Trojan Horse (Eastern Orthodox church planting in the UK)

I have been interested in Eastern Orthodoxy ever since spending my linguist's year abroad in Novosibirsk in 1995/6.

On my return, I began to read up about church history, and was later encouraged in that by my friend, Donald Fairbairn, who was at that time a PhD student at Cambridge.

I have pursued this interest ever since then, researching and teaching the church history course at Novosibirsk Baptist Seminary, and later completing an MTh thesis accredited by Glasgow University on the missionary work undertaken from Constantinople 397-1453.

As evangelical Christians, we have a huge amount to learn from our Orthodox brethren, past and present. As much as is possible, I try to engage in dialogue with Orthodox brothers and sisters, both finding common ground and also identifying areas of disagreement which prevent full communion at the present time.*

'Orthodox exclusivism'

However, it is one thing to recognise some Orthodox as brothers and sisters in Christ, and to seek a measure of fellowship (albeit not full fellowship). It is quite another when Eastern Orthodox - meaning those in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople - to a greater or lesser extent refuse to recognise evangelical churches as true churches, or even, in extreme cases, refuse to recognise evangelicals as Christians in the full sense.

It is this "Orthodox exclusivism" which leads Orthodox parishes to seek to win over active members of evangelical (and other) churches. Traditionally, this is what is called proselytism. In some cases, entire congregations have been won over and integrated into the Orthodox communion.

Such proselytism goes on in majority Orthodox countries, where evangelical Christians are a beleaguered minority and subject to various levels of stigmatisation and persecution, and also in countries where the Orthodox are a minority group.

In the latter case, Orthodoxy is presented as the "fullness of the faith" to those whose current faith and experience is deemed to be inferior and lacking.

Eastern Orthodoxy in the UK

Over the last year, I have become aware of at least three new Eastern Orthodox parishes being started up in the north of England, using the premises of existing Christian churches. I am not talking about churches catering for ex-pat Orthodox, but rather missional church plants. Orthodox missiology does not focus so much on “going out and reaching” but rather on establishing Orthodox places of worship and “drawing people in”. The host churches no doubt offer their premises to their Orthodox brethren out of Christian generosity, in what they might call an "ecumenical" spirit. I suspect they are unaware that, from the Orthodox side, things are seen very differently.

The Orthodox Church does not recognise the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and certainly any free evangelical church to be part of the church in their theological understanding. Roman Catholic and Anglican buildings are being used to win over for the “guest” church, among others, those very same Roman Catholics and Anglicans, as well as evangelical Christians. I consider this to be a "Trojan Horse" philosophy of evangelism and church planting. It would be more honest and more “Orthodox” for these church plants to rent or own their own buildings.

It is, of course, inconceivable that this hospitality would be offered the other way; Roman Catholic or Protestant churches would never be allowed to rent or use Orthodox churches for their services. In majority Orthodox countries, it is wise to avoid any kind of non-Orthodox Christian activity even within a 50-metre radius of an Orthodox temple, never mind inside.

To conclude

I should temper what I have written above by saying that not all Orthodox are like this. There are indeed plenty of generous Orthodox who find a way of squaring their theological convictions with a recognition of the reality of Christians and churches outside their own tradition.

In Russia, historically, Church Father Tikhon of Zadonsk (d. 1783) represents such openness to the wider Christian church (in particular, Evangelical Pietism). In the 20th century, Father Alexander Men was a leading apologist and Christian thinker in the Soviet Union, known for his sympathies with other traditions and attendance at their services. In Russia today, the parish of Cosmas and Damian in Moscow and the "Society of Friends of Holy Scripture" in Russia continue the legacy of this more generous wing of the Orthodox Church.

Other Orthodox scholars and clergy broadly sympathetic to evangelical Christianity (while remaining faithful to their own tradition) include Bradley Nassif (formerly at Chicago) and John Behr (Aberdeen).

1. * For more thorough coverage of this issue, I would refer the reader to the dialogue between Evangelicals and Eastern Orthodox chaired by Tim Grass under the aegis of the Evangelical Alliance.