Korean Orthodox here. I was a Buddhist most of my life until the Lord came to me and opened my eyes. God bless my Christian brothers and sisters ☦️☦️☦️
@@Gavin_Francis_123 ^^what he said lol. But also another doctrine of Buddhism I never agreed with was the fact that there is no higher power in sense there is no one to worship in Buddhism. And the entire journey of enlightenment is very self based and I personally don’t believe that our main focus of life should ourselves, that seems very selfish to me. Still so much love and respect to all of my old teachers and monks I studied under but I am reborn and cannot go back after being revealed the Truth
@@borivojpopovic9488 There are much more complex answers that most people in the comments will not understand, as most who are believers at the level of going to church for Easter and Christmas and that's it. How do you explain to such believers who do not understand the answer to the question of which God do you believe in and what is his name? 75% will not know how to answer that they believe in the Holy Trinity( mada je i ovo los izraz jer postoji razlika i to velika kada kazes Sveto Trojstvo i Sveta Trojica, gde se tom based answer nece objasnjavati o ipostasu jer nece nio razumeti ni rec).
Your dad is living the absolute best life possible, serving Christ with the totality of his being as a priest but also able to have your mother and you in his life, I could only dream of having his life (and I don't imagine I can). I am Catholic, I am paralyzed by all our rules, and there's always a 'legal case brief' to stunt questions or concerns about our cantankerous system. I am curious how Orthodox explain away the primacy of Peter as Christ declares that "upon this rock, I built my church," establishing him as the head of the universal church. I have heard Orthodox answer that it was actually Peter's recognition that Jesus was the Christ which established the faith of the Church, and this was what that meant, but I would be very curious to know if that is the truth. I think there has to be a head, a vicar, and even the Orthodox once recognized the Bishop of Rome as a first among equals, but I've heard convincing arguments in favor of a Pope, and now even the Orthodox Church itself is in schism, lots of conspiracy theories going around, and that's disturbing, especially with how the Russian Church functions. I really want to believe in Orthodoxy, because its spirituality is absolute bliss that brings me to the light, but I worry about the Catholic claims against it. We have our own Orthodox, but they do not have many accessible churches near me, while (thank God) Eastern Orthodoxy does.
2. Mojsijeva 20:4-6 NSPL [4] Ne pravi sebi idola, ni obličja od bilo čega što je gore na nebesima, ili dole na zemlji, ili u vodi pod zemljom. [5] Ne klanjaj im se, niti im služi. Jer sam ja, Gospod, tvoj Bog, ljubomorni Bog, koji kažnjava decu zbog krivice njihovih otaca, do trećeg i četvrtog kolena - onih koji me mrze, [6] ali iskazujem milost hiljadama koji me ljube i vrše moje zapovesti. Zanima me da li mislis da su ikone ok prema Mojsiju?
@@lazarnikolic8385 Razumem da je Borjan rekao ali pitam se da li treba da verujem njemu ili Svetom pismu? Cetiri poglavlja posle zabrane da se pravi oblicije bilo cega na nebesima evo sta kaze sveto pismo 2. Mojsijeva 24:9-11 NSPL [9] Posle toga se Mojsije popeo sa Aronom, Nadavom, Avijudom i sedamdesetoricom izrailjskih starešina. [10] Oni su videli Boga Izrailjevog. Pod njegovim nogama je bilo nešto kao postolje od čistog safira, jasno kao sâmo nebo. [11] Bog nije dizao svoju ruku na glavare Izrailjaca. Gledali su Boga, jeli i pili. Videli su Boga ali im nije bilo dozvoljeno da prave oblik. Evo i kasnije proroka Knjiga proroka Isaije 6:1-5 NSPL [1] Godine kad je umro car Ozija videh Gospoda kako sedi na visokom i uzdignutom prestolu, a skuti njegovog plašta su ispunjavali hram. [2] Iznad njega su se postavili šestokrili serafimi. Svaki je imao šestora krila: dvama je zaklanjao lice, dvama je pokrivao noge, a dvama krilima je leteo. [3] Oni su klicali jedan drugom i govorili: „Svet, svet, svet je Gospod nad vojskama! Puna je sva zemlja slave njegove!“ [4] Od glasa onog koji kliče zatresli su se dovraci na pragovima i Dom se napunio dimom. [5] Na to sam rekao: „Teško meni, propao sam, jer sam čovek nečistih usana, i stanujem sred naroda nečistih usana; a Cara, Gospoda nad vojskama, videle su oči moje!“
@@lazarnikolic8385 Knjiga proroka Isaije 6:1-5 NSPL [1] Godine kad je umro car Ozija videh Gospoda kako sedi na visokom i uzdignutom prestolu, a skuti njegovog plašta su ispunjavali hram. [2] Iznad njega su se postavili šestokrili serafimi. Svaki je imao šestora krila: dvama je zaklanjao lice, dvama je pokrivao noge, a dvama krilima je leteo. [3] Oni su klicali jedan drugom i govorili: „Svet, svet, svet je Gospod nad vojskama! Puna je sva zemlja slave njegove!“ [4] Od glasa onog koji kliče zatresli su se dovraci na pragovima i Dom se napunio dimom. [5] Na to sam rekao: „Teško meni, propao sam, jer sam čovek nečistih usana, i stanujem sred naroda nečistih usana; a Cara, Gospoda nad vojskama, videle su oči moje!“ 2. Mojsijeva 24:9-11 NSPL [9] Posle toga se Mojsije popeo sa Aronom, Nadavom, Avijudom i sedamdesetoricom izrailjskih starešina. [10] Oni su videli Boga Izrailjevog. Pod njegovim nogama je bilo nešto kao postolje od čistog safira, jasno kao sâmo nebo. [11] Bog nije dizao svoju ruku na glavare Izrailjaca. Gledali su Boga, jeli i pili. Cuo sam sta je rekao ali ili je on u pravu ili je Sveto pismo. Izraelci su videli boga posle zapovesti ali nisu mogli da prave oblicije stvari na nebu?
