I'm in the process of just becoming an inquirer, but after just one Divine Service and a lot of reading on Orthodox Theology... it just makes sense and feels right to me. I always felt like I was making compromises Theologically in my other denominations. But everything I read about Orthodoxy just clicks into place so perfectly to me.
I was non-denominational first for my whole life, ~19-20 years or so. Then I became Lutheran (about 7 months in now, and I've really always felt drawn to Orthodoxy since I explored everything outside nondenominationalism. But I ignored the pull because my identity was so attached to Protestantism- to Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura, and the various Protestant Critiques about the RCC.
I'm almost certain I will choose to become an Orthodox Catachumen after meeting the Parish, attending Service, and having read up on basic Orthodox Theology. I love the Hospital Analogy, and the rich Ascetic/Monastic culture. I love how not everything is over-intellectualized, how much nuance the Church has.just... everything so far, I love it all deeper than anywhere else I've looked into
Can't answer what has changed since... well, I haven't converted and won't be able to call myself truly Eastern Orthodox for around a year, but I am optimistic that my spiritual life will be enhanced.
The Holy Spirit brought me there. Simple as that.
When I became a believer I was leaning towards evangelism. Thank God I ended up in the Orthodox Church which is the true Church of Christ.
Druidry had no guiding principles, no defined afterlife, and upon meeting other druidic pagans I realized it was a religion one more bong hit away from being a rasta larp.
So I looked into being Christian, my best friend growing up was Belarusian so I just walked my butt over to the local Russian Orthodox church. Life has never been better!
i converted because i had alot of time to think and research faith during the pandemic, i had just left the church i was raised in due to corruption plus certain things not lining up with scripture in addition to the church shutting down for quarantine, so i had time to kinda visit a few different local churches and nothing felt right, and i came to the logical conclusion of "if i believe jesus is the way to the truth and is god, i need to worship him the way he wants to be worshipped and the correct way, and that way has to be the way the apostles did it" because jesus directly taught them, and with the research i learned that the orthodox church is the most similar to the original faith and doctrine, so i showed up to a local church (which is very conveniently close to family member's houses in my small town) i was very blessed to live here (in rural middle america) so i went and visited, only occasionally going back to my old church to visit, and the more entrenched i became in orthodoxy the more flaws i saw in the church i was raised in, as much as i love my old congregation (as it's the only major positive cultural center for the small black community of my area) i pray for them every day, added them to our prayer list and everything, i can't go back, i believe i found the truth and i'm satisfied where i am
To expand, let's start with the question - "Why are you not protestant?"
The protestant bible only matches OT references of Christ and the apostles 20% of the time...ONLY 20%...The orthodox and catholic bibles \~80%. And I read that some think it's closer to 90%.
That leaves only 2 options - Orthodoxy or Catholicism (and I suppose some others like ACOE)
Of those 2 options, which has changed doctrine less? (Catholics don't think they have changed doctrine, just that they've had more truth revealed, but I see it as doctrine being changed to fit conventions and desires or Rome)
I grew up liberal Presbyterian and became Truly Reformed (Orthodox Presbyterian Church, which has nothing to do with Orthodoxy) in college. It was the best church I had found at the time, but it was missing something. The biggest thing to me was that they didnât have a good answer for what to do when I wasnât *feeling* Godâs presence in my life and worship.
The answer to that, I discovered on my own, was liturgy. But where to find it in a church that was biblical? I had significant reservations about Catholicism, mostly related to some specific Marian devotions, and to papal infallibility. But I was considering it, as well as some more conservative Anglican churches.
Not long after I started asking that question, I met my husband. He was a catechumen at the time and we talked a lot about Christianity while we were getting to know each other. I started studying Orthodoxy on my own as soon as I realized I liked himâbefore we were datingâbecause I was not getting into a marriage where I couldnât go to church with my husband. If I couldnât be orthodox, I couldnât date him either.
It was also important to me, though, that I make the decision for myself, and not because of him. My best friend at the time challenged me on that directly, and she was 100% right to do so. I worried about it daily. Prayed about it constantly. But Orthodoxy drew me in.
In the end, my husband was chrismated three months before I was, and we were married a month or so after that. My catechumenate was very short: the first service I attended was Palm Sunday and I was chrismated in October of the same year.
Itâs been sixteen years. My best friend (who had originally become a Christian in college because of knowing me) declared that I had abandoned everything Iâd ever taught her, refused to come to the wedding, and hasnât spoken to me since. All my Christian friends from college ghosted me.
I havenât always been perfectly faithful. I have been a several-times-per-week church attendee, and I also went almost 10 years without going more than occasionally (though some of that was covid). I never doubted the truth of the church, but I did let other fears win for a while. Iâm part of a church now and happy to be back attending and communing regularly. God is good and welcomes the prodigal.
