The Orthodox faith is a communal faith, established from the very beginning as a communal faith (Acts 2) and transpired throughout history as a communal faith (see Edict of Milan). As the west made her final departure from the east in the 11th Century, a much more ecclesial and political movement began to evolve within the western faith.
Augustine of Hippo’s, “City on the Hill” is the first major turning point towards the modernized version of the Gospel. I say this because what was happening within Augustine’s writings was quite different from that of other writers at the time such as Bishop Eusebius (see Fr John Strickland’s The Age of Paradise). Eusebius’ Oration of St Constantine’s reign has largely set the pace for Christian community and nationhood throughout history, while Augustine’s City of God has dominoed into the Papal kingdom. The reason is that Augustine’s view was that of complete separation of God’s Kingdom from community. Eusebius’ was that of community being an “extension” of God’s kingdom, and so the two could co-mingle, hence the eventual Double Headed Eagle symbol of the Empire. Augustine placed a dichotomy between the two. Eventually, the powers of the west capitalized on this separated kingdom, taking ahold of it through the clergy, and separating it from the laity, growing their church into something completely different than that of what the fathers had been cultivating. Eventually, in 756, the west built what they call, “the Papal States,” and then much later in 1929, “Vatican City.” As the Roman faith finally reached America they found themselves surrounded by a new atmosphere, one in which would fully support their being no Christian community or nationhood…only ecclesial community.
The Orthodox Church is now experiencing the American communal challenge as well. Now that we have began growing within America at a rapid pace within the past few decades, we are faced with the challenge to conform to what the Protestants and Catholics have created in this country: A secularized community! A new type of country has been formed where beliefs such as Christianity are much more Gnostic, separate from nature.
Orthodoxy in America has to make a decision: Will we leave the belief and work of Christian community and create a new type of Orthodoxy for America, much like the west’s Evangelicalism and Papism? We can pick and pluck from the fathers to manipulate this change, no doubt. We can even put our hope in politicians to make up for the loss - letting go - of our Orthodoxy cosmology. But why? Our faith is a faith of a heavenly community that has incarnated itself. This faith came to all creation to actually transform it all, and not just minds…or even souls. Our connection to the incarnate Christ is thoroughly holistic!
