New Converts, Beware!

I begin to compose this post with a few disparate ideas floating around in my mind. Perhaps by the end they will have bounced off each other and arranged themselves into some sort of coherent structure.

As I have said in the past, before I first made contact with an Orthodox priest and began worshipping at an Orthodox parish, I learnt much about Orthodoxy through books and the internet. For all of the good such learning brings, the method can have its disadvantages, one of which, in my case at least, was that when I arose from the font a new creature I did so with all sorts of ideas of what the Church ought to be, how She ought to look and conduct Herself, how She could do things better.

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On Liturgical Archaeology

There are many objections to the Orthodox Western Rite. Many are founded on ignorance and can simply be either disregarded or educated away according to mood or circumstance, (such as the lady who flat out refused to believe that anything but the Byzantine Rite was ever used in the Church and tried to convince me that the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom was commonly used in England prior to the Schism). Others do actually have some basis in reality and in genuine concern for the proper passing on and living of the Orthodox Faith and for the spiritual well-being of Orthodox people. These deserve more attention and ought to be taken on board to one degree or another. There are yet others which cannot be so easily categorised because their proponents see them as so self-evident that, in expressing them, they do not often go beyond a brief statement, expecting that this will be readily understood and agreed upon by all right-thinking people, (i.e. people like them). The truth is that this simply serves to further polarise already opposing viewpoints. Then listening stops as, due to human weakness, both sides become defensive and dig their heels in.

One example of this is the position that holds that the restoration of pre-schism western services for use in the Church is "liturgical archaeology". This sort of disparaging terminology may serve as a self-congratulatory mantra among those who already agree with each other but to those who remain to be convinced, it simply shows a lack of respect and a dismissive attitude. Reliance on such belittling expressions instead of actual reasoned and coherent thoughts also suggests a severe lack of confidence in a very weak argument. This may be an inaccurate assessment but it is precisely the picture painted by the way in which this is often presented.

So, let us examine the reasons why people perform this "liturgical archaeology".

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Just what is Liturgy?

'I've never really seen the point to historical liturgy.'

These words were spoken by a very good friend of mine a few days ago and they have repeated on my mind on and off since then as I have tried to understand and to be able to articulate why the phrasing didn't sit well with me. I hasten to point out that they were spoken in friendly tones as part of a discussion we were having about the different preferences for worship styles that we and another friend of ours have. It was simply an expression of his own feeling on the matter and not any sort of criticism of mine - I say that because this isn't very clear with the words quoted out of context.

My friend is Roman Catholic and describes his spirituality as charismatic. He has an appreciation for tradition but finds his home in freer, meditative styles of worship with modern music, and without what he might perceive as too much rigidity as far as rubrics and such like go. I think that is a fair assessment, although I ask his forgiveness and hope that he will correct me if it is not.

As readers and anybody who knows me will be aware, I am very much of the view that it is right and proper that our worship be in continuity with and a development of that of those before us, as an expression of the same faith held by those before us. The elements that we have inherited only have any meaning and purpose within the entire organic unit of which they are part, which is the liturgical whole that has come down to us. It occurs to me that this is why I was not happy with the reference to "historical" liturgy. To my understanding, this is not "historical liturgy", as though it were some sort of archaeological exercise, dredging up something that is outdated and from the past. They are living rites with a rich heritage and in use today.

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Forward in Orthodox Faith

An American-based friend recently sent me a message, asking about efforts on the part of Orthodox churches in Britain to reach out to Forward in Faith. I very rudely failed to reply in a timely fashion so have decided to make a blog post out of it in the hope that this will go some way towards appeasing the wrath of my acquaintance. I just hope that I don't offend too many people by responding publicly.

The answer is that I know of very little that has been organised on any sort of large scale. There is the quiet evangelism among individuals, for which Orthodoxy is known, but there's nothing such as the OCA's outreach to ACNA. While Metropolitan Jonah's address to their conference was outstanding and inspiring, and no doubt ideal for that context, it was tailored for a situation that is so far removed from the reality of church life in Britain as to be largely an irrelevance to us.

The impression I have got over the years, both as an Anglo-Catholic and now as Orthodox who hears the views of Anglo-Catholics about Orthodoxy, is that English (the factors facing those in Scotland and elsewhere may be different) and North American Anglo-Catholics simply do not understand each other.

