2 of 2

The archbishop has observed that many visitors who come to his church say they were propelled by problems within their own mainline denominations. He has seen some of these controversies himself: "There is a weakness there, a denial of the divinity of Christ and of the integrity of the Scriptures." He recalls an incident when he was teaching Greek to seminarians at Perkins School of Theology. "I asked the class how many believed in the divinity of Christ. After I defined it—not just that Jesus was a divinely inspired teacher, but that he was truly the Son of God—not one student in the class would agree."

In terms of evangelizing in the Dallas melting pot, "We have our hands full with those who come to us."

He cites some figures: When he founded St. Seraphim as a brand-new priest, back in 1954, he had five or six people attend each Sunday; currently there are 300—and 32 more are preparing to join the church. "Things are booming, and I quake to think what God will do next," he says.

In the land of Texas-size megachurches, those figures seem laughable. How can 32 new members be "booming," when a big church in North Dallas might add hundreds to the roll every week? Dmitri cites the rigor of Orthodox catechizing and practice, and contrasts it with the way he sees things done in the big, busy churches: "Becoming a Christian involves a whole change of life. You have to follow Christ. If there's no follow-up, no accountability, that's not likely to happen.

"When we worship at St. Seraphim, it has the scent of eternity, and that gives it gravity beyond what we could generate on our own," he says.

"We are actually participating in the fullness of the faith, experiencing the kingdom of God here and now."

Frederica Mathewes-Green is a regular contributor to CT and the author of The Illumined Heart (Paraclete).

Copyright © 2002 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also appearing on our site today:

The Hispanic ChallengeIt's not easy growing leaders for Dallas's fastest-growing population.

See the Website for St. Seraphim Orthodox Church.

Other stories in our May issue's Dallas cover package include:

The New Capital of EvangelicalismMove over, Wheaton and Colorado Springs—Dallas, Texas, has more megachurches, megaseminaries and mega-Christian activity than any other American city. (May 10, 2002)

Big City, Big MinistryHow did a top-25 list of ministries become a cover story on Dallas? (May 10, 2002)

Southwestern's PredicamentCan the biggest protestant seminary in the world be both Southern Baptist and broadly evangelical? (May 14, 2002)

Parachurch PassionA Dallas food pantry was transformed when it turned the tables on who should do ministry. (May 15, 2002)

Sunday ColorsDallas churches continue to challenge the racial divide. (May 15, 2002)

first page |  2 of 2

share this page

May 21 2002, Vol. 46, No. 6