of the Church today is that there continues to exist in some circles an unhealthy model of leadership that demands a form of obedience that is centered on power and control. This brand of obedience degrades those who are looking for meaning in their lives. It also does lasting harm. No Orthodox Christian should ever be asked to ignore their conscience for sake of obedience. No Orthodox Christian can justify wrongdoing by appealing to “the good of the church”. Fr. Stephen Freeman says it best, “obedience is not the destruction of the will, or simply “doing what you are told.” Obedience requires a union of trust with God in which we recognize that the direction of our life is a gift rather than a choice of our own devising. It is a movement of the heart towards God rather than an assertion of the self. This, however, cannot be coerced. There is no obedience with coercion.”

    Spotlight is a reminder that every Orthodox Christian is responsible for the health of the Church. Every Orthodox Christian is responsible for protecting the weakest members of society. The greatest measure of our well-being as Orthodox Christians is not the size of the Church’s buildings or bank accounts but whether or not it lives the Gospel and protects the most vulnerable among us. Orthodox Christians must be vigilant in avoiding the failings that led to the events chronicled in Spotlight . There is no guarantee that what took place in Boston cannot happen in our own communities.

    Feeling good is not the same as being good. Orthodox Christianity is not about the power of positive thinking. It is not an exercise in creating the reality we would like at the expense of the world as it truly is. The call to do more good, more often is the hard and narrow path walked by Jesus Christ. It is the path not to positive emotions but genuine asceticism and authentic humanity. It is the path to Truth. Fr. Thomas Hopko says it best:

    “The God who is merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, who gives us his divine life and peace and joy forever, is first of all the Divine Lover who wounds His beloved, and then hides from her, hoping to be sought and found. He is the Father who chastens and disciplines His children. He is the Vinekeeper who cuts and prunes His vines so that they bear much fruit. He is the Jeweler who burns His gold in His divine fire so that it would be purged of all impurities. And He is the Potter who continually smashes and refashions and re-bakes His muddy clay so that it can be the earthen vessel that He wants it to be, capable of bearing His own transcendent grace and power and glory and peace.”

    This transcendent grace, power, glory and peace is the true meaning of doing more good, more often and the heart of the Orthodox Christian Faith handed down to us by the Apostles.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email WhatsApp Copy Link
    Previous ArticleAnalyzing the Holy and Great Council
    Next Article Letters from Metropolitan Hierotheos and Metropolitan Athanasios on the Holy and Great Council

    Related Posts

    June 17, 20251 Min Read

    Livestream Services for the Glorification of the Righteous Olga of Kwethluk

    June 12, 20255 Mins Read

    ‘The heart of Orthodox monasticism’: Historic monasteries on Mount Athos damaged by earthquakes

    June 10, 20254 Mins Read

    Ecumenical Patriarchate Issues Statement on Status of Saint Catherine Monastery of Sinai

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Sign the Declaration for Orthodox Christian Unity

    Enter the Slogan Contest

    Share this page
    DISCLAIMER

    All articles represent the views of the authors and  not necessarily the official views of Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL). They are posted to encourage thoughtful discussion on topics and concerns relevant to Orthodox Christians living in a pluralistic society. OCL encourages your comments.

    Stay Informed!

    Subscribe to our Newsletter

    WE WELCOME YOUR INPUT AND SUPPORT!

    Your donation impacts and helps advance the unity of the Orthodox Church of America.

    DONATE NOW

    THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

    Upcoming Events
    There are no upcoming events.
    Recent Comments
    • Procopius on Leading Liturgists Reaffirm the Ordination of Women to the Diaconate
    • Procopius on How will the Female Diaconate Help Prevent Abuse?
    • John Fronime on Archbishop Elpidophoros Proposes Separation of Church and State in Greece
    • Nn on HAVE WE HIT ROCK BOTTOM? REFLECTIONS OF A NOT-SO-INNOCENT BYSTANDER [witnessing the present decline of the Orthodox Church as an institution]
    • Member on Ex-Clergyman, Sexually Abused at 17 by His Priest, Attempted Suicide
    • Bonnie Belknap on Archbishop Elpidophoros Proposes Separation of Church and State in Greece
    • Bonnie Belknap on Archbishop Elpidophoros Proposes Separation of Church and State in Greece
    • Bonnie Belknap on Archbishop Elpidophoros Proposes Separation of Church and State in Greece
    • Luke on Egypt nationalizes ancient monastery’s grounds, fraying ties between Athens and Cairo
    • Webmaster on Egypt nationalizes ancient monastery’s grounds, fraying ties between Athens and Cairo
    OCL Archives Online
    Project for Orthodox Renewal
    renewal-resize
    OCL Digital Newsletter

    Subscribe to our Newsletter

    MAKE A DONATION

    St. Symeon the New Theologian and St. Photini are the Patron Saints of OCL

    footer-fnl

    Orthodox Christian Laity
    PO Box 6954

    West Palm Beach, FL · 33405
    561-585-0245

    Sponsored by Ann Souvall in memory of husband George

    DISCLAIMER: All articles represent the views of the authors and  not necessarily the official views of Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL). They are posted to encourage thoughtful discussion on topics and concerns relevant to Orthodox Christians living in a pluralistic society. OCL encourages your comments.

    ©2025 Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) ·  Login

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.