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Preparation for Communion

For understandable reasons, people are generally quiet about their own devotions. The means whereby people prepare for Communion is a very private affair, best kept among God, the communicant, and the communicant's spiritual father or mother. Because of that, it is very easy to assume that what we do as inidividuals is the norm, without giving it a second thought. I realised a few days ago that I had fallen into the same trap when, on two separate occasions, I was put to shame by two people who innocently made their apologies as they absented themselves to make their particular preparations which made mine appear paltry by comparison. I know that the aim of these devotions and prayers is not to try to appear before God to be holier than another - after all, we know the story of the Publican and the Pharisee - but rather to humble ourselves before our Lord and God. I know that there is no question of contest or anything like that but I know that there are times when I could benefit from more rigorous preparation and I wonder whether I am perhaps too lax sometimes. I have thought about this a little more since a recent exchange on another blog.

I wonder whether I may put upon readers to take part in a poll about your own practice. It is entirely anonymous and if you choose to comment on the post with or without having taken part in the poll, you mustn't feel under any obligation to share the detail of your own practice. However, I think it may be useful for us to see how what we do compares to the custom of others, and to perhaps stir us to question ourselves about whether what we do truly is most beneficial for us. Perhaps, as well, we should remember that some work full time while others do not, some have children while others do not, some drive long distances to get to church while others do not, and that while others may do much more than we do, it may not necessarily be reflective of any lack of desire for Christ in our own hearts.

So here it is. The answers come from the rule of preparation in the Old Rite prayer book, with the exception of the penultimate one, which I think is a monastic practice but which I have heard of being insisted upon by some parish clergy.

How do you prepare for Communion? » ProProfs Poll
Tags : religion christianity communion

A Communion Prayer of St Symeon the New Theologian

From sullied lips, from an abominable heart,
from an unclean tongue, out of a polluted soul,
receive my prayer, O my Christ.
Reject me not, nor my words, nor my ways,
nor even my shamelessness,
but give me courage to say what I desire, my Christ.
And even more, teach me what to do and say.
I have sinned more than the harlot who,
on learning where Thou wast lodging,
bought myrrh, and dared to come and anoint thy feet,
my Christ, my Lord, and my God.
As Thou didst not repulse her
when she drew near from her heart,
neither, O Word, abominate me,
but grant me thy feet to clasp and kiss,
and with a flood of tears as with most precious myrrh dare to anoint them.
Wash me with my tears and purify me with them, O Word.
Forgive my sins and grant me pardon.
Thou knowest the multitude of my evil-doings,
Thou knowest also my wounds,
and Thou seest my bruises.
But also Thou knowest my faith,
And Thou beholdest my willingness,
And Thou hearest my sighs.
Nothing escapes Thee,
my God, my Maker, my Redeemer,
Not even a teardrop nor part of a drop.
Thine eyes know what I have not achieved,
And in thy book things not yet done are written by Thee.
See my depression,
see how great is my trouble,
and all my sins take from me, O God of all,
that with a clean heart,  a trembling mind, and a contrite spirit
I may partake of thy pure and All-holy Mysteries
by Which all who eat and drink Thee with sincerity of heart
are enlivened and deified.
For Thou, my Lord, hast said:
‘Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
abides in Me and I in Him.’
Entirely true is the word of my Lord and God!
For whoever partakes of thy divine and deifying Gifts
certainly is not alone, but is with Thee, my Christ,
Light of the Triune Sun Which enlightens the world.
And that I may not remain alone without Thee, the Giver of Life,
my Breath, my Life, my Joy,
the Salvation of the world,
therefore I have drawn near to Thee as Thou seest,
with tears and with a contrite spirit.
Ransom of my offences,
I beseech Thee to receive me,
and that I may partake without condemnation
of thy life-giving and perfect Mysteries,
that Thou mayest remain, as Thou hast said, with me,
thrice-wretched as I am,
lest the tempter may find me without thy grace
and craftily seize me,
and having deceived me, may seduce me,
from thy deifying words.
Therefore I fall at thy feet and fervently cry to Thee:
As Thou receivedst the Prodigal
and the Harlot who drew near to Thee,
so have compassion and receive me,
the profligate and the prodigal,
as with contrite spirit
I now draw near to Thee.
I know, O Saviour,
that no other has sinned against Thee as I,
nor has done the deeds that I have committed.
But this again I know:
that not the greatness of my offences
nor the multitude of my sins
surpasses the great patience of my God
and his extreme love for mankind.
But with the oil of compassion
Thou purifiest and enlightenest
those who fervently repent
and makest them children of the light
and sharers of thy Divine Nature.
And Thou dost act most generously,
for – strange to Angels and to the minds of men –
often Thou speakest to them as to thy true friends.
These things make me bold, my Christ,
these things give me wings,
And I take courage from the wealth
of thy goodness to us.
And rejoicing and trembling at once,
I who am straw partake of fire,
And, strange wonder!
I am indescribably bedewed,
like the bush of old which burnt without being consumed.
Therefore with thankful mind and with thankful heart,
and with thankfulness in all the members of my soul and body,
I worship, and magnify, and glorify Thee, my God,
for Thou art blessed now and throughout the ages. Amen.

