By Andrew F. Estocin
Law #4:
Faith is a Thermostat, Not a Thermometer: In the same way that a thermostat sets the temperature in given room, Orthodox Christianity changes our society and is not a mere indicator (or thermometer) of popular culture. Letter from Birmingham Jail is not just a call for social action, it is also a critique of Christianity and that includes our own Orthodox Christian witness today. Rev. King has some harsh words for Christians who place more value on social order and acceptance than on being icons of truth.
“Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists. There was a time when the church was very powerful–in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the Church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.
Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being “disturbers of the peace” and “outside agitators.”‘ But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were “a colony of heaven,” called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be “astronomically intimidated.” By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests.”
The Orthodox Church is the single greatest agent of human development in history. When the faith is lived to its fullest, Orthodoxy has the ability to transform the world in which we live. It also brings justice to those who suffer and gives a voice to those who have none. The early Apostles where able to alter the course of the Roman Empire armed with only with their faith. Likewise, Rev. King forever changed the United States armed only with the same Gospel.
The words of Rev. King and the image of Archbishop Iakovos marching with him in Selma, Alabama are not mere nostalgia from a time gone by. Their witness is not confined to history books. They represent an urgent question for every Orthodox Christian in America. What type of Church will we be? Orthodox Christians can choose to turn inward, selfishly focus on the themselves alone and slowly self-destruct or we can turn outward and embrace the gift of the Holy Spirit that led Archbishop Iakovos to Selma, Alabama in 1965 and repeat his words time and again:
“The Church will not be pessimistic, nor sit quietly in its handsome houses of worship while war rages outside its churches for the bodies, minds and souls of its parishioners.”
Martin Luther King Jr. and Archbishop Iakovos both knew that the human person as the image and likeness of God was a truth worth breaking the law, fighting and (in Rev. King’s case) ultimately dying for. Orthodoxy in America needs this type of courage today more than ever.
~Provided by Bishop Andonios, Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Andrew Estocin is a lifelong Orthodox Christian and alumni of OCF. He received his theological degree from Fordham University and is a parishioner at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Albuquerque, NM.