@@kilervgmmm Hristos se kao lik Božiji javio ljudima i dopustio im da ga vide. Isto tako, za vreme Preobraženja Hristovog, Mojsije i Ilija su ga takođe pogledali i razgovarali s njim. Čak je i Sveti apostol i jevanđelist Luka prvi ikonopisac. Njegova prva ikona bila je Bogorodica. Ako želiš da budeš ikonoklasta, slobodno napravi vremeplov i vrati se u 8. vek.
American Orthodox here! Glad to see so many interested in learning more about the one holy, catholic and apostolic church! We 'have the receipts' throughout history, since the very start of the Church, if one only takes the time and effort to look into the truth for themselves, as I did.
Чел, я иногда захожу на каналы для верующих, Русскоязычные, однако тех кто пишет грамотно меньшинство, а на английском ты написал грамотнее чем многие верующие на своём пишут.
Online arguments can be so frustratingly unfruitful. Pride dominates and the truth gets pushed aside. Even if I am right, I do a disservice to the truth, getting puffed up and trying to prove myself right. May God grant us all the humility to allow the Light of the Truth to enlighten our darkness. Glory to Jesus Christ.
Absolutely agree. They do no service to the souls of my brothers and sisters. Plus they aren’t likely to change the opinion of whomever is arguing. Sincere debates are almost never present online.
Well if you are here conversing with people to test your faith or prove you are right you are in the wrong place for motive. I believe our motive for as Orthodox should be to spread the truth. We put out the info. I don’t care if a half a present of people that read my comments have humility and act on them. And I do get people who find me again and thank me for my comments because it made them stop and think.
@@katiek.8808 Well I should pray for more tact and humility with responses. That’s wonderful to hear about your getting such positive feedback from your speaking the truth in love.
Excerpt from “The Historic Church” by historian John Morris The Jesuits extended their efforts to win adherents for Rome not only among Protestants, but also among the Orthodox. They adopted what one Roman Catholic scholar has called a “Trojan horse policy,” to establish a group of clergy and laity within the Orthodox Churches who accepted the papal claims and worked secretly to extend the power of Rome over the Orthodox Churches.628 Eventually, this led to a series of schisms from the Orthodox Church that created a group of Eastern Catholic Churches. Eastern Catholics follow Eastern Orthodox forms of worship, and have married priests, but also accept the authority of the Pope. Through their relationship with Rome, they also accept Roman Catholic doctrine, although some Eastern Catholics have retained more Orthodox teachings than others. The existence of rival bodies in union with Rome but which outwardly looked Orthodox has been a constant source of conflict and tension between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Churches. Disagreements over the Uniate Churches have led to the break down of more than one dialogue between Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics. The Union of Brest in 1596 and the Birth of the Eastern Catholic Churches The first and largest Eastern Catholic Church began in Ukraine in 1596. The Orthodox Church in the lands that are now the Ukraine and Russia began in 988. At that time, the ruler or Grand Duke of Kiev governed Rus, a loose federation of principalities in what is now Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, as well as parts of what is now Poland, and Slovakia. As recorded in The Primary Chronicle, the most ancient Russian historical text, St. Vladimir, the ruler of Kiev and grandson of St. Olga, who became a Christian as early as 955, was dissatisfied with the primitive paganism of his people. He appointed a committee to study various religions and to recommend a new more suitable faith. The committee rejected Islam because they found no “joy” in the religion. They also refused to accept the prohibition on alcoholic beverages which is part of Muslim teaching. They then went to Germany where they found Western Christianity more satisfactory. However, overwhelmed by the beauty of the Orthodox Liturgy, they witnessed in Constantinople, they reported, “We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendor or beauty anywhere upon earth. We cannot describe it to you; only this we know, that God dwells there among humans, and that their service surpasses the worship of all other places.”629 As a result, St. Vladimir and his people became Orthodox Christians. There is no doubt that the advantages of an alliance with the Orthodox Byzantine Empire played a major role in his decision. Although Kiev enjoyed a brief time of growth and prosperity following its conversion, it soon entered a period of decline. In 1169, Prince Andrew Bogoliubsky, the ruler of Rostov and Suzdal, attacked and occupied Kiev. After his victory, he assumed the title of Grand Duke, but instead of taking up residence in Kiev, he established his court in the more northern city of Vladimir. In 1237, the Asiatic Mongols began to invade the Eastern Slavic lands, leading to Mongolian domination that lasted until the fifteenth century. The decline of Kiev and the Mongolian conquest prepared the way for the rise of Moscow, which became the capital of the Russian state. In 1300, Metropolitan Maxim, the leader of the Orthodox Church in Kiev, moved to Vladimir, completing the decline of Kiev. These events created a power vacuum in the Western part of Rus that the Grand Dukes of Lithuania were quick to fill. The Lithuanians conquered the southwestern part of the areas once ruled by Kiev. In 1569, Lithuania entered into a dynastic union with Poland. Thus, the conquered area fell under Polish rule.630 The new rulers of Ukraine and the surrounding territories were dedicated Roman Catholics. Sigismund III, who became the King of Poland in 1587, actively persecuted the Orthodox Christians living under his rule. With Jesuit support, he pressured several Orthodox bishops to accept papal primacy. On December 23, 1595, Pope Clement VIII agreed that if Orthodox accepted his authority, they could retain