A very Protestant Orthodox

Daniel, I think it was, during the work camp, called me a very Protestant Orthodox.

Basically because I mentioned a number of reforms to the Orthodox liturgy which seem to me long overdue, like:

1) Local language.

2) Reading the epistle and the Gospel towards the people and not towards the altar – God knows the text already.

3) Reading out aloud most of the prayers in the liturgy which are in the first person plural ‘We’, and certainly the entire consecration canon. We are all celebrants and not just the priest.

4) Dramatically upping the participation of those not in the altar party or the choir, possibly by introducing hymns in the English style.

To me these reforms are self-evident. So much so that they were introduced very fast by the Protestant reformers as part of their clean-up of the abuses of the pre-Tridentine Roman system. And why can’t we do the same?

If that is ‘Protestant’, I am very happy to be one.