The Fellowship of Ss Alban and Sergius returns

Update: 28/01/10 - Please note that this post reflects my views during my early stages of exploring Orthodoxy and may not necessarily reflect my current understanding with complete accuracy.

Well it appears that the reason that I received no reply from them, and why many of the links failed, is because I was using a link to their old website (on which there is no indication that the site has been superseded by an updated site).

The new site has the same appearance, but is clearly kept up to date. I am seriously tempted by this conference in August.

The fullness of all Truth

Come, Holy Spirit: fill the hearts of your faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of your love.

'I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16: 12-15).

This comforted me when I came across it. I had been questioning lately whether this is something that I want to do, especially as things are going so well at my current church. I am really struggling with the issues that will accompany leaving, and these are only the ones that I have thought of.

However, the text quoted above reminded me of the original reason I started out on this journey an has strengthened my resolve to continue it. I shall have to pick up the pieces at the time, and prepare as best I can for that, but I cannot compromise on this. Unfortunately, though I love my church and the people there, it is not an island and does not stand alone, but is in full communion with a wider church that embraces all that I cannot be part of.

This something that I must do. I think that another visit to my Orthodox priest to talk these things through is in order. As a former Anglican himself, he has been in a similar position, but much more so, as he was a priest of the Church of England before his conversion. I find this very comforting, as I do not have to explain my position in great detail before explaining my feelings: that foundational understanding is already there.

The Orthodox Way

This arrived in today's post. I hope to make a start this evening. I also have The Incarnate God and S. Cyril of Jerusalem's Lectures on the Christian Sacraments on order. I've seen part of the Orthodox worship and fellowship, and part of a priest's domestic life. Now I'm delving a little more into the theology, which is a love of mine, even if I don't do it particularly well. (sigh).

I am thinking of also investing in The Orthodox Church. Is there anything else that anybody has found helpful or thinks that I might?

Many thanks.

Coming out - part the second

I posted some weeks ago that I had concerns about the reactions of some of my friends to my thoughts. After the joy of Pascha, I could keep quiet no longer and so I have begun to be more open with some of those closer to me. This has gone down rather well, although I am aware that not everybody is best pleased. I have good, supportive friends, who, although may not respect my choice, respect my right to make that choice. This is a great relief to me, although I don't suppose I genuinely expected any less from my friends.

I am still concerned about my involvement with the culture that exists within the Church of England, and howI would be affected by a separation from that culture. I suppose only time will tell what happens.

I wait, praying for patience.

Trampling down death by death!

Absolutely wonderful!

Following from my last post, I arrived at the church yesterday (which is in the priest's house), at about 10 past 12 in the afternoon, just in time to catch the beginning of the Liturgy of S. Basil, which was absolutely amazing. There were only four of us plus the priest, but the wonder of it was overwhelming, with the strewing of flowers and the blessing of figs and dates. I was very nervous at first, having arrived later than planned and so not having been introduced to anybody first, but one of the ladies introduced herself to me during the liturgy and asked a few questions. We spoke later on. This liturgy finished at 10 minutes past 2 and then we prepared for the Baptism at 3, which was a wonderfully joyous occasion, with a remarkably well-behaved baby. There was a little get-together in the house afterwards, during which I got to talking with a few people. I helped Father to prepare the church for the evening, which provided a perfect opportunity for us to talk about my thoughts and his in more detail. I then had a look at some of the evening's music with Matushka (who is still adjusting to being called this).

