Called To Be One

by Global Ministries | published on Oct 10, 2014

The family of Christians is so richly diverse! How can we be one? Politics, sociology, theology, ritual, language, calendar, music, scripture — you name it, many of our Christian communities are polar opposites. What unites Christians? There doesn’t seem to be one common ground. Even Jesus’ disciples each had a different view of who he was. But we suspect there is something in every Christian group that can strengthen and inform the faith of others.After our recent move to Istanbul we find ourselves more in contact with Orthodox Christians: Armenian, Greek, Syrian, Roman Catholic, and so forth. They have deep roots in this country. We were present at a function with both the Armenian Patriarch of Turkey, and the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. Each of these men always wears the distinctive insignia and clothing of his office. Although we don’t know how this clothing might have changed over time, we do know that the lines of the Armenian and Greek patriarchs stretch back to the disciples of Jesus.

We found ourselves marveling at the continuing survival and vitality of the office of the Patriarch. This marvel is probably also a source of pride among Roman Catholics in their office of the Pope. It leads to contemplating the awesome depth of history, in which each of our lives is but a breath. We Protestants too often skip over church history and its valuable accumulation of lessons. We pray for more openness in ourselves to what our Orthodox brothers and sisters might teach us.

Ken and Betty Frank

Ken & Betty Frank serve as missionaries with the Near East Mission, assigned to the American Collegiate Institute, Izmir Amerikan Lisesi. Ken is a teacher of math and works in the area of Christian-Muslim Relations. Betty serves as the librarian and also works in the area of Christian-Muslim relations.