Mainline Churches are, by nature, conservative. This is not so much because they are loath to change a successful formula, as because they are loath to change any formula, come what may. It is the essence of the great monotheistic religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) to experience difficulty in distinguishing between those formulae developed thousands of years ago which have lost whatever utility (if any) they may have had and such moral truths as are truly universal and everlasting. While most, if not all, religions embrace a range of opinion, from conservative to liberal (if not from ultra-conservative to left-liberal), the Orthodox Church is distinguished from other large religious organizations by the greater dominance of conservatives in its power structure and by the largely conservative orientation of even its “liberals.” Orthodoxy, thus, is a religion which – to quote Shakespeare – “looks on tempests and is never shaken” – not even when it should be. Whatever changes may impact the world, the Orthodox Church refuses, for the most part, to accommodate itself to change, standing fixed in time, its bishops' gaze riveted on an “idyllic past” which serves as their beacon. For Orthodoxy, time stands still. Why is this? It would be nice to offer a simple, one-line answer.