WHY SHOULD I LEARN ABOUT CHURCH HISTORY?

By Jason Barker

Department of Youth Ministry

History is one of the most important factors in forming who we are as persons, and as a society. We can see this in how we behave when we become acquainted with an individual: we share our past with each other, because what we have experienced greatly determines who we are today.

It is for this same reason that we should care about the history of the Orthodox Church — the work of God throughout the history of the Church forms who we are as Christians. Thomas Oden explains:

God the Holy Spirit worked in a very powerful way during the period of martyrdom and early formation of Christian doctrine to guide the Christian community into the truth. John says in his Gospel that the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth. Christians understand and believe this. We know that the Holy Spirit guided this community through all kinds of historical hazards during its early centuries…If I saw my culture merely against the backdrop of its value system and not from the point of view of God's work in history, I would rightly feel more anxious and alienated. However, Christians need not feel that way. God is at work in this historical process in ways we do not understand…We can have confidence in the triune God in history. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit work together to fulfill the purpose of redemption.

Fr. Michael Baroudy adds that, when we look at the lives of Christians throughout the centuries, we can see that “divine resources outweighed the human resources, for these [people] had an intense awareness of the presence of God. God to them was not a remote entity but a present reality. ‘They lived as seeing Him who is invisible.’” Studying Church history teaches us the ways in which God has worked in the lives of His people, and gives us confidence that He continues to work in and through His Church today.

Studying Church history is also important because Orthodox beliefs are rooted in history. In our services we recount specific historical events in which God worked for the salvation of His people. We read the Holy Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15, reminding us that our faith is secure because Christ’s Crucifixion and Resurrection are actual events. We also celebrate the Ecumenical Councils at which the Orthodox Faith was defended and clarified. By studying the history of the Church, we better understand why we believe what we believe.

We should also study Church history because, in the words of one scholar, “it introduces us to new friends.” The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us that we are surrounded by “a great cloud of witnesses” (12:1). Nowhere is this statement more fully realized than in Orthodox Christianity, where we take very seriously our relationship with all members of the Church. Entering an Orthodox church [as well as the homes of many Orthodox Christians], you will be surrounded by icons of some of the saints of the Church. You will sing hymns recounting the work of God in the lives of saints, as well as ask for the prayers of these Christians. During the services you will participate in the same worship of God in which these saints are engaging. Studying Church history will draw you closer to these great Christians.

You will find as you learn more the history of the Orthodox Church that, as Fr. Michael Baroudy says, “The history of the Christian Church as a whole is just as fascinating as it is informative and inspiring.”