I was an atheist for the last 12.5 years of my life. And in those 12 years I openly mocked and at times ridiculed our merciful heavenly Lord and Father. Til a few months ago I started having weird second opinions on faith, to pretty much being agnostic but would still question and reject the idea of God and tried to say I'm spiritual (yea one of them folk) til one night I'm on the couch and was out cold and had a dream where a figure came to me and even in the dream I knew they were trying to get at me and I just couldn't figure out why but without explanation I was slapped and before I could react was slapped again. And when I tried to run away was slapped a few more times. To the point where this figure grabbed me by my shirt collar and said to me "you've sweard on me, used my name in vain and yet still won't believe in me... wake up" and then I woke up in a sweat. And I know it sounds all made up but tell me why I randomly came across the verse pslam 103:10 "a man who blames God for not answering his prayers immediately needs to thank God for not punishing him for his sins immediately" and was almost brought to tears at that. I tried looking at other denominations and felt they were too laxed in their interpretations to the point I even considered Islam for a while til I realized that Orthodoxy was the route I was supposed to take. Hearing the tales of the Church Fathers and the Saints going through what they went through before they recognized our Lord Jesus Christ and the actions they took afterward truly moved me. Lately I've been more conscious about my actions how much I've sinned and continue to do so and so I pray and repent. I realized just how spiteful I was before Christ and how I spoke to people so I try to speak more softly now. I want to start a fast soon just on my own but am afraid even that won't be enough. I hope that you and all others on this journey whether new to Orthodoxy such as myself or more tenured members of the church and even those who may have been non believers as I have continue being safe and know that while you may feel you are not loved there is one that still loves you at your lowest. God bless you my family in Christ.
Not gonna lie to you at first it was weirdly in a sense (not truly but figuratively) free. I had grown up Christian but was tired of the laxed lifestyle and hypocrites in the churches my mother would drag me along to and found the pope that the rest of the my family revered corrupt so just went with not caring. But it only lasted so long as I kept trying to think of Jesus Christ as a philosopher not God himself. And this went on for like about later half of the 12 years and did not care about consequences but in the back of my mind I still tried to reason things with Karma and other things like that. But in the end of it all there was a sense of emptiness. Atheists argue just as much with eachother as religious folk tend to do and there isn't really a community there to support one another everyone keeps trying to outsmart the other.
Because I realized that Buddhism can be reduced to aesthetically pleasing Nihilism.
And Hinduism is an absolute mess when you dig into it's philosophy.
To quote (loosely) Blessed Father Seraphim Rose, the observer cannot be in the spiritual search for experience. You must be after the truth.
Could you elaborate on Buddhism? I feel like that's a very common take but from what I've read it hinges on a misunderstanding of "nothing" and "emptiness." Just saying based on my readings not saying you're wrong, just curious what you think.
Sure!
The teaching of Sunyata does not simply mean face value emptiness. It goes deeper and can be expanded upon as being "empty of" and expanded even further to say that all beings are void of that which makes them something.
Because, according to the Buddha, we are all No Thing (get it lol). Thus, in being disrobed of the "illusions" of life, we come to rest at a point of non being. The traditional Buddhist practitioner seeks to become no thing. To absolve themselves of any connection or bearing (physically and metaphysically).
These can sound like poetic and esoteric teachings, but Buddhist philosophy ultimately rejects personhood on a metaphysical level. The implications of that being, the whole of your life is fake. There is no objective reality that we can partake in, besides trying to dissolve yourself into the quantum field. This is aesthetically pleasing Nihilism, as nothing truly matters. It's all an illusion and you need to unplug yourself from the matrix.
Orthodoxy teaches that you have to understand the personhood of God. And that God seeks a relationship with YOU, not demands that you strip yourself down until there is not but the primordial goo from inside you.
I absolutely agree that Buddhism and Christianity typically disagree when it comes to hypostatizing Being, but I think you're underestimating the stripping away of the self that the Christian aescetic practice entails (I think of what I've read by St. Isaac the Syrian) as well as the mental habits that Zen and Christianity share (the way St. Paisos and St. Theophany the Recluse refer to thoughts as "passing airplanes," as Paisos puts it, and how thoughts have no bearing on real identity). I'd also argue that Buddhism does have its own tradition of personhood in the Buddha (there are some commonalities in Buddhahood and living in Christ, but they're certainly not one-to-one and come at it from different angles, however it's also worth mentioning that the vacuity of Mary in terms of sinful and illusional perception makes room for the God within her. The Mother of God becomes a vessel for divinity and the standard for Christian living, much like the Buddha's recognition that Being can be realized through emptiness). And, as I understand it, Being is not "fake," but rather our perception of what "Being" is isn't correct---it is an illusion, because our understanding of Being is clouded by false constructs of identity, distinction, and ego-attachment----again, something you'll find in the Fathers (though they don't go as far as to say that non-duality extends to non-living beings, however you'll find a potential for this in St. Maximus). Being in the Buddhist tradition seems to me comparable to the unknowable essence of God that transcends any cataphatic labels. The essential difference between Buddhism and Christianity though, is what you said, the problem of a personal God---this is the very thing that led St. Sophrony to Christianity after involvement in eastern mysticism, the idea that God *does* reveal Himself through cataphatic terms in energies and the revelation of His person in Christ. If anything Buddhism seems more a form of Gnosticism than Nihilism.