Eastern Orthodox forms of worship and their married priests, thereby establishing the Ukrainian Catholic Church. At the Council of Brest-Litovsk in October 1596, a group of former Orthodox bishops officially ratified the agreement with Rome. Prince Radziwill, Sigismund’s representative in Brest, prevented the Orthodox Bishops and their supporters from participating in the discussions.631 Because the Ukrainian Catholic and all Eastern Catholic Churches are based on the principles of the Union of Brest Litovsk, they are frequently called Uniates, although some Eastern Catholics find the term offensive. The Polish King then began a systematic persecution of those who rejected the union with Rome. On October 15, 1596, just a few days after the conclusion of the Council of Brest, he issued a decree declaring membership in the Orthodox Church an act of treason and banning the Orthodox Church in his lands.632 He ordered Orthodox Bishops replaced by Uniate Bishops, and he took church buildings from the Orthodox and gave them to the Eastern Catholics. The Polish king also supported Josaphat Kuntsevich, the Uniate Bishop of Polotsk. Josaphat, considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, was a radical papist who ordered the removal of the graves of Orthodox Christians to “purify” the lands around the former Orthodox Churches that had been given to the Uniates. Because their forms of worship come from the Byzantine Church, which was predominately Greek, the Uniates also call themselves Greek Catholics.633 In 1646, a group of Orthodox in Sub-Carpathian Russia, an area that had once been ruled by Kiev but had passed to Hungarian control, yielded to pressure from their Roman Catholic rulers to accept the Union of Uzhorod, an agreement similar to the Union of Brest-Litovsk. This established another Uniate Church, known in the United States as the Byzantine Catholics. Meanwhile, some Rumanian Orthodox Christians living in Transylvania, an area conquered also by Hungary, yielded to pressure from their Roman Catholic rulers to submit to Rome at the synod of Alba Julia of October 1696, thereby establishing the Rumanian Catholic Church.634 Supported by the Roman Catholic authorities, the Uniate Churches grew and prospered at the expense of the Orthodox Church. By 1946, there were about 3,500,000 Eastern Rite Catholics in Ukraine. However, after the Second World War, Joseph Stalin, the ruler of the Soviet Union who was no friend of the Orthodox Church but feared papal influence even more than Orthodoxy, forced the Ukrainian Catholics to disband the Union of Brest-Litovsk and to rejoin the Orthodox Church at the Council of Lvov in 1946. Eastern Catholics in the rest of Eastern Europe under Soviet domination suffered the same fate, as the communist rulers forced them to accept the authority of the local Orthodox bishops. It is unfair to blame the Orthodox for Stalin’s persecution of the Eastern Catholics. The Russian dictator also persecuted the Orthodox. Indeed, in 1946, the Orthodox were in no position to reject Stalin’s plan to force the Uniates to convert to Orthodoxy. Significantly, some Orthodox leaders, such as Archbishop Palladii of Lvov and Ternopol, tried to help the Uniates during the time of Stalinist persecution.635 During the decline and fall of the Soviet Union and Communism in the 1980s, the Eastern Catholic Churches emerged from persecution and demanded the return of all church buildings that had once been Uniate. The Orthodox officials suggested that each community decide for itself whether or not to remain Orthodox or to return to Eastern Catholic Church. However, the Uniates rejected this proposal. Instead they demanded possession of all buildings that had belonged to the Unia before Stalin regardless of the wishes of the people. The conflict has been especially bitter in the Ukraine. Although the Orthodox tried to reach a compromise with the followers of Rome, some Uniates refuse to settle for anything less than a complete victory for their cause. There a Committee for the Defense of the Ukrainian Catholic Church led by Iva Ghel, used violence to seize Orthodox buildings for the Unia. Similar conflict between Uniates and Orthodox took place throughout Eastern Europe. As a result, Orthodox Roman Catholic relations entered into a new period of tension.636 The Melkites and Eastern Catholicism in the Middle East The Jesuits and other Roman Catholics were also active in the Middle East. With the support of French diplomats, the Roman Catholics carried on an active campaign to convince clergy and Faithful of the Patriarchate of Antioch to accept papal authority. Throughout the seventeenth century, several Patriarchs of Antioch may have secretly accepted the authority of the Pope. When Athanasisu III died in 1724, a group of pro-Roman bishops elected Seraphim Tanas, who had received his education in Rome, to the vacant Patriarchal throne. After assuming office, as Cyril VI, he openly submitted to papal authority. However, the Orthodox bishops of the Antiochian Church rejected the pro-Roman Patriarch. With the support of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, they chose a Greek monk from Mt. Athos, Sylvester, who became the Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. Because the new Patriarch taught strict adherence to the fasting traditions of the Church, the Uniates attracted members by offering them an appearance of Orthodoxy through services that are almost identical to those of the Orthodox Church, together with a much more lax religion that did not expect its followers to follow the ascetic practices of the Orthodox Church.637
