Most of you may know that I joined the Orthodox Christian church two years ago. I came from a lifelong background with mainline Christian churches. The Orthodox Church doesn’t describe itself as a denomination, but rather as pre-denominational, tracing its lineage back to the Apostles.
The commitment to Christianity as it was originally conceived and to guarding that tradition is something that I’ve always valued as a member of the Orthodox Church. However, one thing I’ve found within this particular expression of Christianity is a lack of ecumenical charity. This is especially true on YouTube. If you watch a couple of videos related to Orthodoxy, your algorithmic recommendations will quickly fill up with videos purporting to have a priest or some commentator “destroying” this or that version of Christianity. It’s almost a cottage industry within Orthodox Christianity.
Did Jesus indicate that Christians should spend their time making rivals out of those in different groups who revere him as Lord?