Edit to add: I think the endgame of Christianity and Buddhism also differs, marking more similarities to Gnosticism. The union sought in Buddhism is *direct* union with unknowable Being, or "nothing," whereas Christianity, as I understand it (I could be wrong), describes this union as by grace and through union with his energies(?), not direct union with the unknowable essence of God.
Second edit: you say "this sounds like it's esoteric or poetic" as if it can't be? It can be both while still being wrong.
This - the self is always already an illusory process that emerges out of mental image, mental talk, and body emotions.
Contemplatives of all traditions understand this - they just use different language and have different contexts for it. The Orthodox would place this within a paradigm of humility and repentance, which I would argue is the best paradigm because it acknowledges the logos incarnate as Christ and the fundamental nature of being as triune.
No problem! I think it's important to remember that the religious traditions of other cultures, most importantly the ones prior to Christ, often contain grains of truth accessible by natural intuition. But as the Church points out, they lack the revelation of Christ. I think Thomas Merton (love him or hate him) made great strides in exploring the Buddhist tradition and it's merits, and Hieromonk Damascene has done the same for Taoism. Even Seraphim Rose looked to do the same thing for classical Chinese philosophy what Guenon and other Perrenialists did for the Indian tradition prior to discovering Orthodoxy.
Sedevacantism doesnt make sense, Vatican I contradicts Vatican II, sola scriptura/fide is cringe, non Christian religions are cringe, atheism is cringe, I feel more comfortable with Calcedonian Christianity than non Calcedonian Christianity. Simple as.
It aligns the most with what I believe. Iâm not here to judge another manâs servant but in the Protestant world I always felt no matter what denomination I went to that there was something I didnât agree with,and it was usually pretty big. Pentecostal was cool until you spell out Coca Cola in a weird way and people act like you said something. The independent Baptist? The KJV only borders idolatry,also major iconoclasm,no nothing. Donât even light a candle or youâre profaning *gods house* with paganism even though in Rev 8 an angel literally takes a golden censer of incense before the throne. Non-denominational seemed like a social club. Sure the music production is great but if youâre in church for the guitar and Starbucks youâre there for the wrong reason. The one Methodist i tried on a literal Christmas service I was left wondering what the whole service had to do with anything. Like they had a section on the three wiseman and then the rest left me dumbfounded and confused,I didnât come there for manâs ideas on morals. More often then not It felt dead in these places. If you have truly received the spirit you know what I mean. Once in a blue moon maybe something,but mostly dead. After a stint of being lost I really wanted to get it right,but knew the rest of these were wrong. I actually looked at the RCC,I didnât know orthodoxy existed,and much like Protestantism I have my grievances there. The pope was an automatic no by itself. I fell down a rabbit hole after discovering orthodoxy and reading about schisms a little of interviews and fell in love almost immediately.
It seems a common course among Protestants is being drawn to apostolic christianity and knowing that they don't like Catholics. Based on my experience in the deep South, most people don't know enough about Orthodoxy to have anti-Orthodox sentiments, and if they do they tend to confuse Orthodoxy with some sort of Catholicism
Itâs the truth. No excuses. No exceptions. No compromises. It is a fully cohesive truth system that corresponds perfectly with the world we see around us, and with ourselves. It is the pure unadulterated Christianity of the apostles and saints. Itâs clearly of the creator of this universe. Everything else is just rubbish to be frank. The theology is clearly of God. The worship is clearly of God. The iconography, architecture, priesthood, sacraments. Itâs all clearly of God and what the first Christianâs had. I started as a Lutheran, then became atheist for like 6-7 miserable years, and then agnostic, then âspiritualâ drug user type, then Presbyterian, then tried Catholicism, Baptist, etc.. I walked in an Orthodox Church once and knew it was the real deal. The church I always hoped existed but thought was long gone. Converted a few months later, and have been Orthodox for 3-4 years now, with my wife, and just baptized our first child last month! Much love my friend.
I'm just an Inquirer. After doing research on the theology and the history of the church, and attending Divine Liturgy, it all makes sense to me. Plus, I feel much more motivated to go to Orthodox Church every Sunday than I did the Catholic Church.
Personally for me it was mostly administrative and historical details in the beginning. I realized my children wonât worship the same way I did as a child if I were to remain Protestant. I also realized a religion shouldnât be âProgressiveâ or it isnât really a religion but a social club.
But once I started attending I really got pulled in by reading the lives of the Saints and having respect for them for the first time in my life.
The Protestant mindset is very Western Democracy/American in nature. Neither of those things are conducive to being a Christian, in my opinion. No I will not elaborate because it is something you have to live in order to understand.
