Letting God Do His Job

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The Priest Stephen Freeman of St. Anne mission in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, has written an article, “Why Should Episcopalians Become Orthodox?” Fr. Stephen is a priest who holds people with open arms:

This short account illustrates the only answer I can give to an Episcopalian (or anyone else for that matter). The primary reason that someone should become Orthodox is that they have come to believe that it is True. I think believing anything less than that is less than becoming Orthodox. I cannot say to someone, “You must be Orthodox.� Not because I don’t believe it’s true, or that I believe it’s only true for some: I believe that God has to tell you that it’s true or it won’t really matter. And only God can do that.

Fr. Stephen was the priest in charge at St. A. as we were being received into the Orthodox Church in America. That quote echoes something he related about his godfather, the Archpriest Peter Smith. Fr. Stephen said, “He never tried to ‘close the deal.’ He never used the hard sell. Later, when I asked him why, he said, [Fr. Peter is Irish-American; you must imagine this with a brogue —B.] ‘Oh! Well, you see, I believe the Lord wants everyone who walks through those doors to be Orthodox, but that’s his job, not mine. All I have to do is love you until you come home.'”

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One Response to “Letting God Do His Job”

1. 

   Chris Dmitri Says:
   November 12th, 2004 at 9:26 am

   [Fr. Peter is Irish-American; you must imagine this with a brogue —B.]…
   And a green cassock and gaelic pectoral cross, let us not forget those important bits.