The Orthodox Church in Confrontation with the World of Today

Eve Braniste offers a reflection on the place of the Orthodox Church in the world from a Roumanian Orthodox perspective. The pressure to modernise is one faced by all churches, including the Orthodox Church. Braniste notes: 1) that within the Orthodox tradition ‘the liturgy constitutes the centre and foundation of religious life’ 2) the Orthodox Liturgy has developed out of the worship and practice of the Orthodox Church as a whole 3) the worship and doctrine of the Orthodox Church are intimately linked, and 4) the uniformity of Orthodox worship. Given this, Braniste judges that a radical revision of the Orthodox Liturgy is impossible and undesirable insofar as it already reflects the ‘continuous process of evolution’ within the life of the Church. Thus, ‘the law of liturgical balance’ secures a proper balance between ‘the religious basis…and its form of expression’, such that focus is maintained upon: 1) the adoration of God 2) the sanctification of each member by divine grace, and 3) religious and moral education.