Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • ‘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
    • Metropolitan Elder Dimitrios of the Princes’ Islands Named Honorary Doctor in Athens
    • Fordham’s Orthodox Christian Studies Center Annual Benefit Reception on June 16
    • Saint-Sophia-Seminary-Quarterly-No. 2
    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»On Faith: Metropolitan Methodios’ call to evangelize sparks discussion of true Orthodoxy

    On Faith: Metropolitan Methodios’ call to evangelize sparks discussion of true Orthodoxy

    1
    By Webmaster on October 23, 2013 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email Telegram WhatsApp Copy Link
    Metropolitan Methodios
    Metropolitan Methodios

    Source: The Republic

    TERRY MATTINGLY – Scripps Howard News Service

    It happens all the time: Church leaders stand at podiums and urge members of their flocks to go and share their faith, striving to win new converts.

    These speeches rarely make news, because they are not unusual. But something unusual happened earlier this month in Brookline, Mass.

    “You will surely agree that our mission … is to lead our brothers and sisters — both inside and outside the church — to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” said the featured speaker.

    “This is becoming more and more difficult because many hesitate to share their faith, fearing they will be considered quaint and bothersome. This is especially the case in America’s colleges and universities where atheism and indifference on matters of faith and religion reign supreme.”

    This would be ordinary, if not tame language in a gathering held by Campus Crusade for Christ, the Southern Baptist Convention or any Bible Belt megachurch. But this speaker was Metropolitan Methodios, the white-haired leader of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston, addressing clergy and laity in a conference center dedicated to Greek culture.

    The spiritual leader of Greek Orthodox believers in New England didn’t stop with this call to evangelize people inside and outside his flock’s sanctuaries. Instead, he directly challenged the lukewarm or even compromised version of the faith that may result from the media “bombardment of materialistic and hedonistic philosophies” that shape the public square.

    All too often, he said, the result is neither orthodox nor Orthodox.

    “People today fashion their personal beliefs by integrating Orthodox and non-Orthodox elements,” he explained, in the speech text posted online. “Without realizing it, they become ‘cafeteria Christians.’ Just as they do not partake of every food item in a cafeteria line — but only those foods which they like — in the same way they feel they can pick and choose from what Orthodoxy teaches. …

    “Let me be clear: Core teachings of our faith are not subject to popularity polls or political correctness.”

    Metropolitan Methodios even, without mentioning a specific name, criticized a New England legislator who “claims to be an Orthodox Christian” and who “champions Greek political causes” because of his public advocacy of same-sex marriage.

    It’s important to note that, through the years, Eastern Orthodox bishops have released occasional public statements in which they affirmed basic tenets of their ancient faith. In some cases they have applied these doctrines to public issues in American life.

    For example, the Eastern Orthodox bishops of North and Central America recently released a document that expressed “deep concern over recent actions on the part of our respective governments and certain societal trends concerning the status of marriage in our countries, in particular the legalization of same-sex unions.”

    Also, the symbolic leader of the world’s 250 million Orthodox Christians (including me) recently addressed challenges to church teachings on marriage. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Istanbul stressed that the “partnering of the same sex is unknown and condemned” in church teachings, along with the “contemporary invention of ‘mutual cohabitation,’ which is the result of sin and not the law of joy.”

    These kinds of documents are good, but only carry so much weight, noted Father Johannes Jacobse, head of the American Orthodox Institute in Naples, Fla. It is one thing for bishops to affirm two millennia of church teachings. It is something else for a bishop to openly challenge his people to live by them.

    “This is the first time I have heard a Greek Orthodox bishop speak publicly with this kind of clarity and certainty on some of the pressing moral issues of our day,” said Jacobse, who served as a Greek Orthodox priest from 1991 to 2009 and now leads an Antiochian Orthodox parish. In this case, a veteran bishop “just stood up there and SAID IT. There seemed to be no sense of hesitation or fear that someone might think that he sounded like — heaven forbid — an evangelical or a moral conservative or something.”

    The bottom line, concluded Metropolitan Methodios, is that clergy and lay leaders must recognize that they need to “re-evangelize, to re-catechize, to re-teach the faith” to their own people, especially those on the margins of church life.

    “The truth,” he stressed, “is that many brethren sitting in the pews of our parishes are not knowledgeable of even the basic teachings of Orthodoxy.”

    (Terry Mattingly directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Contact him at tmattingly@cccu.org or tmatt.net)

    [subscribe2]
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email WhatsApp Copy Link
    Previous ArticleMETROPOLITAN D.C. ORTHODOX MISSION & OUTREACH COMMITTEE HOSTED FIRST ANNUAL “MONUMENTAL MISSIONS WALK” ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2013
    Next Article Muscovite Builds Record-Breaking Jesus Statue in Syria

    Related Posts

    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

    June 2, 20252 Mins Read

    Call for Nominations: 2025 Medal of Saint Theodora Award

    1 Comment

    1. Christ's unprofitable servant, Seraphim on October 24, 2013 6:20 am

      Axios! Axios! Axios!

      Rather than someone speaking truth to power, we see power speaking truth. We need more of this type of clear & constructive talk from our hierarchs.

      Reply
    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.