[InChristAlone]

Originally Posted by aron

Why is it that the Orthodox church never had a Reformation? Why is it that the weird groups come out of the Protestants?

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. (2 Thes 2.15)

Aron, I agree with you.

In my opinion, Sola Scriptura (in fact, which is one's personal interpretation of the Bible), the lack of Apostolic Succession and, of course, the human factor, are the reasons of every revelation after revelation.

Let me quote Dr. Jeannie Constantinou from her podcast:

Paul... also learned the apostolic tradition and passed it on just as he himself had received it. And that’s one of the important things in the concept of tradition: that you preserve what you receive, you don’t just take part of it, the part that you like, and pass that on and leave the rest behind. You pass it on whole, entire, well-preserved. So this is also extremely important.

In the Orthodox Church, we understand what Tradition is. The other churches have their own traditions, but they don’t adhere to Apostolic Tradition to the extent that we do. And frankly, that is the reason for our very strong unity of faith, for the fact that we do not have tremendous theological factions. We don’t have a wide-variety of opinions about basic doctrine and practices because we have made it our point to keep the Apostolic Tradition unchanged. That’s really the distinguishing characteristic of the Orthodox Church, this is exactly what St. Paul is talking about, and this is the meaning of Tradition. This, frankly, is the role of the bishop. You see, the bishop now stands in the place of the apostles. There are no more apostles, but the bishop stands in the role of the apostles. When an Orthodox bishop is ordained, the first thing that he does is recite the Creed. Why does he stand up in front of the congregation and recite the Nicene Creed? He says, “I believe in one God the Father Almighty,” and he recites the Creed, so that you will know that he teaches the Apostolic faith. The number one role of the bishop in the Church, aside from the many different purposes he serves in the Church, is to preserve Apostolic Tradition, because this is what they inherited from the Apostles. So when we speak about Apostolic succession, it’s not a mechanical thing, some nice idea or concept. It means that they stand in the succession of the Apostles because they have received the Tradition, and they’re passing it on to the next bishops who come after them, without altering it in any manner.

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/103305.htm

Originally Posted by aron

Does the EO not believe in justification by faith?

Salvation is indeed by grace. But if we fail to put our faith into action, our faith is purely intellectual, “lip service”. In other words, if we accept Christ as the Son of the Living God and the Savior of the world, yet we fail to bring His love to others around us, then we are liars. Hence, faith without such good works is dead.

Fr Michael Shanbour, an Orthodox priest from Wenatchee, Washington, says in his interview:

The Orthodox Church teaches, as do the Holy Scriptures, that we are saved by grace through faith. The question is, “What is grace and how is it acquired (i.e. what is faith)?”

The Church Fathers teach that grace is the very life that flows naturally and eternally from God. It is the real, life-bestowing power that brings us into communion with Him.

Think back to the story of the woman with the issue of blood. St. Veronica, as we know her in the Orthodox Church, touched the hem of Christ’s garment in faith. The Lord knew she touched Him because, as He said, “I perceived power going out from Me” (Lk. 8:46). This power is none other than His divine grace.

Grace is the energy that allows us to participate in God’s life. It is as real as (and more real than) the light and warmth of the sun by which we truly experience the sun. But unlike the created energy of the sun, God’s energies (as grace is called by the Fathers) are uncreated. God’s uncreated energies (i.e. grace) allow us to partake in Him and to know Him. St. Basil the Great wrote: “It is by the energies that we can say we know our God.”

All this means that grace is not merely an idea about God’s forgiveness in Christ. It is not a change in God’s “attitude” toward a person. It is not a mere release from “guilt.” It is the very life-giving, transforming, divine power and uncreated energies of God Himself. It is always received as a gift of God (never “earned”) by those who open their hearts and lives to receive it. And this grace saves inasmuch as it brings one into intimate union with the One who is Salvation...

https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/behin...race-shanbour/

I do recommend to read the whole interview as well as Fr Michael's new book “Know The Faith: A Handbook For Orthodox Christians And Inquirers”. One can find a sample chapter on the AncientFaith website:

http://store.ancientfaith.com/know-the-faith/
https://www.amazon.com/Know-Faith-Ha.../dp/B01MG1SCS7