VIDEOS: WHAT IS ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY? AN ANSWER IN THREE PARTS, by Fr. Daniel Mackay

Source: OrthoChristian.com

At a time when people turn to videos for information, the documentary What is Orthodox Christianity? An Answer in Three Parts aims to employ the aesthetics and resources of the Orthodox Church in order to reinforce the content of the message. Rather than conventional movie-making techniques like interviewed subjects, the use of actors, or narrator, this documentary uses still images, readable text, and other aesthetic elements to explain He Who came as both Word (Logos) and Image (Icon).

The documentary (running time 125 minutes) intends to:

1. Answer the question “What is Orthodox Christianity?” for a contemporary American audience with some familiarity of Christianity.

2. Offer a basic orientation for those who may be exploring Orthodox Christianity by emphasizing the prayer of the heart, watchfulness, and the Holy Mysteries that set Orthodox Christianity apart from other Christian confessions.

It features 363 icons, 162 photographs, 68 other pictures, and 92 explicit references to Scripture.

The movie was written and assembled by Fr. Daniel Mackay, priest of St. John the Wonderworker Serbian Orthodox Church in Eugene, Oregon. Fr. Daniel is a professor of English literature and spent three years making the film in order to answer questions that commonly arise when discussing Orthodox Christianity.

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Part One: The Teachings of Christ

The first part of this three-part slideshow that answers the question, “What is Orthodox Christianity?” by emphasizing the prayer of the heart, watchfulness, and the Holy Mysteries that set Orthodox Christianity apart from other Christian confessions. This first part emphasizes what Jesus Christ taught His Apostles and what and where the Church is.

Part Two: Falling Away from Christ

The second part the slideshow that answers the question, “What is Orthodox Christianity?” by emphasizing the prayer of the heart, watchfulness, and the Holy Mysteries that set Orthodox Christianity apart from other Christian confessions. The second part begins a consideration of the spiritual consequences of departure from the Church, first through establishing an historical timeline of the schism and then beginning to consider the prayer of the heart, experience of uncreated light, and the difference between spirit and soul that have been preserved in the Orthodox Church.

Part Three: The Life in Christ

The third and final part of the slideshow that answers the question, “What is Orthodox Christianity?” by emphasizing the prayer of the heart, watchfulness, and the Holy Mysteries that set Orthodox Christianity apart from other Christian confessions. The third part focuses on elements of the spiritual life: baptism, repentance, watchfulness, and Holy Communion.