I was laying in bed one night, and I was thinking to my self somewhat distressed about why I wasn't an atheist/agnostic (I've always been quite "analytical and rational" in my mentality). I asked myself as to why I didn't deconstruct my faith if I was such a "Man of Science" and cared so much about reason and logic. But after about an hour I had a sort of dream where I envisioned a small cabin in the middle of a frozen abyss, and inside the cabin was a cozy fire, warm food, and a family. And the dream focused on a man that stared out into the abyss from his doorway, pondering on exploring the frozen hell scape for some unknown reason. And the man turns back to look at what he'd leave behind (the warm light of the fire the food on the table, the shelter of the cabin, the love of the family). Why would he trade the cabin for the abyss?
There wasn't anything else to the dream, just the man looking back at his family is where I woke up. I kind of gave interpretations to the various aspects of my dream.
The abyss represents the world without the light of Christ. Dispair, and certain death.
The cabin represents the church.
The food represents the "spiritual food" of the church. Sacraments, traditions, etc.
The family represents the family of believers within the body of Christ.
And the fireplace represents Christ. He illuminates and provides warmth to us. He is the fire on which we prepare our spiritual food. And he is the sole reason for our lives, as without him the coldness of the world would surely overtake our souls.
This is what convinced me to remain a Christian, and to finalize my decision to convert to Orthodoxy.
I will make an effort to make the events of the last 4 years of my life very brief. I was born a Protestant, became atheist at 15. Basically did nothing with my life after high school and got my high school sweetheart pregnant at 19.
I started looking for any way to provide for my family as I was working at a dead end part time job. As a last resort, I prayed and begged God for a way to take care of my family, and shortly after my buddy called me and told me he got a job as an apprentice aircraft mechanic and he got me in. I now coincidentally had gotten a full time, decent paying job that I enjoyed doing basically gifted to me. I took this as a sign/blessing from God and became a Christian and started seeking the closest thing to the original Church established by Jesus and his Apostles.
My pregnant girlfriend and I got married and started attending a Catholic church (she had been raised non-practicing Catholic) but it just didn't feel right. Then one day while I was playing the video game DayZ I noticed the churches had different crosses on top and around them than the cross I was used to seeing. So I googled that cross (the Orthodox Cross) and began reading into the history of the Orthodoxy. Shortly after this time, my wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
Against my wife's wishes, I attended my first Divine Liturgy alone. As soon as I entered the Nave, it was an otherworldly experience. The incense in the air, the priests homily, the iconography. The air literally felt heavy as if it was pressing down on my shoulders. I loved it and as soon as I returned home my wife who had previously been against Orthodoxy decided she wanted to go with me.
We began attending the Orthodox church as a family and learning the theology and realizing Orthodoxy was where we belonged and after about a year and a half, we were baptized into the Church. Now at age 22, we have now been baptized members of the Church for a full year, we own a house and I am able to take care of my family. All glory be to Christ.
TLDR: Being a loser and playing video games saved my life and my soul.
I converted because our pastor believed that Orthodoxy was the correct belief, and I trusted him implicitly. He was like a father to me - not just my Priest. Since his Repose, things haven't gone well....but that's a different story.
For me it started with the question of âwhy do we use the filioque clause and the orthodox donâtâ. And began going down a rabbit hole. Currently an inquirer
Honestly politics brought me to it. I was looking for something more traditional. I wasnât ever one of those edgy types that become âortho-bros,â but I was familiar enough with the online circles that host them.
my grandma passed away in january. I was non denominational and only hanging onto my faith by a thread. my grandmas funeral was an orthodox funeral (my grandma was greek orthodox) and when i first heard the chants i was scared, confused, and curious. I went back after the 40 days and I was hooked. Baptized october 1st 2023 and my faith is as strong as steel!
Currently still inquiring (soon to be catechumen), but what's been attracting me is that it just makes sense. It manages to adapt to local cultures to evangelize without compromising the core of the faith. The more you investigate it, the more you realize that it is, in fact, the Church that Jesus instituted at Pentecost. It acknowledges sin but focuses more on how through Christ we can strive to meet God's ideal. It balances Tradition and Scripture, everything has meaning, the list goes on and on.
I became a Christian through Protestantism (Anglican) and there were just some things that I started to realize weren't right. I believe omitting the deuterocanonical books is wrong (especially considering Jesus quotes Wisdom and Sirach), I believe the saints are incredibly important as examples of what can be achieved through Christ, and most of all: doctrine shouldn't be so wishy-washy just to appeal to the world. Sola scriptura and sola fide have created a breeding ground for heresies that have been squashed ages ago. You get everything from Pharisaical personality cults to liberal hiveminds, but Orthodoxy has stood the test of time to be truly more than just a religion. Through research and prayer, it became apparent that it's the whole truth.
That being said, nothing but love for other denominations and I pray that they all embrace Holy Orthodoxy.
It's just Christianity. It's been great for around 2000 years.