The reading of the Acts of the Apostles began at 9.30, and was sung in English by the sub-deacon and a cantor, alternating chapters, with one chapter done in Slavonic by a member of the church. There was then Matins, which got about 25 people, and which I ended up helping the choir of two with, and then there was another service at about 11.30, which culminated with an outdoor, candlelit procession and proclamation of the Gospel. The Liturgy of S. John Chrysostom followed, which I also helped with the music for. At about 1.30, I had to sit down and by 1.45 I was falling asleep, and so gave up and retired to bed. I was fetched by Father's 8 yr old daughter at half past two, to be informed that I was missing the food, which news got me promptly out of bed and to the kitchen.

It was simply marvellous, even if I am now extremely tired. I think that if there were any doubts, these have been erased by my experience of last evening.

On top of all of the above was the warmth and love, and total lack of any sort of inhibition that was there. This was the place where, in one room, were Russians, Ukranians, Lithuanians, Romanians and Britons, all conversing and worshipping together, where a 16 yr old young man was quite happy to sit on his father's lap when there were no seats available, and to hug his father (not an embarrassed masculine "hug" with a pat on the back, but an actual loving embrace), in front of everyone, with no qualms whatsoever. There was no pretence, no obsession with how people interpreted others' actions. People just felt, and physically expressed what they felt. It was wonderful!

I can't wait to go back.

My first Pascha!

I shall be going along to the liturgy for Pascha this year for the first time. I have never attended Orthodox worship before. I have, of course, done a bit of reading about this, but it would still be good to hear from people here.

What can I expect? I would especially like to hear of anything that is specific to thie celebration. Also what would be expected of me?

Many thanks.

Patron Saints

I am blessed to have three Saints' names: S. Michael (whose icon is to the right in the sidebar), Ss Patrick and David, whose icons are at the left of this blog.

I have a deep devotion to S. Michael, and would very much like to develop something similar with Ss Patrick and David. I have never before been encouraged in this, and such devotion is something that I have arrived at very much on my own. I know that things are very different in Orthodoxy, and so I would very much like to hear from those who practise devotion to their patron Saints (and I understand that this is not always the same as the Saint(s) whose name(s) a person bears).

Do you have icons or any special prayers addressed to them, or hymns written in their honour? I would be very interested to hear.

The next step

I have had this blog now for nearly two months. I know that this isn't a long time, but still, during this time, I have learnt so very much on here, and from individuals who have contacted me via e-mail and shared so much of their lives and faith with me. I am very grateful.

This, combined with my reading of various Orthodox websites from the different jurisdictions and across the globe, and much prayer, and a conversation with my parish priest, has led me to where I now am, which is at the point of being ready to approach an Orthodox priest to discuss this further.

I actually e-mailed him over a month ago, but various things in life over the past few weeks have taken precedence in my consciousness. Now that things are falling back together rather than apart, my focus has once again shifted back to this.

Therefore, I shall be meeting with a priest of ROCOR in about two weeks' time to have an informal chat about all of this. I know what some of the issues are surrounding ROCOR and communion with some of the other jurisdictions. I also know that there are hopeful moves towards overcoming these obstacles. All of that aside, of the three Orthodox priests who have either contacted me without prompt or warmly responded to my questions online, both here and elsewhere, two of them were from ROCOR and have been very warm and informative.

Also, of the four Orthodox churches relatively nearby that have most, if not all, of their services in English, three of them are ROCOR. Even with my plans to move to another city over the next few months, this will still be the case, so I think that this is the best way in for me for the timebeing.

I am very grateful for all of your contributions so far, and I shall certainly continue to share here what I feel I can.

I ask for your continued prayers. Watch this space.

The four last things

Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord; and let light perpetual shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

Lord, remember your servant Karol Wojtyla. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in + peace. Amen.

I have come across many prayers online for the deceased pope, and I have found it interesting to see the different things that people have been praying for. This clearly reflects the different beliefs that people hold about death and what happens.

Death, judgement, heaven and hell: I have never been sure what actually happens here.

The protestant idea of death being an instant ticket to either heaven or hell has never sat well with me. It seems too mechanical and so out of accordance with the rest of the Faith, and it also cannot be explained in the light of the scriptural references to hope in the resurrection of the dead, especially the examples of people praying for those who had died.

