The Orthodox Church in America

Abstract

The Orthodox Church in America, a family of self-governing churches united by a common faith and worship, experienced little change in the 1960's—gradual consolidation, and fuller acclimation to the American environment being its chief tasks. Internally, the Orthodox church began to feel the need for liturgical renewal more acutely and to deal with the problem of visible disunity. Externally, while its faithful were successfully adapting to the American socioeconomic structure, its church leaders and theologians responded cautiously to the American milieu. Most Orthodox, proud of their ethnoreligious traditions and strongly oriented to ancestral lands, continued to possess a sense of uniqueness and mission in America, the land in which they, doubtlessly, feel at home. The sharpest tension with American culture was noted among church leaders and theologians, particularly on theological grounds. Although there were signs of openness, a firmly conservative theological outlook also created internal tensions as regards ecumenical relations with other churches. On the whole, however, the Orthodox church looks confidently to the future, while its lead ers and theologians explore its place and role in the New World.

New Changes in the Traditional Image of the Saints in European Literature in the 20th Century

“…"Beloved of God, Called to Be Saints", the word saint in English is derived from the Latin word Sanctus, the Greek equivalent of ἅγιος, which means holy [2]. Sanctus was originally a proprietary term in the ancient Roman religion, but Christianity inherited the term and passed it on as a Christian term, which led to the use of the word saint in other religions or cultures as a translation of a similar term representing a person considered by the general public to be of special virtue and sanctity [3]. Saints in Hinduism, for example, are considered to be people of transcendent virtue and divinity.…”