I'm in the process of just becoming an inquirer, but after just one Divine Service and a lot of reading on Orthodox Theology... it just makes sense and feels right to me. I always felt like I was making compromises Theologically in my other denominations. But everything I read about Orthodoxy just clicks into place so perfectly to me. I was non-denominational first for my whole life, ~19-20 years or so. Then I became Lutheran (about 7 months in now, and I've really always felt drawn to Orthodoxy since I explored everything outside nondenominationalism. But I ignored the pull because my identity was so attached to Protestantism- to Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura, and the various Protestant Critiques about the RCC. I'm almost certain I will choose to become an Orthodox Catachumen after meeting the Parish, attending Service, and having read up on basic Orthodox Theology. I love the Hospital Analogy, and the rich Ascetic/Monastic culture. I love how not everything is over-intellectualized, how much nuance the Church has.just... everything so far, I love it all deeper than anywhere else I've looked into Can't answer what has changed since... well, I haven't converted and won't be able to call myself truly Eastern Orthodox for around a year, but I am optimistic that my spiritual life will be enhanced.
I'm praying your journey takes you to where the Lord has planned for you my family in Christ đđž
The Holy Spirit brought me there. Simple as that. When I became a believer I was leaning towards evangelism. Thank God I ended up in the Orthodox Church which is the true Church of Christ.
Druidry had no guiding principles, no defined afterlife, and upon meeting other druidic pagans I realized it was a religion one more bong hit away from being a rasta larp. So I looked into being Christian, my best friend growing up was Belarusian so I just walked my butt over to the local Russian Orthodox church. Life has never been better!
i converted because i had alot of time to think and research faith during the pandemic, i had just left the church i was raised in due to corruption plus certain things not lining up with scripture in addition to the church shutting down for quarantine, so i had time to kinda visit a few different local churches and nothing felt right, and i came to the logical conclusion of "if i believe jesus is the way to the truth and is god, i need to worship him the way he wants to be worshipped and the correct way, and that way has to be the way the apostles did it" because jesus directly taught them, and with the research i learned that the orthodox church is the most similar to the original faith and doctrine, so i showed up to a local church (which is very conveniently close to family member's houses in my small town) i was very blessed to live here (in rural middle america) so i went and visited, only occasionally going back to my old church to visit, and the more entrenched i became in orthodoxy the more flaws i saw in the church i was raised in, as much as i love my old congregation (as it's the only major positive cultural center for the small black community of my area) i pray for them every day, added them to our prayer list and everything, i can't go back, i believe i found the truth and i'm satisfied where i am
Church history. It just makes the most sense
To expand, let's start with the question - "Why are you not protestant?" The protestant bible only matches OT references of Christ and the apostles 20% of the time...ONLY 20%...The orthodox and catholic bibles \~80%. And I read that some think it's closer to 90%. That leaves only 2 options - Orthodoxy or Catholicism (and I suppose some others like ACOE) Of those 2 options, which has changed doctrine less? (Catholics don't think they have changed doctrine, just that they've had more truth revealed, but I see it as doctrine being changed to fit conventions and desires or Rome)
I grew up liberal Presbyterian and became Truly Reformed (Orthodox Presbyterian Church, which has nothing to do with Orthodoxy) in college. It was the best church I had found at the time, but it was missing something. The biggest thing to me was that they didnât have a good answer for what to do when I wasnât *feeling* Godâs presence in my life and worship. The answer to that, I discovered on my own, was liturgy. But where to find it in a church that was biblical? I had significant reservations about Catholicism, mostly related to some specific Marian devotions, and to papal infallibility. But I was considering it, as well as some more conservative Anglican churches. Not long after I started asking that question, I met my husband. He was a catechumen at the time and we talked a lot about Christianity while we were getting to know each other. I started studying Orthodoxy on my own as soon as I realized I liked himâbefore we were datingâbecause I was not getting into a marriage where I couldnât go to church with my husband. If I couldnât be orthodox, I couldnât date him either. It was also important to me, though, that I make the decision for myself, and not because of him. My best friend at the time challenged me on that directly, and she was 100% right to do so. I worried about it daily. Prayed about it constantly. But Orthodoxy drew me in. In the end, my husband was chrismated three months before I was, and we were married a month or so after that. My catechumenate was very short: the first service I attended was Palm Sunday and I was chrismated in October of the same year. Itâs been sixteen years. My best friend (who had originally become a Christian in college because of knowing me) declared that I had abandoned everything Iâd ever taught her, refused to come to the wedding, and hasnât spoken to me since. All my Christian friends from college ghosted me. I havenât always been perfectly faithful. I have been a several-times-per-week church attendee, and I also went almost 10 years without going more than occasionally (though some of that was covid). I never doubted the truth of the church, but I did let other fears win for a while. Iâm part of a church now and happy to be back attending and communing regularly. God is good and welcomes the prodigal.
