Yesterday I skipped school and went to vespers. It was served by Bishop Benjamin of Berkeley. After the service (about 30 minutes long) he answered questions. I think must know EVERYTHING about liturgical development, not just in the Orthodox Church but in the Syrian, the Armenian, Coptic and western churches, too. I only had one small question: How are we supposed to do evangelism. He had a very long answer that boils down to this: Be filled with the Holy Spirit and when people ask you where you go to church ask them to "come and see".
It was interesting to hear that he was raised in the Plymouth Bretheren. You can't get much deeper into the iconoclast heresy than that. (The church he attended didn't even have a cross on the wall.) He makes, besides myself, the 3rd person I've met who's conversion to Orthodoxy involved an overwhelming experience during his first visit to an Orthodox temple.
9 hours ago
3 comments:
St Herman... following St Seraphim's "acquire the Holy Spirit..." did that version of evangelism.
But thousands of Orthodox Saints did not, starting with Mary Magdalen and continuing right up to... you, who invite people to church all the time.
There is a place for St Herman's Evangelism. But the consensus is against him. I think that's why most of us keep asking the question over and over... we know the answer is "get out there and preach".
yep.
yep.
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