Orthodox Social Teaching & Our Life in Christ
Vocation Rather than Policy
The Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians that he first fed them “milk” and only later the “meat” of the Gospel. He began with very basic things before moving on to the more advanced aspects of the Gospel. Actually, what he says is somewhat more pointed.
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? (1 Corinthians 3:1-4, NKJV)
For those of us interested in Orthodox Social Teaching, this passage should give us pause.
Looking around the situation of both Orthodox Christianity in America—to say nothing of American society as a whole—it is hard not to see in ourselves the same (or at least similar) sins that afflicted the Corinthians: envy, strife, and divisions. I don’t mean here the jurisdictional divisions1 which are after all as much accidents of history as they are anything else but the growing polarization between Orthodox Christians on political and cultural issues.2
In this context, recent magisterial statements of OST3 while valuable for those interested in policy, are not necessarily as helpful pastorally. And besides, the Church’s witness to Congress, after all, depends first and foremost on the integrity of our shared life in Christ.
This is not to criticize the authors for not writing the text I wish they had written. It is, however, to say with St. Paul that we cannot neglect what is most basic.
On this point, one often hears that politics are downstream from culture. But “culture,” like “society,” is an abstraction. It is easier to hold forth on “cultural issues” than it is to sit with a young woman considering abortion; a young man struggling with gender issues; a business owner wondering how to serve customers, met a payroll while remaining profitable. Likewise for a conversation with a soldier for whom war is not abstract or a health care professional who must make decisions that will affect a patient’s life.
Complicating this further is what these and myriad other moral questions mean for the individual who is an Orthodox Christian. It is these kinds of questions that I would like to examine in this next series of essays. Rather than looking at OST through a policy lens, let’s do it through a vocational lens.
Specifically, turning to recent magisterial statements of OST, I want to invite you to think with me about how an Orthodox Christian might live out his or her vocation. Unapologetically, we’ll adopt a popular tone as we try to think about what OST tells us about living our life in Christ.
After a brief overview of the Orthodox Church and its situation in the United States, I’ll offer some comments about moral theology in an Orthodox key. Specifically, we’ll discuss what as Orthodox Christians we mean by “Christian ethics,” how we understand the relationship between Scripture and Holy Tradition on the one hand and the moral life on the other. We’ll conclude with a discussion of character.
After this, we will look at three themes in moral theology to help us understand how OST can help us discern and live faithful to our personal vocations as Orthodox Christians. These themes are:
Human sexuality
Bioethics
Orthodox witness in the Public Square
The series will conclude with a discussion of the Christian call not simply to be morally good but holy.
All the way, your participation is not only welcome but actively invited. So, please, feel free to chime in, ask questions, offer criticisms, or simply say hello.
The various jurisdictions of Orthodox Christians in the US include (by the size of membership): Greek, Orthodox Church in America (OCA), Antiochian, Serbian, Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA, Patriarchal Parishes of Russian Orthodox Church, Romanian Archdiocese, Carpatho-Russian Diocese, Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada, and Australia, and the Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Church in North America. For more see, Alexey D. Krindatch, Eastern Christianity in North American Religious Landscape: Ethnic Traditionalism Versus Civic Involvement and Social Transformations (2003), Table 1.
For example, Ryan P. Burge writes that while Orthodox Christians are more likely to vote Republican, we are also more culturally liberal:
The evidence says that Orthodox Christians are much more likely to vote for Republicans [2020] than Democrats now. That wasn’t the case in 2008. But, the evidence also says that on abortion, race, and taxation the average Orthodox Christian is further to the left today than they were twelve years ago. So, how can both these things be true? I don’t know if I have a good answer, but here’s a potential guess. A significant number of Orthodox Christians are either immigrants or the children of immigrants.
The polarization is not simply a function of different partisan preferences for president but rather a growing gap between the Church’s moral tradition and the views of Orthodox Christians on cultural issues and public policy on abortion and LGBTQ issues. Even here though we need to be cautious. A hesitancy or even unwillingness to support legislation that outlaws abortion or curtails LGBTQ rights doesn’t necessarily translate into a rejection of the Church’s moral traditions. It could mean that Orthodox Christians see such public policies as an unwarranted imposition on others. Or maybe more pragmatically, as simply unworkable political responses to cultural problems. Especially given the increasing percentage of Orthodox Christians who are either immigrants or first-generation, it could also be simply an unwillingness to draw attention to oneself. Many Orthodox Christians have immigrated to the US from countries with repressive governments and/or where they are in the minority. In this context, public compliance is often the safer path.
Excellent. I look forward to this series!