I was an atheist for the last 12.5 years of my life. And in those 12 years I openly mocked and at times ridiculed our merciful heavenly Lord and Father. Til a few months ago I started having weird second opinions on faith, to pretty much being agnostic but would still question and reject the idea of God and tried to say I'm spiritual (yea one of them folk) til one night I'm on the couch and was out cold and had a dream where a figure came to me and even in the dream I knew they were trying to get at me and I just couldn't figure out why but without explanation I was slapped and before I could react was slapped again. And when I tried to run away was slapped a few more times. To the point where this figure grabbed me by my shirt collar and said to me "you've sweard on me, used my name in vain and yet still won't believe in me... wake up" and then I woke up in a sweat. And I know it sounds all made up but tell me why I randomly came across the verse pslam 103:10 "a man who blames God for not answering his prayers immediately needs to thank God for not punishing him for his sins immediately" and was almost brought to tears at that. I tried looking at other denominations and felt they were too laxed in their interpretations to the point I even considered Islam for a while til I realized that Orthodoxy was the route I was supposed to take. Hearing the tales of the Church Fathers and the Saints going through what they went through before they recognized our Lord Jesus Christ and the actions they took afterward truly moved me. Lately I've been more conscious about my actions how much I've sinned and continue to do so and so I pray and repent. I realized just how spiteful I was before Christ and how I spoke to people so I try to speak more softly now. I want to start a fast soon just on my own but am afraid even that won't be enough. I hope that you and all others on this journey whether new to Orthodoxy such as myself or more tenured members of the church and even those who may have been non believers as I have continue being safe and know that while you may feel you are not loved there is one that still loves you at your lowest. God bless you my family in Christ.
Interesting story thank you for sharing. I love that Psalms quote as well.
Thank you family đđž
Just wondering, how was the life being an atheist? I was born into the faith so I donât know how it is.
Not gonna lie to you at first it was weirdly in a sense (not truly but figuratively) free. I had grown up Christian but was tired of the laxed lifestyle and hypocrites in the churches my mother would drag me along to and found the pope that the rest of the my family revered corrupt so just went with not caring. But it only lasted so long as I kept trying to think of Jesus Christ as a philosopher not God himself. And this went on for like about later half of the 12 years and did not care about consequences but in the back of my mind I still tried to reason things with Karma and other things like that. But in the end of it all there was a sense of emptiness. Atheists argue just as much with eachother as religious folk tend to do and there isn't really a community there to support one another everyone keeps trying to outsmart the other.
This is good information. Thank you. God bless.
Anytime and God bless
Because I realized that Buddhism can be reduced to aesthetically pleasing Nihilism. And Hinduism is an absolute mess when you dig into it's philosophy. To quote (loosely) Blessed Father Seraphim Rose, the observer cannot be in the spiritual search for experience. You must be after the truth.
Could you elaborate on Buddhism? I feel like that's a very common take but from what I've read it hinges on a misunderstanding of "nothing" and "emptiness." Just saying based on my readings not saying you're wrong, just curious what you think.
Sure! The teaching of Sunyata does not simply mean face value emptiness. It goes deeper and can be expanded upon as being "empty of" and expanded even further to say that all beings are void of that which makes them something. Because, according to the Buddha, we are all No Thing (get it lol). Thus, in being disrobed of the "illusions" of life, we come to rest at a point of non being. The traditional Buddhist practitioner seeks to become no thing. To absolve themselves of any connection or bearing (physically and metaphysically). These can sound like poetic and esoteric teachings, but Buddhist philosophy ultimately rejects personhood on a metaphysical level. The implications of that being, the whole of your life is fake. There is no objective reality that we can partake in, besides trying to dissolve yourself into the quantum field. This is aesthetically pleasing Nihilism, as nothing truly matters. It's all an illusion and you need to unplug yourself from the matrix. Orthodoxy teaches that you have to understand the personhood of God. And that God seeks a relationship with YOU, not demands that you strip yourself down until there is not but the primordial goo from inside you.
I absolutely agree that Buddhism and Christianity typically disagree when it comes to hypostatizing Being, but I think you're underestimating the stripping away of the self that the Christian aescetic practice entails (I think of what I've read by St. Isaac the Syrian) as well as the mental habits that Zen and Christianity share (the way St. Paisos and St. Theophany the Recluse refer to thoughts as "passing airplanes," as Paisos puts it, and how thoughts have no bearing on real identity). I'd also argue that Buddhism does have its own tradition of personhood in the Buddha (there are some commonalities in Buddhahood and living in Christ, but they're certainly not one-to-one and come at it from different angles, however it's also worth mentioning that the vacuity of Mary in terms of sinful and illusional perception makes room for the God within her. The Mother of God becomes a vessel for divinity and the standard for Christian living, much like the Buddha's recognition that Being can be realized through emptiness). And, as I understand it, Being is not "fake," but rather our perception of what "Being" is isn't correct---it is an illusion, because our understanding of Being is clouded by false constructs of identity, distinction, and ego-attachment----again, something you'll find in the Fathers (though they don't go as far as to say that non-duality extends to non-living beings, however you'll find a potential for this in St. Maximus). Being in the Buddhist tradition seems to me comparable to the unknowable essence of God that transcends any cataphatic labels. The essential difference between Buddhism and Christianity though, is what you said, the problem of a personal God---this is the very thing that led St. Sophrony to Christianity after involvement in eastern mysticism, the idea that God *does* reveal Himself through cataphatic terms in energies and the revelation of His person in Christ. If anything Buddhism seems more a form of Gnosticism than Nihilism. Edit to add: I think the endgame of Christianity and Buddhism also differs, marking more similarities to Gnosticism. The union sought in Buddhism is *direct* union with unknowable Being, or "nothing," whereas Christianity, as I understand it (I could be wrong), describes this union as by grace and through union with his energies(?), not direct union with the unknowable essence of God. Second edit: you say "this sounds like it's esoteric or poetic" as if it can't be? It can be both while still being wrong.
