u/Infinite-Push7542

In the Lord's prayer we pray "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." And we know that Jesus' will is that we be one, as He and the Father are one (John 17). So from this we can know that protestantism, along with all Christian denominations and institutions necessarily will eventually fall into one -- potentially also on this earth...?

Okay, so my actual purpose in asserting this is in wonder, how is this included in Protestant ecclesiology? And secondly, is it included enough in ecclesiology and eschatology, to govern our lives? And finally, how would you picture this unification of Churches happening on Earth?

I'm an inquirer in EO right now, and recently found out about Ephesus. I get if someone's born OO and affirms the historical claims of their church, no problem.

But for an inquirer like myself with no ethnic ties that would lean me one way or another, I don't see how I logically can side with OO.

Let me say here that I am from a prior protestant background. You would argue that I should become OO due to christology, right? But there's this massive issue over whether this council was ecumenical or not, and given the disputed claims and the massive amount of bishops it would be difficult to accept OO on this reason alone.

So now I'm supposed to look at the christology. But the logical problem is that if I decide from my own reasoning which Christology was correct, that would be private interpretation. And naturally if private interpretation is required because the ecumenical councils aren't enough of a guide, then the Protestant doctrine of Sola Scriptura seems more viable. I think if I were somehow convicted 100% of the OO christology, I would stay Protestant and perhaps hold to a very narrow view of infallibility only for scripture itself.

On the other hand, with the EO claim, I can look to the 7 ecumenical councils and justify that the essentials were written out, while the Great Schism was free from any council dispute thankfully. Their Ecclesiology just seems so much cleaner, considering they were in communion with Rome for a millennia to set the stage for Christians everywhere.

But I'm also hopeful, because it seems like none of this actually matters? The ecumenical dialogues of today seem to affirm that the christology differences were always immaterial. Maybe then the only question at hand is ecclesiology?

Trying to work through this decision logically. I plan to make my formal decision on EO as soon as I finish The Orthodox Way by Kallistos Ware (halfway through now).

I was really inspired by reading Luther’s argument that the burning of heretics is against the will of the Spirit, which I consider to be the greatest moment of the whole reformation when Pope Leo denounces that view.

But now I would like to pose the question back to Luther (or Protestants as a whole): is it the will of the Spirit for there to be Protestants, not in the temporary as a resistance movement against Papal abuses, but in the permanent? I’m not simply asking whether the Reformation was justified, but whether the grand schism and the dozens of schism of schisms following it is grievous to God?

Appealing to Scripture, it was Christ Himself that prayed “That they may be One, as We are One.” Not once but twice in John 17 (Our God! How great is our God!) And “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”. So that same will for the Church in Heaven is the will of the Spirit on earth, and that will is that we be One even as Christ is one — that is, one in perfect unity and will, which seems to mean a unified body.

This line of thinking has directly led me to inquiry into the Orthodox Church, because if this is against the will of the Spirit, certainly that means every Protestant everywhere has an obligation to recommune with the apostolic traditions and be members of one body. This is evident in that anything against the will of the Spirit is influenced by demons and is to be rejected at all costs.

And yes, because Protestants broke apart from the One Catholic Church it is clear they would be called to recommune rather than vice versa.

I was really inspired by reading Luther’s argument that the burning of heretics is against the will of the Spirit, which I consider to be the greatest moment of the whole reformation when Pope Leo denounces that view.

But now I would like to pose the question back to Luther (or Protestants as a whole): is it the will of the Spirit for there to be Protestants, not in the temporary as a resistance movement against Papal abuses, but in the permanent? I’m not simply asking whether the Reformation was justified, but whether the grand schism and the dozens of schism of schisms following it is grievous to God?

Appealing to Scripture, it was Christ Himself that prayed “That they may be One, as We are One.” Not once but twice in John 17 (Our God! How great is our God!) And “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”. So that same will for the Church in Heaven is the will of the Spirit on earth, and that will is that we be One even as Christ is one — that is, one in perfect unity and will, which seems to mean a unified body.

This line of thinking has directly led me to inquiry into the Orthodox Church, because if this is against the will of the Spirit, certainly that means every Protestant everywhere has an obligation to recommune with the apostolic traditions and be members of one body. This is evident in that anything against the will of the Spirit is influenced by demons and is to be rejected at all costs.

And yes, because Protestants broke apart from the One Catholic Church it is clear they would be called to recommune rather than vice versa.