The answer to this seemed logical - purgatory, but then this also seems to me to be rather mechanical, and again doesn't sit well. Now I'm not saying that I must be comfortable with every aspect of the Faith in order for it to be Truth, for that itself would be a nonsense, but the idea of Purgatory, with its time measured in years strikes me as odd, as I have always understood that time is a constraint of this plane of existence, and does not apply to those who have departed this life. Purgatory, I believe, is also an addition that was added by the west after the schism, and so does not have the consensus of the whole Church anyway. All of the above considered, the Church Militant, the Church Suffering and the Church Triumphant is not something that I can embrace.

However, I have, a few times now, heard Anglicans refer to The Church Militant, the Church Expectant, and the Church Triumphant. I rather like this. It seems to acknowledge that the dead require our prayers, for they too were sinners, much like us, and require God's grace and forgiveness, but it does not place too fine a definition on what actually happens. This, I can embrace, but I am aware that this has come only from my reasoning and I am keen to find out what orthodoxy says about all of this.

I know that the Orthodox do pray for those who have died and that they reject the idea of Purgatory, but I am not sure what they actually do believe.

Any comments would be welcome.

The Fellowship of Ss Alban and Sergius

I have been interested in this group for some time, and I have one of their older publications. I very much support their aims and objectives and I was thinking about becoming involved. They seem like the sort of reasonable group that I could get involved with, that may help any transition from Anglicanism to Orthodoxy that I may make, and be a 'way in' for me to meet some more Orthodox Christians and grasp an understanding of Orthodox Faith and culture, while avoiding extremism. However, I have some reservations.

I have had some experience in identifying the nature of groups by their websites, and this site has some attributes that I recognise. From the website of this group, it appears that it is the remnant of a once great society, which has now been reduced to a handful of members, perhaps almost exclusively academics (of high rank, judging by some of the more prominent membership). There is no information about local groups or events. The links across the top of the page only work from some of the pages, and as this has been the case for some time, it indicates that the website is not regularly maintained. The most recent article on their 'news' section dates from over a year ago and although they have an 'information service', they have replied to neither of the information requests that I submitted over two weeks ago.

Has anybody ever heard of them? Are they still active? Is it worth my effort?

I would be grateful to hear comments. Thank you.

The Anglican-Methodist Covenant

Update: 28/01/10 - Please note that this post reflects my views during my early stages of exploring Orthodoxy and may not necessarily reflect my current understanding with complete accuracy.

This is modified from something I posted elsewhere, but I thought that a discussion here might be beneficial to me because of where I am currently.

We the Methodist Church of Great Britain and the Church of England, on the basis of our shared history, our full agreement in the apostolic faith, our shared theological understandings of the nature and mission of the Church and of its ministry and oversight...

It seems to me that this covenant fails from the start because it is based on a lie - the quote above sounds like a typical Anglican fudge. At least there's one practice that we now seem to be sharing with each other. Whence comes this full agreement in the apostolic faith? (And I noticed the lower-case letters here). Did I miss this one?

And surely we do not have a shared theological understanding of the nature of the Church, otherwise the Church of England would never have seen the question of the validity of Methodist orders as an issue. It is clear that the Apostolic Succession through tactile Episcopal succession is seen as vital to the existence of the Church by one group, and not by the other. To say that we have a shared understanding of this is nonsense, because if we did, the validity or invalidity either of our orders would not be an issue.

I can understand the difficulty of the Methodist position. The issues here are the same as any other theological issue, in that a large proportion of regularly worshipping members of any church just 'go to church' and do not spend their days studying the finer points of their churches' beliefs. This is perfectly acceptable, as there is more to the Christian life than this.

Before people 'in the pews' (at the risk of sounding patronising) of both Methodist and Anglican churches can begin to develop an understanding of why there is a question about the validity of Methodist Orders, they first have to take a big step back and consider something that may previously have never even crossed their minds, yet Methodists are being asked to think about the validity of their orders, when for some of them, the concept of validity is not one that has ever entered their consciousnesses. The starting point is different depending on who you talk to, and to state that we have a shared understanding of the nature of the Church is fallacy.