Continued…. “Ironically, the followers of Rome who left the Orthodox Church of Antioch chose to call themselves “Melkites,” a title which comes from the Syriac and Arabic words for king originally used to describe the Chalcedonian Orthodox due to their allegiance to the Church of the Byzantine Emperor. After they established their own Church, the Uniates used generous subsidies from France and other Roman Catholic countries to entice Orthodox to leave their Church and join the Eastern Catholic Church. The Romanists also persuaded Orthodox to convert to the Unia by offering education in the schools and medical care in the hospitals they were able to build with moneys sent from European Roman Catholics. Under the Turks, the Orthodox Patriarch had certain judicial powers, including the right to sentence an offender to prison or galleys. However, those guilty of offenses could escape punishment by joining the Melkites and then could count on diplomats from France and other Roman Catholic countries to use their influence with the Turks to protect them.638 In 1750, the Melkite Patriarch consecrated Joseph Babilas to serve as the Uniate Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt.639 Orthodox Objections to Eastern Catholicism The existence of the Eastern Catholic Churches has been a constant source of disagreements between Orthodox and Roman Catholics for several reasons. Orthodox see the establishment of the Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome as a form of ecclesiastical imperialism. When the Pope extended his jurisdiction into the canonical territory of the Orthodox Patriarch, it showed that the Roman Church considered the local Orthodox Churches defective because they had not accepted Rome’s “expansionist” claims.640 These tensions erupted in legal actions and violence following the demise of Communist domination in Eastern Europe when the reorganized Uniate Churches sought to regain control over properties that had once been theirs but which has been Orthodox for almost half a century. However, even without the violence, Orthodox find it offensive when Roman agents use clandestine campaigns to persuade Orthodox to convert to the Eastern Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. Orthodox authorities also object to the confusion among the Faithful caused by clergy and buildings that look Orthodox, but are really Roman Catholic because of their allegiance to the papacy. Some Eastern Catholics claim to be “Orthodox in communion with Rome.” However, by accepting the Roman claims to supremacy and with them, Roman Catholic doctrines, Eastern Catholics have broken from Orthodoxy and cannot legitimately claim to be Orthodox. Some Eastern Catholics attract Orthodox by emphasizing ethnicism or local nationalism. Others offer Orthodox an opportunity to escape the discipline of the Orthodox Church. The Eastern Catholic Churches have also caused concern for the Orthodox because they have seen that Latin authorities frequently treat their Eastern Catholic brethren with a superior attitude. The union with Rome has led to the Latinization of several Eastern Catholic groups. For example, some of them abandoned the ancient Orthodox practice of infant communion and introduced the Latin custom of “First Communion.” Others not only commemorate the Pope, but also have added the filioque clause to the Creed. Some have greatly abbreviated traditional Orthodox services in a manner not unlike the post-Vatican II Roman Catholic Mass. Some Eastern Catholic Churches have statues. Some Eastern Catholic faithful practice such Latin devotions as the rosary and devotion to the sacred heart. When Eastern Catholics came to the United States and Canada, the local Latin authorities prevailed on Rome to forbid married Uniate priests from serving Eastern Catholic communities in the new world. This violation of the various agreements that had established the various Eastern Catholic Churches led many former Eastern Catholics to become Orthodox after they immigrated to America. Beginning in Minneapolis in 1892, Father Alexi Toth, considered a Saint by the Orthodox Church, led thousands of Uniates into the Russian Orthodox Church after suffering persecution from the local Latin authorities. In 1938, Orestes Chornock of Bridgeport, Connecticut led a group of Carpatho-Russians from the Unia into the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.641 References: 628 Aidan Nicholas OP Rome and the Eastern Churches (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1992), p. 283 629 Ware, The Orthodox Church, p. 264 630 Michael T. Florinsky, Russia: A History and An Interpretation (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1970), pp.31, 41, 44 631 Ibid., pp. 258-259; Runciman, The Great Church in Captivity, pp. 262-264 632 Dimitry Pospierlovsky, The Orthodox Church in The History of Russia, (Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1998), p. 93 633 Ibid. 634 Nichols, Rome and the Eastern Churches, p. 294, 299-300 635Pospiellovsky, The Orthodox Church in the History of Russia, p.363 636 Igor Troyanovsky, ed. Religion in the Soviet Republics: A Guide to Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Other Religions, (San Francisco: Harper, 1991, pp. 126-127; Pospiellovsky, The Orthodox Church in the History of Russia, p. 364 637 Constantius, “The Patriarchs of Antioch,” in Neale, A History of the Holy Eastern Church: The Patriarchate of Antioch, p. 184 638 “The Church of Antioch,” and “State of the Patriarchate of Antioch in 1850” in Ibid., pp,206, 215 639 Runciman, The Great Church, pp. 234-235 640 Ignatius IV, Orthodoxy & The Issues of Our Time, p. 105 641 Constance J. Tarasar, ed. Orthodox America 1794-1776: Development of the Orthodox Church in America, (Syosset, New York: The Orthodox Church in America, Department of History and Archives, 1975), pp. 53, 191
