Lutheran Converts to Orthodoxy
Posted on October 30, 2006 by lutherpunk
I’ve long admired Rev. John Fenton and the work he has done with the preservation and repristination of the liturgy in Evangelical-Catholic circles of Lutheranism. I first discovered his work a few years ago by stumbling across his church’s website. Well, it seems the good Pastor has resigned his post and is converting to Orthodoxy. You can read all about it here.
So it begs the question: do all us liturgy geeks end up leaving for the perceived greener pastures of Rome or Constantinople?
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Actually…no.
Not this guy! Although admittedly I did move from Lutheranism to more explicitly Catholic circles. But I think I would have a hard time joining a church that says I have to turn away from the Table all the classes of folks excluded by the mainstream Catholic and Orthodox churches.
I haven’t seen anything in Lutheranism that can compare to the Orthodox liturgy. But for me, Orthodox theology is the big draw.
The thing is, Lutheranism is already a bit of a strangely introverted eccentric niche. To take the step into Orthodoxy you’d have to really enjoy that aspect of Lutheranism.
I think that in our country especially, but in Lutheranism generally, we have been so shaped by (1) our calvinist/congregationalist nieghbors, and (2) the pietist tradition, that it is an uphill battle for those who recognize the catholicity of our tradition and our liturgy.
Is there an attraction to crossing the Rubicon on the Bosporus … sure. But it is my grounding in Lutheran theology that keeps me here. While I recognize that the theological emphases that I love are acceptable in Rome or Constantinople, they are such a minority voice that it would be even more of an uphill battle for me there than it is here.
I have been encouraged in the past few years to see more and more Lutherans reclaiming the liturgy in a real and meaningful way. I am also encouraged by Mannerma and the Finnish school of Lutheranism and how they have been shaped by dialogue with the Orthodox tradition. I think there is more then enough to keep me here.
(btw, I have a link to my Reformation Sunday sermon on my blog, which was about why I stay in the Lutheran church)
From what I can remember of going to church with my mom when I was younger compared to now, I see a real, evolving appreciation for liturgy in the Lutheran church. In a lot of ways, the congregation I belong to now is more “high church” than the Roman Catholic congregation I worked in previously. There is a definite appreciation and understanding of the importance of ritual in worship. But I think that, unlike the churches that have a heirarchical structure and “central government” (for lack of a better term), that is going to vary from congregation to congregation.
The resignation of John Fenton in the Detroit area from his call and his announcement that he is joining an Eastern Orthodox church has elicited interesting responses across the Lutheran blogosphere. Some have expressed their “admiration” for his “honesty” and lauded his great leadership on liturgical issues in The LCMS. I have a far different perspective.
First, let it be noted that Fenton’s “spiritual journey” is of absolutely zero consequence to anyone who truly wishes to be and remain a confessing Lutheran Christian, other than a tragic example of what happens when you lose your theological marbles and abandon the very heart and center of the Gospel. Second, Fenton knew he was headed East for quite a long time. It is a shame his ecclesiastical supervisor did not remove him from office. All the hand-wringing going on in some circles about the “root causes” and such about this are avoiding the true root cause: a man has turned his back on Christ and His Gospel and exchanged it for a pottage of ritualistic legalisms and hopelessly anti-Scriptural mysticism in the form of Eastern Orthodoxy! Third, his parish helped fund his studies at an Eastern Orthodox seminary, and it would appear highly likely that Fenton waited to make this move until he had developed a following that would leave with him. In a typical sheep-stealing move, he is taking 25 people out of a congregation that is so small that a loss of 25 people is enormous in a parish that only has, on average, only 67 people in worship on any given Sunday to begin with, out of a total baptized membership of 267 people. Smells and bells, chalices and chausables, chanting and prancing, rubrics and genuflections all have their proper place, but they are not of the essence of the Church, and this situation shows how one can go terribly wrong theologically either by throwing out the good order and customs of historic worship, or in spite of retaining it all.
Fenton’s reununciation of his ordination vows, and confirmation vows, is nothing less than an act of treason against our Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel. Let that much be clear. It is a shameful and sinful way to treat a congregation that has suffered for years through his theological waffling and what finally amounts to a profoundly fundamental dishonesty. So while on a human level we can surely feel sympathy for his personal struggles, on an objective level the truth simply must be recognized. There is nothing “heroic” or “admirable” about what he did. It is tragic and shameful. At this point the word to be spoken to Fenton and others who share his opinions is simply: “Repent and believe the Gospel.”
“Fenton’s reununciation of his ordination vows, and confirmation vows, is nothing less than an act of treason against our Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel. Let that much be clear.”
When did ordination vows become the heart of the Gospel? If that is true, why not make ordination a sacrament — heck, THE sacrament of the church?