My views on this sort of things are this. We celebrate the Sacraments as they have been given to us through Sacred Scripture and Holy Tradition. A celebration outside of these norms, not following the practice of the Church is not instantly condemned as invalid, nor as devoid of God's grace - God may bestow his grace wheresoever and howsoever he so desires - but a degree of uncertainty is introduced by such actions, as there has been a deliberate departure from the Sacramental norms which are guarantors of God's grace.

This is what happens when priests use custard creams instead of bread at Mass, and this is what happens in having a priest perform "ordination" instead of a bishop. I would receive Communion in a Methodist church - indeed I have, but I could not be certain that what I have received is indeed the Body of Christ because I cannot be certain that the person standing in front of me is a priest. (S)he may well be - God may have decided to work through this community of Faith, where genuine people have come to worship God - but there would still be doubt because the norm for Ordination would have been departed from. I do not believe that this is the sort of thing that we ought to be enshrining in our official procedures. If full visible Christian Unity is really something that the Church of England is genuinely concerned about, then introducing further doubt into the validity of its orders is not the way to go about it.

I truly believe that honesty about what divides us is essential to healing, rather than pretending the differences do not exist, which, to some degree, is what this covenant is doing. We need to start afresh and thrash out these differences, instead of papering over the cracks.

It is precisely this sort of thing that is making me more and more convinced that I cannot remain within Anglicanism. Having said that, our High Mass for Easter Day this morning brought tears to the eyes of people, as this church has been used to a much higher tradition, but has not done anything of this nature for over 25 years. We trained the servers and borrrowed some tat, but all of the efforts paid off. I am loving being part of re-establishing this tradition that has been lost to this church, and the thundering organ with some fantabulous hymns is something that I would severely miss - it is this that drew me to church in the first place.

This really is difficult.

Orthodox Clergy and Beards

An Orthodox priest

Why do Orthodox clergy wear beards? Is this compulsory or a matter of choice? Does it vary from one jurisdiction to another?

Crux fidelis

We adore thee O Christ, and we bless thee,
because, by thy holy Cross, thou hast redeemed the world.

Please would somebody explain the symbolism of the Orthodox Cross? I have seen this a few times but have never known what the additional bars or letters are.

Many thanks.

Coming out

When I was 16, I was considering converting to Roman Catholicism. I was even on the RCIA course at my local RC parish church. This proved to be an exercise in futility, as I was being treated as a child. All it served to do was to demonstrate the ignorance of this particular deacon about Anglicanism. I can only imagine that he had read some four-page guide on What Anglicans believe, as he had so many misconceptions about us that the course became increasingly frustrating with each session, as he made known his assumptions that I wouldn't know about the Real Presence, or vestments, or the number of Sacraments, or what the role of a priest is at Mass. It was this that made me give up in the end. Do English RCs really think that all Anglicans are raving protestants?

However, my little rant aside. While all of this was going on, it was very difficult of me to tell people who knew me well that I was considering leaving Anglicanism. It isn't just about belief: there are both an entire network of people and a whole culture to leave behind, and people can see this as a rejection of that, even if they are understanding about the faith aspect of it.

Nearly six years later, I am concerned about the same. I do not know yet what will happen over the next few weeks, months or years, but there are certain of my friends to whom I could not even show this blog without eliciting a bad reaction. I am very much at the beginning of my questioning and searching, and so I have no intention of saying anything to anybody that may cause upset, but if I get to the point where a decision is made, this is something that I shall have to do. There are ordained friends of mine, both male and female, who could see this as a rejection of their entire ministries and the validity of their orders, which they hold so dearly.

In my reading of scripture, the Fathers and in my own reasoning, I can find no convincing theological objection to the ordination of women to the priesthood. However, I do not believe that I alone, in my reasoning, can discern the Truth. Orthodoxy has not accepted this, whether because it is felt to be impossible, or because it believes that the Church must decide this as a whole, through an oecumenical council. In any case, I must follow what the Church teaches. I do not reject Anglican Orders, regardless of who they are conferred upon, but if I do convert, I can see how many of my friends may think that I do reject them, and much else that comes along with Anglicanism.

There must be people reading who have converted at some point and faced the same issue. How did you go about coming out? Did it cause any permanent rifts? Did your removal of yourself from a culture in which you had spent most of your life cause you any degree of lasting pain?

I would be very glad to hear back.