@@cypher6938 Excerpt from “The Historic church” by John Morris” Orthodox Objections to Eastern Catholicism The existence of the Eastern Catholic Churches has been a constant source of disagreements between Orthodox and Roman Catholics for several reasons. Orthodox see the establishment of the Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome as a form of ecclesiastical imperialism. When the Pope extended his jurisdiction into the canonical territory of the Orthodox Patriarch, it showed that the Roman Church considered the local Orthodox Churches defective because they had not accepted Rome’s “expansionist” claims.640 These tensions erupted in legal actions and violence following the demise of Communist domination in Eastern Europe when the reorganized Uniate Churches sought to regain control over properties that had once been theirs but which has been Orthodox for almost half a century. However, even without the violence, Orthodox find it offensive when Roman agents use clandestine campaigns to persuade Orthodox to convert to the Eastern Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. Orthodox authorities also object to the confusion among the Faithful caused by clergy and buildings that look Orthodox, but are really Roman Catholic because of their allegiance to the papacy. Some Eastern Catholics claim to be “Orthodox in communion with Rome.” However, by accepting the Roman claims to supremacy and with them, Roman Catholic doctrines, Eastern Catholics have broken from Orthodoxy and cannot legitimately claim to be Orthodox. Some Eastern Catholics attract Orthodox by emphasizing ethnicism or local nationalism. Others offer Orthodox an opportunity to escape the discipline of the Orthodox Church. The Eastern Catholic Churches have also caused concern for the Orthodox because they have seen that Latin authorities frequently treat their Eastern Catholic brethren with a superior attitude. The union with Rome has led to the Latinization of several Eastern Catholic groups. For example, some of them abandoned the ancient Orthodox practice of infant communion and introduced the Latin custom of “First Communion.” Others not only commemorate the Pope, but also have added the filioque clause to the Creed. Some have greatly abbreviated traditional Orthodox services in a manner not unlike the post-Vatican II Roman Catholic Mass. Some Eastern Catholic Churches have statues. Some Eastern Catholic faithful practice such Latin devotions as the rosary and devotion to the sacred heart. When Eastern Catholics came to the United States and Canada, the local Latin authorities prevailed on Rome to forbid married Uniate priests from serving Eastern Catholic communities in the new world. This violation of the various agreements that had established the various Eastern Catholic Churches led many former Eastern Catholics to become Orthodox after they immigrated to America. Beginning in Minneapolis in 1892, Father Alexi Toth, considered a Saint by the Orthodox Church, led thousands of Uniates into the Russian Orthodox Church after suffering persecution from the local Latin authorities. In 1938, Orestes Chornock of Bridgeport, Connecticut led a group of Carpatho-Russians from the Unia into the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.641 References: 628 Aidan Nicholas OP Rome and the Eastern Churches (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1992), p. 283 629 Ware, The Orthodox Church, p. 264 630 Michael T. Florinsky, Russia: A History and An Interpretation (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1970), pp.31, 41, 44 631 Ibid., pp. 258-259; Runciman, The Great Church in Captivity, pp. 262-264 632 Dimitry Pospierlovsky, The Orthodox Church in The History of Russia, (Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1998), p. 93 633 Ibid. 634 Nichols, Rome and the Eastern Churches, p. 294, 299-300 635Pospiellovsky, The Orthodox Church in the History of Russia, p.363 636 Igor Troyanovsky, ed. Religion in the Soviet Republics: A Guide to Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Other Religions, (San Francisco: Harper, 1991, pp. 126-127; Pospiellovsky, The Orthodox Church in the History of Russia, p. 364 637 Constantius, “The Patriarchs of Antioch,” in Neale, A History of the Holy Eastern Church: The Patriarchate of Antioch, p. 184 638 “The Church of Antioch,” and “State of the Patriarchate of Antioch in 1850” in Ibid., pp,206, 215 639 Runciman, The Great Church, pp. 234-235 640 Ignatius IV, Orthodoxy & The Issues of Our Time, p. 105 641 Constance J. Tarasar, ed. Orthodox America 1794-1776: Development of the Orthodox Church in America, (Syosset, New York: The Orthodox Church in America, Department of History and Archives, 1975), pp. 53, 191
I grew up in Protestant churches, but the first time I went to an Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy was the first time I became a Christian. I've been trying to be Christian all my life, but the Protestant church constantly turned me Agnostic. Fifty years of disappointment. I finally found the Holy Spirit. If you've never been to an Orthodox Divine liturgy, you are cheating yourself of something really special.
@@ernestoaguilar5681 "God hates Rituals read the Prophets" The Prophets start with St. Moses receiving Rituals from God. St. Elias performed offerings to God opposite the Baalite Priests and slaughtered them. St. Malachi speaks on Gentiles offering incense to God and a "Pure Offering". Christ participated in the Rituals of the Temple, including the "Man Made" one of the Festival of Lights. So no, God does not oppose Ritual. Man was made as a Ritual Creature.
No. God gave us rituals. It our ungodly rituals which He hates or when when perform His given rituals with impure hearts that He hates. When He broke bread, prayed and gave it to His Apostles, saying “Take, eat, this is My Body.”, was He not Himself perfoming a ritual? Examine what He means . In the Old Testament, God told the priests to prepare insence. Later on He says, “I hate your incense offering because……?.” Their hearts were not pure! So God is not opposed to incense, but it must be offered with a pure heart. Externals are important but they must correspond to a good disposition (internal). Same goes with many other things which Jesus criticized. Clean the inside of the cup “first”, not only.
Posting again as my first post disappeared! But thank you for having Father Borjan discuss these things with you. He is my own Spiritual Father and Parish Priest. God has done a work in our midst and continues to do so. The Parish was nearly going to be closed, with only a few elderly people in attendance. But The Holy Spirit had other plans, and today our number grows and grows thanks be to God and the intercession of the Theotokos! We welcome all for a visit and as Father Borjan said, we welcome all questions. Come with good will in your heart and seek earnestly and may the God of all comfort show you the Truth which was once a hidden gem here in the US, but is now being discovered by a great many souls. The Ark of Salvation is open to those souls who seek God. Glory to God!
