Orthodoxy and Mormonism - A Study in Parallels D, B. Timmmins, PhD Something of a student of comparative religion, the author had never focussed closely on Eastern Orthodoxy -- assuming, based on common reading, that its doctrines, other than those relating to the nature of the Trinity (homoousios , i.e. "of like essence" vs. homoousia , "one in substance or being"), and the filioque , i.e. that the Holy Ghost operates under the direction of both the Father and the Son (Roman Catholicism) or, in the Orthodox alternatively, that both the Son and Holy Ghost are jointly under the direction of the Father -- the two differences in doctrine which led to the Great Schism of 1054 -- were otherwise basically identical. Only when his work took him to Romania, the only Latin country which is Orthodox in religion, did he come into close contact with the Orthodox religion and have the opportunity observe and study its belief system at first hand. Perhaps the reader will be less surprised than the author to learn that the differences in belief and doctrine between Orthodoxy and Catholicism and Western Protestantism are far more profound than had been imagined -- and that the parallels with the Restoration are closer than could have been conceived (though the differences with Mormonism remain fundamental). These doctrinal differences reach back to the earliest days of Christianity, rather than dating merely from the Council and schism of 1054. Orthodoxy prides itself in having held firm to the teachings of the apostles as originally delivered. Clearly there have been departures and changes of both belief and practice, but these indeed are far fewer than those of either the Catholicism or the Protestantism of the West. The following are some of the close parallels with the doctrines of the Restoration which leapt out in the course of this study: ï The Lorenzo Snow couplet that "As Man is, God once was; As God is Man may become", is closely paralleled by the saying of St. Irenaeus (died 202 A.D.), that "In His unbounded love, God became as we are that He might make us as He is"2345 -- still a fundamental teaching of Orthodoxy. ï As already noted, Orthodoxy holds firmly to the teaching that both the Son and the Holy Ghost operate under the direction of the Father. Latter-day Saints who have been through the temple will agree that both Jehovah and Michael, the second and third members of the Godhead, were jointly directed by Father Elohim to bring about the creation the earth and thereafter to maintain oversight and report to him regarding the human condition. ï Unlike Catholicism which holds that man's spirit had no preexistence, but is created at the moment of conception, Orthodoxy teaches that Man is the spirit offspring of God, so that the gulf between God and Man is not unbridgeable. Indeed, as in Mormon teaching, Orthodoxy holds that through righteous adherence to Gospel principles, man may become a partaker of the divine nature and thus become deified -- and that this is not for the few, but for the many3. 1. The Orthodox Church, Bishop Timothy Ware, Penguin Books, London, 1963, p. 216 2. Ibid, p.222 3. Ibid. p. 224 & 237 The author finds it astonishing that this notion which has caused Mormonism to be denounced by most Christian denominations as blasphemously heretical, causing most clergymen to refuse to accept Mormonism as a Christian religion at all, is a central if not particularly well-known doctrine of Orthodoxy. When a well-informed Orthodox friend was asked why this doctrine is not more widely known in the Christian world at large, he explained that because of its sacredness and sensitivity, very few Orthodox are themselves aware of the doctrine, which is not widely promulgated. ï Orthodoxy, like Mormonism, holds that the body and spirit together constitute the "soul" of Man.4 ï Like Mormonism, Orthodoxy teaches that Grace does not operate independently of Free Agency; indeed is earned through good works. And may be forfeited through subsequent sin.5 ï Orthodoxy similarly proclaims that Man will be punished for his own sins and not for Adam's transgression, a precise parallel with the Second Article of Faith of the Restored Church 6 ï Orthodoxy, almost uniquely among non-Mormon denominations, believes in the Preexistence.7 ï Astonishingly, whereas Catholicism still considers that it has the responsibility, nay the duty -- where this is politically possible -- to compel belief in "true" principles, Orthodoxy adheres (more in theory, it must be said, than in practice), to the Law of Common Consent.8 ï Orthodoxy also has at least a partial understanding of the doctrine of a Spirit Prison rather than Purgatory.9 ï Given the residual memory of veils, anointings, and the importance of the New Name -- still demonstrably present in Orthodox worship (see below), it is perhaps not surprising that Orthodoxy is strongly devoted to the notion of the binding together of generations.10 ï Unlike Western Christianity (with the exception of Mormonism), Orthodoxy places more emphasis on the risen Christ rather than to the Christ of the cross.11 Indeed, in Orthodox churches it is common for there to be an open tomb at the side of the nave, as evidence of the risen Christ. Likewise, the Sacrament is offered in both kinds to Orthodox