There has been a steady migration of prominent evangelicals – or, least, those with an evangelical background – into the fold of Eastern orthodoxy.

These include, here in the UK, Kallistos Ware, Michael Harper, and, in the US, Peter Gillquist, Hank Hanegraff and Mark Galli.

Evangelicals Now reports on Hope Church Halifax, which was affiliated to the FIEC and has now become St Hilda’s Orthodox Church.

One of its leaders, Deacon Caedmon Clark (formerly known as Doug Clark) has explained why they made the move:

‘We began to struggle when, as evangelicals, we came across clear statements in the Bible that were contradicted by the teaching of our evangelical tradition.’

First and foremost of these biblical statements concerned the words of the Lord at the Last Supper: ‘This is my body’.

After much prayerful study they concluded that the historical understanding of the Church was correct:

‘in the Eucharist the bread becomes the body of Christ, and the wine becomes the blood of Christ – that this is the plain teaching of Scripture and the Church.’

They began to challenge the notion that evangelicals set aside ‘tradition’, basing their faith simply on the Bible.  Evangelicals have their traditions, too, they decided.  The trouble was, their traditions were only a few centuries old.  Far better, surely, to follow the traditions that date back to the very founding of the Church:

‘We again turned to Holy Scripture. What we read was that the Lord promised He would send His Holy Spirit to keep the Church from falling into error; we read that the Bible was sometimes hard to understand; that God has given us the Church to interpret the Scriptures and that it is the Church which is the foundation of truth, putting [guardrails] on the interpretation of Scripture.’

The ‘true Church’, then, is that which has not changed its teaching since the days of Christ and the apostles.  Of course, there have been differences and developments within this ‘true ‘Church’, but there was an agreed way of sorting them out.

Comment

A Google AI overview suggests the following reasons why evangelicals might be attracted to Orthodoxy:

Historical Continuity: A yearning for a connection to the ancient, apostolic Church and its unbroken traditions.

Doctrinal Stability: A reaction against the perceived individualism, lack of doctrinal accountability, and shifting trends within some Protestant/evangelical contexts.

Liturgical Depth: An attraction to the rich, immersive, and reverent worship, sacraments, and mystical tradition of Orthodoxy, in contrast to what some view as entertainment-driven evangelical services.

Rigor and Discipline: A desire for a faith that demands structure, fasting, prescribed prayers, and discipline, which some find more challenging and fulfilling than the “watered-down” versions of Christianity they experienced previously. 

As a confessed evangelical, my first reaction must be one of humility.  We in the evangelical ‘camp’ do have plenty of human traditions masquerading as biblical beliefs and practices.  We have often elevated the ‘right of private judgment’ to an absurdly individualistic level.  Conversely, we have sometimes promoted our teachers and leaders to unhealthy positions of spiritual authority and power.  Our meetings for worship have become, not only plain and simple, but lifeless and predictable.  I could go on.

Moreover, I can see the attraction of a more elaborate and timeless model of belief and practice that celebrates the mysteries of faith and seeks to connect the seen world with the unseen world.

But…I still find the reasons given for a move from evangelicalism to Orthodoxy to be incredible.  Evangelicalism is not beyond repair, and its admitted shortcomings do not add up to reasons for jumping ship.