Greek Orthodox From The USA!! I'm tired of Evangelicals treating us like we have more than one God!! We're not polytheists, we Have One God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit!!
@@iggyantioch, I've Learned how much Protestants are wrong about The Roman Catholic Church!! I Visited A Ukrainian Eastern Rites Catholic Church The Other Day!!
@@OrthodoxChristianBeliever The “eastern right” actually proves that “Roman Catholicism “ is false if you really think about it. After all, they venerate Saints in that sphere who formally condemned post schism “Roman Catholicism,” as having extricated itself from the true church. This includes people like Saint Gregory Palamas and several others. Now, ask yourself, does the Orthodox Church venerate post schism “Roman catholic” saints? Absolutely not.
this is what real christianity looks like. it's the ancient perserved apostolic faith. unchanged and uncorrupted since the great schism. no purgatory, no paying away for your sins, no tithes, accurate biblical canon. icons are legit if you know anything about history. so funny how protestants pick and choose orthodox church fathers but don't agree with anything else they believed in. even the orthodox metaphysics regarding the trinity is the most coherent.
Different jurisdictions have different rules--the OCA encourages tithing, for example, while some churches have a dues structure, and others may be supported by the state. Ultimately the church building needs to be built and maintained, the priest and any staff need to be able to support their families, etc.
Orthodoxy is not ancient. It’s very old but it has never disappeared and therefore isn’t technically ancient and therefore can’t be known through archeology or historical Scholarship alone without also understanding what it is today, which is precisely what it has always been, the Church of the Apostles that has remained compliant to the authority of the Holy Spirit since Pentecost. The main objection of Protestantism is that the Apostolic Church was lost, ceased to exist, “ancient” and must be restored through Scholarship and their interpretation, pick the interpreter, Calvin, Luther….Billy Graham, Joel Osteen, of Scripture. So to call the Church ancient kind of plays into their hands. I prefer the Church from Antiquity.
As a Protestant i saw how church Protestant church grows so fast it is also because of constantly offering so the church is able to use the money to do more ministry and share the gospel by holding some events. Purely just sharing my view
@@yellowwasprakija2869 Croatia was orthodox years and years ago. After serbia declined in shs all orthodox are serbian, croatian orthodox became serbian orthodox. Its all documented.
@@yellowwasprakija2869 i dont understand. But Take a Research about it. Its even confirmed by the bulgarians. In Croatia there is a Bulgarian Patriarch Alexander and He is the Leader of the HPC
Well, yesterday I spoke to a orthodox priest and he told me, that anyone, who says I am the only one and this claim, isn't worth listening to. We shouldn't think, that God is so small and is so poor, that he has only one way of worship. If it ain't against scripture, don't be so haste to claim these things...
You have the holy Catholic Church which is the ONLY CHURCH. You have 48,000 man made protestant CULTS that serve Satan. And you have the orthodox CULTS that serve Satan. The Bible is a Catholic book.
Thank you for sharing about Holy Orthodoxy. The other big thing to realize with icons and idolatry, is that, historically speaking, idolatry is actually a well defined practice with specific ceremonies and specific beliefs surrounding them. That is, ancient people built idols, but they were not stupid; they knew that the idol in and of itself was not a god. Instead, they had a specific ceremony for the idol to breathe in their god/spirit. Once the spirit inhabited the idol, the people would then "take care of" the god by giving it food offerings and such, and then they expected that in response to their hospitality, the spirit would then be favorable towards them. So, when God prohibits idolatry, He is not only prohibiting the worship of other gods, but He is also prohibiting His people to try and worship Him in this way. That is why it is significant when Solomon says "the heavens of heavens cannot contain You, how much less this house" (1 Kings 8:27) But, what's also significant to mention is that, those spirits or gods that idolatry seeks to have inhabit their idols, are actually fallen angels, or demons (as it says in the Psalms or by St. Paul in Corinthians). So, idolatry is dangerous because it's actually real, or at least dealing with real demons. But, this is also why it doesn't work in the way the idolaters intend it to (i.e. since they're dealing with demons, instead of trapping the demon and getting it to do what they want, the demon instead inhabits them and creates chaos). Anyway, if that in and of itself doesn't clearly distinguish idolatry from icons, then perhaps it might help to realize that even pagan temples had icons which were clearly distinguished from their idols. In other words, they are historically two very different things and served very different functions; there is no way to get around that fact. Having that said, perhaps the most important thing to distinguish icons from idolatry is that God Himself commands iconography in the Tabernacle and Temple (Exodus 25:18-20, 26:1, 36:35; 1 Kings 6:23-36), which is significant, because Orthodox temples are the fulfillment of the Jerusalem temple and are the local manifestation of it where the fullness of the church in that place comes together to worship in spirit and truth. The Icons of the Tabernacle and Temple were, under the Old Covenant, only depictions of the angels in heaven, but they are fulfilled in the New Covenant because Christ has defeated death and plundered hades, so now all the saints in Christ dwell alongside the angels (in other words, depicting the saints in icons is a confession of salvation/Christ's victory). And just as the Tabernacle and Temple were earthly manifestations of the Heavenly Temple (Wisdom 9:8; Malachi 1:11; John 4:21-24; Hebrews 8:1-5, 9:11-14, 10:22-24, 13:10-15), so too are Orthodox Temples and the Divine Liturgy a manifestation of the heavenly liturgy (as depicted in the Book of Revelation for example - Revelation 1:10, 4:1-5:14, 7:9-17, 11:15-19, 19:1-10). Icons are therefore not only windows into heaven, but a confession that heaven and earth come together in the Divine Liturgy where we mystically worship alongside the angels and saints (even the Lutheran liturgy confesses this when they say "therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying... Holy, Holy Holy..."). If that wasn't enough, keep in mind that even ancient Judaism had iconography (look up the Dura-Europo's synagogue), which shows once again that it was Judaism and everyone else who changed, where as Orthodoxy has remained the same. Veneration (showing honor, love, and respect) is just what Christians do. Not only do we do it to each other since we are all made in the image of God, but even in Protestantism it is done to the Bible by being bound in the finest leathers with gilded pages, etc. Veneration takes many forms. I know it's a struggle for the west and Protestantism because our culture is so far removed from Biblical culture, and that this is also in reaction to abuses of Rome, but for anyone turned off of Orthodoxy because of Icons, keep exploring; you'll be happy that you did. I know the intercessions of the saints might be another stumbling block for you, but we'll leave that for another time (although, hint: if you can understand what the Divine Council is, you will begin to see how that works as well [combine that with Ch. 9 in "The Lord of Spirits" book, and it should all click... at least, that's what did it for me).