members, to the very young as well as the old -- and by preference each Sunday, not merely on the High Holy Days.12 ï In the Orthodox Church, as in Mormonism, service is virtually always held in the local language.13 ï The Orthodox also hold a notion very close to the LDS concept that "The Song of the righteous is a prayer unto the Lord", with widespread congregational singing during service, as well as choirs.14 ï Most impressively reminiscent of ancient temple ceremonies is the Orthodox wedding, where bride and groom are anointed with oil on forehead, eyes, lips, and breast, given a New Name, crowned with diadems, married at an altar almost identical to a contemporary LDS temple altar -- then join in a prayer circle with close friends and parents around the altar at which they have just been joined as husband and wife15 4. Ibid, p. 225 5. Ibid. p. 227 6. Ibid. p. 229 7. Ibid. p. 247 8. Ibid. p. 256-57 9. Ibid, p. 259 10. Ibid. p. 260-61 11. Ibid. 12. Ibid. p. 272, 294 13. Ibid. p. 273 14. Ibid. p. 274 15. Personal observation. 16. Op. cit, p. 301 17. Ibid. p. 303 Not least striking in this regard is that instead of the stone or wooden choir screen which customarily separates the congregation in the nave of a western cathedral from the priests or monks of the choir, the Orthodox cathedral possesses a lace or cloth veil separating the altar from the congregation, through which only the officiating priest passes, and which is opened or closed during various parts of the service. ï As in Mormonism, Orthodoxy holds that partaking of the Eucharist (Sacrament) is a renewal of the covenant of baptism and when one leaves church after participating in the Sacrament Service it is just as if one were cleansed by having been baptized anew. ï Orthodoxy, while discouraging divorce, recognizes human weakness, and like the Mormon Church permits Church divorce in exceptional cases.16 ï As in Mormonism, the Orthodox Priest anoints and administers to the seriously ill, rather than reserving this rite to those in the process of dieing, as does the Catholic clergy.17 ï Nor must it be overlooked that Orthodoxy preserves the practice of baptism by immersion, presenting many of the same biblical references and symbolic arguments familiar to LDS. ï Not least, Orthodoxy still adheres to the notion of married Priests -- though admittedly, those who aspire to the Patriarchy are expected to remain celibate. What then is a Latter-day Saint to make of these sometimes striking parallels? Well, to begin with, one supposes, that the validity of many of the doctrines most vigorously attacked by our Catholic and Protestant antagonists are solidly within the gamut of early Christian teachings preserved over the centuries by our Orthodox cousins, including: married priesthood, baptism by immersion, grace achieved by good works, and weekly eucharist offered in both kinds to both adults and small children. That men will be judged for their own sins and not Adam's transgression. That it is important that generation be sealed to generation. That Man is indeed the offspring of deity, begotten spiritually during a preexistence in the presence of the Father and destined, if he lives in accord with correct principles, to share his immortal parent's nature and destiny. That Free Agency and mortal probation are an inescapable part of man's progress toward apotheosis. And that the temple ceremony with its washings and anointings and supernal teachings, though too sacred to be much talked about outside temple precincts, is a vital part of the Christian faith and man's progress towards glory. Sadly, one must at the same time concede that despite Orthodoxy's valiant attempt to hold fast to the faith once delivered, it has gone its own way towards Apostasy. Orthodoxy today has only a fleeting and partial recollection of the vital temple ritual. And its doctrinal compromises with Catholicism during the first thousand years of Christianity, in a vain attempt to preserve unity, fatally diluted both the faith of its members and the validity of its priesthood beyond recovery. Orthodoxy is, thus, less a vision of the past preserved in amber, than the somewhat distorted reflections of a chamber of mirrors -- though to be sure its distortions are less gross that those of the churches of the West which underwent first Scholasticism, then Reformation, and later still Counter Reformation -- leaving the mirrors of doctrinal history cracked and broken, so that to discern a true outline of the Primitive Church, even given the guidelines of modern revelation, is almost impossible when one attempts to compare the teachings of the Restoration with the path of Western Church History. The value of contemporary Orthodoxy is that it permits one to judge.the message of the Restoration through the less contorted mirror of Orthodoxy, a process which would otherwise be possible. As President David O. McKay is reported to have said following a visit from the Orthodox Archbishop of the United States, "Orthodoxy is closer in doctrine to the Primitive Church than any other denomination" (paraphrased). This truth should provide an important discussion approach and teaching tool for missionaries in the former Communist Countries of Central and Eastern Europe, most of which are of Orthodox persuasion.