I guess this is a tv show, Afternoons on the Dove, where a Christian host is interviewing an Orthodox Christian priest. In the first 4 minutes of the interview the priest answers the question that reflects my reasons for exploring this ancient faith exactly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gdB24gyu_M

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"...with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

Those issues were a big motivator for me, too, Briva. I like knowing that if I met a Christian from the first, second or third century, I would see Christ & His Church the same way that they did. Since Christ does not Change, I like knowing that His Church is also unchanging.

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http://stuffedveggies.blogspot.com/

...except that it has changed. The "orthodox" church today is not the same church as existed in the first, second, or third century. The fourth century, maybe, but not the first century. The big question is whether you have faith in the "priesthood" or whether you trust the Scriptures which teach that all Christians are priests.

Wow, that was really good. I haven't seen that before. I really liked the respect shown by the person on each side of the microphone. I appreciated that the interviewer wasn't trying to shoot down Fr. Seraphim's beliefs. I liked that Fr. Seraphim wasn't critical of the people from other Christian traditions.

That spoke to me because I know that I was brought to Christ outside of Orthodoxy. I know that I loved God and His Son Jesus Christ, and I know that He directed my life even before I entered the Orthodox church. Our conversion was not about that. In the end, it was about the exact questions Fr. Seraphim brought up:

Did Christ [start] a church? [singular]
Does it have a continuous history?
And can it be found today?

We followed with a fourth:
If this church still exists, why would we not want to be a part of it?

Thanks, again, Briva, for sharing that video.

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Warmly, Darla Juliana
"Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle" (Philo of Alexandria)

That's a matter of opinion, of course, as I hear other non-Orthodox history scholars state the opposite.

The question for us comes down to, "Do you believe Christ started a church, and do you believe He meant it when he said He would keep it until He comes again?" We believe both these things to be true. Therefore, there is never a time when the church wasn't. For us, we start at the beginning and go through time from the point of Pentecost. And as it's followed through history (by reading what the men of the church wrote, by reading about the lives of those who lived and died for the faith, by looking at the path of Christianity as it spread), we can see it's the Orthodox church. We're not making that up -- historians who are not Christian or not Orthodox will say the same.

Now whether or not you want to believe that, of course, is up to you and we fault or judge no one for not believing it or for not wanting to become Orthodox. I loved the peaceful love for others this priest exuded in this regard. (Did you watch the video?)

We don't have "faith in the priesthood," Scott. But we do come under the leadership God developed through the Holy Spirit in the early church, and that He later speaks of in the Scriptures, with the bishops and priests as godly (and scriptural) shepherds. There's not a conflict there. The priesthood of all believers is a different thing (it's a different word). We use the word "priest" as a shortened form of "presbyter." Presbyter is not the word used when the Scriptures speak of the "priesthood of all believers." It's apples and oranges.

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Warmly, Darla Juliana
"Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle" (Philo of Alexandria)

I was particularly struck by two things: 1) the "language" barrier which makes it so hard to have a fruitful conversation. 2) the desire by the host to understand all of it with his mind; to wrap it up in a neat little box.

I pray we can all commune together someday.

Actually, if you read the epistles, the church was changing while the apostles were alive! That's why we have so many warnings against false prophets, and wrong teachings, and "another gospel". The early Christians were already encountering it.

Actually, the word I would use Allie, is 'developing', rather than changing. The early writings show this development and the councils show how the bishops were settling the disputes about heretical teaching.

I'm curious if those speaking against the Orthodox Church have actually read the history...or are you thinking like I did, from the 1500s forward? What I found was that denominational churches today don't have an historical basis to deny the facts about the Church, but rather assumptions based largely in part by the individual interpretations of Scripture as well as the 'language' barrier that I spoke of in my original post. I was HIGHLY catechised against anything that might resemble Catholicism and some of that was based in fact, but by and large, what I was taught was wrong and now I have years of 'discipleship' to undo.

The doctrines have not changed. Practices developed over time but you will not find change in doctrine.

I didn't realize I was speaking against the Orthodox church - I was simply relating a fact, evidenced by scripture. No, I haven't studied the Orthodox church. I don't need to. I study my KJV bible, the inerrant and infallible word of God. I don't see the need to study anything else. My faith is very simple.