How to Pray for the Culturally Orthodox

In 1054, political and theological differences caused the Roman Catholic Church to split. The dissenting group formed the Eastern Byzantine Church, now known as the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church is the primary religion of Russia and many former Soviet countries. The Orthodox believe they are the true Church, the only one with purity of doctrine. They put great faith in their church leaders and consider the church council to be as or more authoritative than Scripture.

Being Orthodox is strongly tied to identity: it defines national and family cultures. However, around 90% of those claiming to belong to the Orthodox Church have little Bible knowledge and have never heard the gospel.

Most never enter a church except for weddings and funerals. Yet their identity as Orthodox is very important to them. Those who find Christ are often accused of betraying their family and heritage.

A missionary in an Orthodox nation of Eurasia explains what it means to be culturally Orthodox, “If I walk up to anyone on the street and ask if they are a Christian, their response would be, ‘Of course, I am a Christian; I was born here.’ The word ‘Christian’ has no meaning apart from cultural identity. For this reason, we use the phrase ‘follower of Christ.’” This culture highly values relationship. The key is to build friendships and earn their trust. As they see believers living out their faith in a non-threatening way, they will be won over by love.

Pray for the Culturally Orthodox:

• Pray for workers among the culturally Orthodox of Eurasia. Many more are needed to reach the multitudes who have never heard the gospel.
• Pray for followers of Jesus to build authentic relationships with the Ortho­dox. Ask the Holy Spirit to help them speak the right words at the right time.
• Pray for a hunger for truth among the Orthodox. Ask God to help them search until they find Jesus.
• Pray for entire Orthodox families to come to Jesus. Because new believers are often rejected by their families and isolated in their culture, ask the Holy Spirit to bring entire families into the kingdom at once.
• Pray for strong churches to be planted in Orthodox nations. It takes many invitations before an Orthodox Christian will come to church. But when they do, they almost always accept Christ on their very first visit.