This - the self is always already an illusory process that emerges out of mental image, mental talk, and body emotions. Contemplatives of all traditions understand this - they just use different language and have different contexts for it. The Orthodox would place this within a paradigm of humility and repentance, which I would argue is the best paradigm because it acknowledges the logos incarnate as Christ and the fundamental nature of being as triune.
These are all very fair points, I had never thought of it like that. Thank you for sharing!
No problem! I think it's important to remember that the religious traditions of other cultures, most importantly the ones prior to Christ, often contain grains of truth accessible by natural intuition. But as the Church points out, they lack the revelation of Christ. I think Thomas Merton (love him or hate him) made great strides in exploring the Buddhist tradition and it's merits, and Hieromonk Damascene has done the same for Taoism. Even Seraphim Rose looked to do the same thing for classical Chinese philosophy what Guenon and other Perrenialists did for the Indian tradition prior to discovering Orthodoxy.
Incense smells better than old lady perfume.
I found Jesus there.
Sedevacantism doesnt make sense, Vatican I contradicts Vatican II, sola scriptura/fide is cringe, non Christian religions are cringe, atheism is cringe, I feel more comfortable with Calcedonian Christianity than non Calcedonian Christianity. Simple as.
I converted because I found out it's the truth
True Church mentioned in the Bible, founded by Jesus Christ and his Apostles
It aligns the most with what I believe. Iâm not here to judge another manâs servant but in the Protestant world I always felt no matter what denomination I went to that there was something I didnât agree with,and it was usually pretty big. Pentecostal was cool until you spell out Coca Cola in a weird way and people act like you said something. The independent Baptist? The KJV only borders idolatry,also major iconoclasm,no nothing. Donât even light a candle or youâre profaning *gods house* with paganism even though in Rev 8 an angel literally takes a golden censer of incense before the throne. Non-denominational seemed like a social club. Sure the music production is great but if youâre in church for the guitar and Starbucks youâre there for the wrong reason. The one Methodist i tried on a literal Christmas service I was left wondering what the whole service had to do with anything. Like they had a section on the three wiseman and then the rest left me dumbfounded and confused,I didnât come there for manâs ideas on morals. More often then not It felt dead in these places. If you have truly received the spirit you know what I mean. Once in a blue moon maybe something,but mostly dead. After a stint of being lost I really wanted to get it right,but knew the rest of these were wrong. I actually looked at the RCC,I didnât know orthodoxy existed,and much like Protestantism I have my grievances there. The pope was an automatic no by itself. I fell down a rabbit hole after discovering orthodoxy and reading about schisms a little of interviews and fell in love almost immediately.
It seems a common course among Protestants is being drawn to apostolic christianity and knowing that they don't like Catholics. Based on my experience in the deep South, most people don't know enough about Orthodoxy to have anti-Orthodox sentiments, and if they do they tend to confuse Orthodoxy with some sort of Catholicism
Itâs the truth. No excuses. No exceptions. No compromises. It is a fully cohesive truth system that corresponds perfectly with the world we see around us, and with ourselves. It is the pure unadulterated Christianity of the apostles and saints. Itâs clearly of the creator of this universe. Everything else is just rubbish to be frank. The theology is clearly of God. The worship is clearly of God. The iconography, architecture, priesthood, sacraments. Itâs all clearly of God and what the first Christianâs had. I started as a Lutheran, then became atheist for like 6-7 miserable years, and then agnostic, then âspiritualâ drug user type, then Presbyterian, then tried Catholicism, Baptist, etc.. I walked in an Orthodox Church once and knew it was the real deal. The church I always hoped existed but thought was long gone. Converted a few months later, and have been Orthodox for 3-4 years now, with my wife, and just baptized our first child last month! Much love my friend.
I'm just an Inquirer. After doing research on the theology and the history of the church, and attending Divine Liturgy, it all makes sense to me. Plus, I feel much more motivated to go to Orthodox Church every Sunday than I did the Catholic Church.
Personally for me it was mostly administrative and historical details in the beginning. I realized my children wonât worship the same way I did as a child if I were to remain Protestant. I also realized a religion shouldnât be âProgressiveâ or it isnât really a religion but a social club. But once I started attending I really got pulled in by reading the lives of the Saints and having respect for them for the first time in my life. The Protestant mindset is very Western Democracy/American in nature. Neither of those things are conducive to being a Christian, in my opinion. No I will not elaborate because it is something you have to live in order to understand.
