An Orthodox View

In 2005, interested in all things Russian, I decided to attend a small Russian Orthodox Church in Birmingham. In the past I had visited numerous different church denominations – many different Protestant denominations and some Catholic churches. But I had never visited an Orthodox church. It was close to Bonfire Night and I drove to the church, not sure of what to expect.

When I arrived, it looked like any other house on the outskirts of Birmingham. There were no signs and no crosses to show that it was a church. I knocked on the door. A bearded man in black robes welcomed me and I was led to a room. The room was full of incense and icons of saints along with some seats for the small congregation. I think perhaps there were ten or fifteen people there, I can’t say for sure because I was almost overwhelmed by a feeling that God was in the room. As I prayed, I got the feeling that God was either puzzled or surprised. It didn’t make sense. That can happen in some church services, but I have never felt it to the extent that I did at that small Orthodox church on a housing estate.

I stood at the back and the service began. I didn’t understand a word of it because it was all in Russian. At the end of the service, I was kindly offered communion, I think out of politeness. I refused it as graciously as I could.

After the service, some of the churchgoers sat at a table in another room along with the priest. They all spoke to each other in Russian and it felt like a community gathering of the local Russian diaspora. I will still feeling awe-struck by the whole thing when the priest asked me:

“What did you think?”

“Thank you, it was a very good service.” I replied.

And I completely forgot all intentions to ask about revival or anything else.

My reply seemed to please those around the table. It was ironic that I most felt the presence of God in a service from which I could barely understand a single word.

It should be noted that the Orthodox church had gone through a revival in Russia at least. In the same way that places in Africa and Asia were going through an increase in the number of Christians, Russia too, was experiencing an increase following the collapse of the USSR. There were many reasons for this, but mostly it was because they were no longer being persecuted at such an intense level. It is hard for revivals to happen during persecution – maybe China could be said to be experiencing one, but this is at the same time as a persecution from their Government. Some believed that a revival could only happen if there was a persecution at the same time, but historical evidence didn’t make this a necessity.

As for the Orthodox – my experiences with them were almost completely positive. If I were to change denomination at all, it would be to Orthodoxy. They claim that when the Church split in the Great Schism of 1054, they were not the ones who strayed from the original faith. So, between the Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants, it is Protestantism which has the least claim to being the legitimate successor from the original church.

Orthodoxy has no pope. They believe that they are all brothers and sisters. But there are leaders and patriarchs. The icons which they use are no more idolatrous than the Catholic statues of Mary. They are an aid to worship, in the same way that a stained-glass window or any other Protestant paraphernalia is.

I have an Orthodox icon on my writing desk. I love it. It shows Jesus in a thoughtful, if slightly distracted, mood. He is holding a book and he is dressed in a green and red. He looks a bit like Robin Hood. Behind him is the usual gold colour of icons. On the other side of this small foldable (to close when I want nothing to do with him) is a representation of Mary. Mary looks calm and holds a child, who, in the way of many icons, is not so much a baby as a miniature human being. I got the icon cheap from an Orthodox Christian bookshop, before it closed down. The outside of it is carved in a pattern but the varnish is flaking away from sun damage, hence the discount. When I went on holiday to Greece, I saw a shop selling the same icon in a box. There were piles of this same icon for sale (at which point I didn’t feel very special at all).

But the Orthodox church in the UK is great. They are a powerhouse of prayer and action.  If there is a full-blown revival coming then we cannot write off the Orthodox church.