Most Protestants believe in a process that they call, "sanctification," which occurs after being "saved," when their sin is supposedly purged once and for all.. I know many pious and devout Protestants who hold to this view of salvation and sanctification. However, I've never seen any union with God like theosis outside of Orthodoxy. I've met, read, watched, and observed many ministers, pastors, and priests within the many branches of Protestantism, Anglicanism, Episcopalianism, Roman Catholocism, and so on and so forth. Nothing I've ever seen outside of Orthodoxy even begins to scratch the surface of the holiness and connection to God I've observed within the Orthodox Church. The holiness found within theosis makes the most devout Protestants I know (and I know some VERY devout Protestants) look like the Christians that only go to church on Easter and don't think about religion otherwise. The contrast between Protestant sanctification and Orthodox theosis is like a camp fire compared to a massive fire consuming the Amazon rainforest. In my view, "sanctification" doesn't hold a candle to theosis.
I had read Saints and Church Fathers that were very close to God, but, I never got to witness pure, convicting, unadulterated theosis firsthand until I met Fr. Christodoulos Papadeas. Fr.
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| Myself with Fr. Christodoulos. |
His connection with God was astounding - it was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I introduced myself to him after the Sunday liturgy. I explained my situation and asked him some questions. His answers, his attitude, and the entirety of his demeanor were all mind-blowing to someone who had never seen such a degree of theosis before. He doesn't own a house and has very little in the regards of possessions - he said that he stays with Orthodox people and sometimes lives in the monastery on Mount Athos.
His enthusiasm was child-like. He reminded me of a child who loved his father - a child who completely trusted and was inseparable from his daddy. His very presence reminded me of Jesus's words in Matthew 18:2-3, "Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.'" (NKJV) He was giddy and filled with joy unlike anyone I've ever met or known of before.
He asked questions about my parents. "Send them my blessings, they must be wonderful for letting you come here," he said, while making the sign of the cross. After I told him my background and why I came to the Orthodox Church, he got up, and yelled (yes, yelled), "I love to see young people seeking the truth!"
Others I've spoken to told me that he says the Jesus Prayer constantly and sometimes zones out and starts singing praises to God. One person I spoke to said that he prostrates and worships behind the iconostasis during liturgies when he is not actively doing anything in the altar.
While I can explain some of Fr. Christodoulos's awe-inspiring character, I can't explain everything - words fail to explain the man's connection with God. Bliss and cheer radiate off of him like heat and light from the sun. I was talking to my girlfriend's grandmother last week about Orthodoxy - We're friends on Facebook and she's intrigued by the way I'm approaching religion on my page. While talking to her, I actually broke into tears while saying, "I've never met anyone so in love with Jesus as Fr. Christodoulos."
As I former Protestant, I was skeptical because of what I had been taught about the beliefs of some liturgical churches. The traditions of the Orthodox Church are often downplayed and dismissed as heresies by Protestants. When I first came to Orthodoxy, many of the traditions were confusing and didn't make sense to me. I was enthralled by and in love with the Church upon stepping into my parish for the first time, but some of the traditions still took time to sink in.
Prayer to Saints? Venerating the Virgin Mary? Venerating Icons? Holy oil? Holy water? Ritual prayer? Guardian angels??? None of those things made much sense to me and they took time for me to accept and fully understand. Reversing the Protestant state of mind I had been taught was difficult, given that I had been Protestant my entire life up to that point. However, I decided trust God where he was leading me and give those traditions a try to see if they really did work. They did. Over time, after accepting and participating in these traditions, I realized that they were there for the very purpose of strengthening our relationship with Jesus Christ. You can participate in traditions, but forgetting what those traditions are about and failing to maintain an actual relationship with Christ is a big deal.
Following the traditions of the Church in their fullness has revolutionized my life in ways that I never thought possible. I'm finding myself in the first steps of theosis and seeing astonishing change. My mother has seen some of the issues that I've struggled with for my entire life slowly dissipate as I experience God through theosis and Holy Orthoodxy. I don't mean teenage ignorance, I mean issues I've struggled with since I was a toddler that became much worse in my teens. My mother has seen such drastic progress in my spiritual life that she is considering becoming Orthodox after being raised Pentecostal and then becoming Presbyterian around thirty years ago.
I am fully convinced that the Holy Spirit resides within the Orthodox Church in all of its beauty and fullness.
May the peace of God be with you.
With love,
-Isaac
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