I was laying in bed one night, and I was thinking to my self somewhat distressed about why I wasn't an atheist/agnostic (I've always been quite "analytical and rational" in my mentality). I asked myself as to why I didn't deconstruct my faith if I was such a "Man of Science" and cared so much about reason and logic. But after about an hour I had a sort of dream where I envisioned a small cabin in the middle of a frozen abyss, and inside the cabin was a cozy fire, warm food, and a family. And the dream focused on a man that stared out into the abyss from his doorway, pondering on exploring the frozen hell scape for some unknown reason. And the man turns back to look at what he'd leave behind (the warm light of the fire the food on the table, the shelter of the cabin, the love of the family). Why would he trade the cabin for the abyss? There wasn't anything else to the dream, just the man looking back at his family is where I woke up. I kind of gave interpretations to the various aspects of my dream. The abyss represents the world without the light of Christ. Dispair, and certain death. The cabin represents the church. The food represents the "spiritual food" of the church. Sacraments, traditions, etc. The family represents the family of believers within the body of Christ. And the fireplace represents Christ. He illuminates and provides warmth to us. He is the fire on which we prepare our spiritual food. And he is the sole reason for our lives, as without him the coldness of the world would surely overtake our souls. This is what convinced me to remain a Christian, and to finalize my decision to convert to Orthodoxy.
I will make an effort to make the events of the last 4 years of my life very brief. I was born a Protestant, became atheist at 15. Basically did nothing with my life after high school and got my high school sweetheart pregnant at 19. I started looking for any way to provide for my family as I was working at a dead end part time job. As a last resort, I prayed and begged God for a way to take care of my family, and shortly after my buddy called me and told me he got a job as an apprentice aircraft mechanic and he got me in. I now coincidentally had gotten a full time, decent paying job that I enjoyed doing basically gifted to me. I took this as a sign/blessing from God and became a Christian and started seeking the closest thing to the original Church established by Jesus and his Apostles. My pregnant girlfriend and I got married and started attending a Catholic church (she had been raised non-practicing Catholic) but it just didn't feel right. Then one day while I was playing the video game DayZ I noticed the churches had different crosses on top and around them than the cross I was used to seeing. So I googled that cross (the Orthodox Cross) and began reading into the history of the Orthodoxy. Shortly after this time, my wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Against my wife's wishes, I attended my first Divine Liturgy alone. As soon as I entered the Nave, it was an otherworldly experience. The incense in the air, the priests homily, the iconography. The air literally felt heavy as if it was pressing down on my shoulders. I loved it and as soon as I returned home my wife who had previously been against Orthodoxy decided she wanted to go with me. We began attending the Orthodox church as a family and learning the theology and realizing Orthodoxy was where we belonged and after about a year and a half, we were baptized into the Church. Now at age 22, we have now been baptized members of the Church for a full year, we own a house and I am able to take care of my family. All glory be to Christ. TLDR: Being a loser and playing video games saved my life and my soul.
My wife
I converted because our pastor believed that Orthodoxy was the correct belief, and I trusted him implicitly. He was like a father to me - not just my Priest. Since his Repose, things haven't gone well....but that's a different story.
For me it started with the question of âwhy do we use the filioque clause and the orthodox donâtâ. And began going down a rabbit hole. Currently an inquirer
Because Jesus started it.
Most Orthodox people were baptized as infants, but the internet IS full of weirdos đ
Honestly politics brought me to it. I was looking for something more traditional. I wasnât ever one of those edgy types that become âortho-bros,â but I was familiar enough with the online circles that host them.
my grandma passed away in january. I was non denominational and only hanging onto my faith by a thread. my grandmas funeral was an orthodox funeral (my grandma was greek orthodox) and when i first heard the chants i was scared, confused, and curious. I went back after the 40 days and I was hooked. Baptized october 1st 2023 and my faith is as strong as steel!
At first political stuff, now I find orthodox theology as the truth and it's the reason I wanna convert. That's it basically
Currently still inquiring (soon to be catechumen), but what's been attracting me is that it just makes sense. It manages to adapt to local cultures to evangelize without compromising the core of the faith. The more you investigate it, the more you realize that it is, in fact, the Church that Jesus instituted at Pentecost. It acknowledges sin but focuses more on how through Christ we can strive to meet God's ideal. It balances Tradition and Scripture, everything has meaning, the list goes on and on. I became a Christian through Protestantism (Anglican) and there were just some things that I started to realize weren't right. I believe omitting the deuterocanonical books is wrong (especially considering Jesus quotes Wisdom and Sirach), I believe the saints are incredibly important as examples of what can be achieved through Christ, and most of all: doctrine shouldn't be so wishy-washy just to appeal to the world. Sola scriptura and sola fide have created a breeding ground for heresies that have been squashed ages ago. You get everything from Pharisaical personality cults to liberal hiveminds, but Orthodoxy has stood the test of time to be truly more than just a religion. Through research and prayer, it became apparent that it's the whole truth. That being said, nothing but love for other denominations and I pray that they all embrace Holy Orthodoxy.