@@notcrazy6288It depends on who you talk to and their level of understanding of Christianity. I am Catholic and my late wife was Orthodox. I worship in both churches.
@@johnnyd2383 The Lord said one faith. Ok! Who has the right to define what that means? Be careful about acting like you are better than others lest you fall into arrogance. Division among Christians is one thing that brings joy to the devil and many non-Christians.
I have never been religious, never gone to a church service, but I stepped into a n Orthodox Church and it really spoke to me, every form of worshipping God is taken seriously, but I had never seen such a sincere form of worship to God, I have been interested in in orthodoxy for a long time
There’s ONLY ONE priesthood and that’s the Catholic one because there’s ONLY ONE CHURCH the holy Catholic Church. And you have the orthodox CULTS that serve Satan.
For example the Ancient Orthodox church of Cyprus became Christian by apostle Barnabas and Paul when they came to Cyprus. They made the first baptisms out of Jerusalem and the first one to be baptized was Saint Iraklidios and Saint Avxivios who became the first Bishops on the island of Cyprus. Additionally Lazarus after Jesus brought him back from the dead, escaped from Jerusalem and came to Cyprus and became the first bishop of Kitium. So Cyprus is Orthodox for 2000 years from the apostles till now and we still have saints and prophets from Christ till now..! The ancient church still exists even most don't know
My stepmom is second generation Greek living in US, and she and my Dad have told me all kinds of amazing stories about the hidden ancient churches, caves, and catacombs they were able to visit on their trips to Greece… I would love to visit some of these places one day.
Did greece become a Christian majority country right away? in Serbia some people were baptized by the apostle Paul as soon as he passed trough there in the first century but it didn't become a Christian majority country until the time of saint Sawa and the Nemanjic dynasty..
I recognize this Church! My Parish visited them for Vespers on the way up to Jordanville Monastery. The Priest was wonderful and Church beautiful! I recognize the unique white iconostasis, and the pews with the gold plates are familiar too. Wonderful little Serbian Orthodox Church
To be Christian one must be Catholic and loyal obedient to Rome or HELL awaits. Only Jesus can found a Church and that’s the holy Catholic Church which is also his mystical body on earth
Yes, the Serbian Orthodox church usually sends people like this away to some far away parishes, as a form of punishment coated by a veneer of grace. His Orthodox brothers back in Serbia are some of the biggest and ignorant assholes and crooks on earth and the words coming from their mouths sounds like some medieval villain shit, these are preserved to mentally damage further generations of Serbians, as well as to take as much money as they can from the state and from their believers to make the church even richer as well as themselves. I'll give you a quote from one of the most revered metropolitans in the Serbian Orthodox church, who died a few years ago, and was actually one of the least bad metropolitans in the region, so he said: "The one who betrays the faithful, brotherly Russia, may live flesh fall off of his bones." And another one of his beautiful quotes was for gays, lesbians and women without children "The branch without fruits is to be plucked from the tree and thrown into the fire". And if this guy is one of the best, just imagine what others do and say.
Enjoyed this very much. Thank you. I hope many will listen and come to a better understanding of Orthodoxy! It is so wonderful with faithful solid answers to every question!
Greek orthodox here, thank you for the video. May God bless people and find their way to the real path of God and be with the paradise with Jesus Christ ,Virgin Maria and the saints .We are in hard times and devil have his people to demolish everything in Earth. Keep the true faith ,at the end we have only our souls and pray to God
@@gobucs3146 I figured the icon on that panel was chosen by the parish, so I didn’t think to ask. I’m going to catechism class tonight though, so if I get a chance, I’ll ask him then.
Amin this is what zi love about Orthodoxy the wisdom humility unity of the church Fathers they live out the faith in obedience from generation to generation ❤️🙏
As a baptized Orthodox, until I was 24 I was like many and went to church only on major holidays like Easter and Christmas. Then I started to learn about my faith and, hanging out with priests, I started reading a lot about the Orthodox faith, learned Church Slavonic (Old Church Slavonic), read a library of books (in a certain order, otherwise I would not have understood anything). Since I had been involved in music in my life anyway, I started singing during various services that exist in the Serbian Orthodox Church. Fasting, prayer and communion are what every Orthodox believer must have in their life, as the Lord says in the New Testament - Whoever does not eat my flesh and drink my blood does not have life in himself -. Christ is among us.
