The Ancient Church

Orthodoxy, Canon, and the Error of Performative Independence By Bp. Joseph ( Ancient Church of the West ) Introduction In recent years there has arisen a curious and troubling phenomenon within the wider Christian landscape: the emergence of those who style themselves “independent Orthodox.” These voices often speak eloquently of the truth, antiquity, and doctrinal precision of Eastern Orthodoxy, and they frequently wield Orthodox theology as a polemical instrument against Protestantism and Roman Catholicism alike. Yet they do so while simultaneously refusing submission to Orthodoxy’s recognized canonical structures, synodal discipline, and ecclesial accountability. It is our view that this posture is not merely inconsistent but is ecclesiologically incoherent. Orthodoxy is not a set of ideas detached from embodied authority. It is not a metaphysical toolbox to be selectively employed against one’s theological opponents. Eastern Orthodoxy, especially as it has developed within the Byza...