Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Are House Churches and Eastern Orthodoxy Polar Opposites or Compatible?

I've been reading about the growing popularity of "house churches" and as an Eastern Orthodox Christian I have some questions about them.

Is it possible to have an Eastern Orthodox "house church?"

Do "house churches" as they are currently comprised tend towards iconoclasm?

Can a "house church" be developed that checks in with an Orthodox Bishop and can a hypothetical "house church" have Priests and Deacons involved in it?

Would an EO "house church" movement bear a lot of fruit even with the necessities of Liturgy, Sacraments, Vestments, and so on?

On the surface of things, the current Protestant version of "house churches" would seem to be a direct rebuke / challenge to the Orthodox Church, but looking beneath the surface, is it possible to adapt this idea and use it to spread The Faith?

And finally a Western Rite question: Would it be easier to do an Eastern Orthodox House Church using the Western Liturgies?

Questions, questions.

Columba Sillouan

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