The title 'Byzantine' Orthodoxy when speaking to the world

[John Bivens]

Hi Friends,

I recently came across an excellent site on the internet for Orthodox Christianity at: http://www.byzantines.org

It has some excellent discussions going on, and is definitely worth checking out.

John

[stephen]

Thanks for this, John. It's too bad, however, that the sponsors of this site still unwittingly promote the linkage of Orthodoxy with "byzantines", whatever they are. This is a perjorative term used to obfuscate the fact that this was the Roman Empire, Christianized of course, but still the continuation of Rome. The Emperor in Constantinople was "Equal to the Apostles" and "Emperor of the Romans".

[Justin]

I've read some of the articles online about the supposed origin of the term a few centuries back, but to be honest, I really don't care what it's origin was. Christians at one time use to take platonic (and middle- and neo-platonic) language and baptise it, and make it their own. Are we so brittle a people that we are afraid of a word used by an enemy of God's church? I say take the word from them and turn it into good! We know that what Western Scholars call "the Byzantine Empire" was Roman, and so do they (if they are indeed scholars), who cares if we call something byzantium, sacrament, nun, etc.? Language is formed and used by man: man is not the slave to a set-in-concrete language or way of speaking. The early Church Fathers spoke with various words that helped explain God's truth; which was more important to them, using words which had traditionally been used, or conveying the truth of God to people? We quibble over latin or greek to convey mystery? Sigh, what about the people we are trying to reach?

So they use the term byzantines. Good http://www.monachos.net/mb/clipart/happy.gif I do too.

[stephen]

You are right, in that the point is that we are not just called, but commanded by Our Lord to evangelize. This requires as you say for us to educate ourselves and then others. But truly, if many scholars of our day do not know the distinctions involved in the use of the word "byzantine", how many people in the street do? Not many. Does it matter? At one or many levels, maybe not, but if indeed the truth is something different that what is conveyed in the term, wouldn't you agree then at a minimum that term needs to be qualified and flagged?

How about at the maximum? If the Church of the Patristic era was happy to call itself Roman, indeed it was bombastic about it, I would think that there is something there worth clarifying, laying claim to and promoting if one is an Orthodox Christian. And, I would also bet that such happy maturity would aid our evangelism.

For indeed the Orthodox Church could use more maturity. If ever there was a Church that suffered from an unwarranted sense of low self-esteem, it has got to be the Orthodox diaspora in America. All that richness, joy and beauty to have and to share, yet we don't claim what is ours nor proclaim it to the world, and hence we and the world are the lesser for it.

[Justin]

Good points; sometimes I get a little too bold for my own good (and forget to think about things totally)