11/04/2025
I had the pleasure of attending an Orthodox Divine Liturgy this past Sunday. I’ve been reflecting on the experience, it was something completely different from what I’ve always known as “church.”
During the Liturgy, I felt a deep reverence and a holy fear of the Lord...not a fear of dread, but one of awe and sacred stillness. There was a tangible sense of standing before the divine.
Speaking as a non-denominational Protestant, I’ve realized something important:
neither experience is more spiritual than the other. They’re simply different movements of the same Spirit.
In one, you bow because God is holy. (Orthodox)
In the other, you weep because God is good. (Protestant)
The early Church actually held both together... reverence and redemption, awe and love, transcendence and tenderness.
As we just celebrated Reformation Day, I find myself reflecting on what “reform” truly means. Even thinking back to the Great Schism between East and West, I can’t help but feel that the Church (the Bride of Christ)...needs unity now more than ever.
I don’t believe the apostles ever desired to see the Church divided, nor do I think Martin Luther ever intended for his protest to result in a thousand denominations.
Perhaps the real reformation we need now is one that brings us back together around Christ Himself.
