"Here's something that most correspondents are overlooking--and with good reason, because it's a very unfamiliar concept. It's that the Orthodox Christianity is a course of therapy. It's a science of how to be transformed in Christ. We adhere to the fasts and other spiritual disciplines because, over 2000 years, that they work. By now we've accumulated overwhelming evidence about what works, and what doesn't.
The idea that a theology should be expected to "work," to show results in the lives of those practicing it, seems strange because so much of the division among denominations in the West has to do with ideas and theology. But in the East the faith is not primarily about having the right ideas (though right ideas are vital). It is primarily a "Way" (as its called in Acts), a science, of how to pursue union with God.
We continue to practice the same spiritual disciplines over the centuries because they *work.* They have been tested and proven. People who put them into practice and follow this path show visible results. Most particularly they show increased love of others. They become more humble, simple, and kind. Those far along the path become miracle-workers, as their love of others combines with prayers that rest in oneness with God's will.
These spiritual elders exist in every age; they are alive today. A correspondent recently told me he became Orthodox not because of the beauty of the liturgy or the theology, but because he began reading the lives of contemporary saints. (Elder Paisios, 1924-1994, is a good place to start.)
So the elements of this spiritual process, like the fasts, are not just opinions; they're tested and proven therapies. They can't be changed, because the evidence that they work cannot be concealed.
This Orthodox way of transformation is very difficult. It must be accepted completely *voluntarily.* And not everyone is looking for that kind of a challenge. There are plenty of other churches for them to choose from. We Orthodox don't claim that there are no other ways to be transformed in Christ; it not up to us to evaluate them. We *do* know, however, that this one works. The results are all around us."
+ Khoria Frederica Mathewes-Green, Posted on Facebook.