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I visited the Serbian Orthodox Church and enjoyed the Holly Liturgy which is, I was told, unchanged since it was founded eight hundred years ago. That, in my opinion, explains the icons. Eight hundred years ago very few people were literate and these icons were the perfect tool to teach them the faith through examples set by saints. Icons are self explanatory. The temple represents Haven. Showcases what the afterlife would be like if one follows the example given by saints. There's gold everywhere, chants. The whole Liturgy is led by priest chanting (it's more a recitativo) and chorus responding (concerto - concertino) in classical music which led to opera. There's a throne reserved for invisible but omnipresent God and chain over a seat (so nobody would dare to sit on God's lap) by the altar which is a gate to Haven. Right there is a dome with windows (these are the only windows on the temple) shining onto the faces of angels with rosy cheeks. They smile at you and they're inviting you to join them with open arms. Is there a more beautiful message? There's no sitting (sleeping) during Liturgy and at times there is a smoke of incense that represents the Holy Spirit. I am not a believer but this is how I understood it. Just imagine what impression such Liturgy would make eight hundred years ago on an illiterate peasant. He would be shaken to the core. That would be a life changing experience comparable to going to a rock concert today. Yes, it was an educational multi-media show created eight centuries ago. Wow!
6:31 Great points. SO many good examples to counter the Protestant accusation of idol worship. I was going to mention some of those same scriptures if Father hadn’t. As a Protestant I had a different lens I was looking through, and even though I had read all those passages multiples times, I still had this iconoclast perspective because I didn’t connect the dots, or I listened to other iconoclasts rather than the scriptures and those who have been in the True Church since it’s inception. You can also look at history to see this in practice by faithful Christians. As an Orthodox Christian now, it seems so silly that I would accuse people of being idolatrous who were fighting against paganism and idolatry and even being martyred, all for for their faith in Christ. Do we really think they were so dumb that they fought against idolatry and then somehow also committed idolatry? I don’t think so.
In the process of converting to Orthodox. Born and raised RC, practiced as an evangelical but found I was not satisfied. One Liturgy, I was convinced I have finally found my home.
I am Roman Catholic and I was taught that the Pope is just the administrator and someone older with a lot of Church experience who could offer advice and such. I didn’t know he had a Henry VIII style “act of supremacy”, I hope that is just a misinterpretation and not the doctrine of my faith I don’t like how my Church is behaving but I was born Catholic, I want to help these people but they are straying from the gospel pushing for female “priests” and gay marriage. I may become Orthodox by necessity, the Church must follow the law of God not that of man
Papal infallibility is unfortunately an official doctrine of the Catholic church- one that it historically murdered other Christians over. It's definitely not a misinterpretation.
Yes, become Orthodox as the Vatican is a Titanic that hit an iceberg nearly a thousand years ago. Don’t go down with that ship. A tree is known by its fruit. Whether we’re talking about innovations, mass scale sexual misconduct, relativism, involvement in Marxist teaching (see liberation theology), etc, etc, the fact is that the “rcc” strayed from the ancient character and integrity of the faith long ago. You will never regret becoming Orthodox, believe me.
I think the Catholic church is doing pretty well fighting against accepting gay marriage and female priests etc. unfortunately the way the gays were handled in the past directly lead to so many of them going into the priesthood and committing crimes. One shouldn't be removed from a church because they are gay we just can't accept the union. How many divorced people go to church and feel superior to the gays. The gays should be part of the church and confess their sins / marry women as they've done for hundreds of years. As for the Pope the current Pope is fine just he speaks out against Americas sins so everyone hates him. But I hope for a reunion with orthodoxy as orthodoxy has far superior community. As for the structural differences I dont know but I'm sure they will be rectified in time
Love to all from Bulgaria!... Really the pews surprised me, here in Bulgaria only the very sick and the very old are allowed to be seated in the temple.
see but with this, the context of those images he is talking about is important, as God was commanding those things to happens whereas this isn't the case here
Because protestants have put into perspective all elements of the Christian faith they now call worshipping singling, clapping and reading the Bible. When they see Catholics and Orthodox venerating the Blessed Virgin Mary they automatically understand that as worshipping. However, worshipping for Catholics and Orthodox is Christ's Covenant getting updated and renewed in the Eucharist. In sum, there's no sacrifice in the name of any Saint or the Virgin Mary but Christ's only. Mt 26:38 "Drink from it, all of you. This is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."
Nice responses from the Fr. I am an Irish Catholic but very interested in the Orthodox Church. Sadly there are no English liturgy near me. Thank you to the host also who was doing an MC Hammer dance throughout the whole interview 😂
I visited the Serbian Orthodox Church and enjoyed the Holly Liturgy which is, I was told, unchanged since it was founded eight hundred years ago. That, in my opinion, explains the icons. Eight hundred years ago very few people were literate and these icons were the perfect tool to teach them the faith through examples set by saints. Icons are self explanatory. The temple represents Haven. Showcases what the afterlife would be like if one follows the example given by saints. There's gold everywhere, chants. The whole Liturgy is led by priest chanting (it's more a recitativo) and chorus responding (concerto - concertino) in classical music which led to opera. There's a throne reserved for invisible but omnipresent God and chain over a seat (so nobody would dare to sit on God's lap) by the altar which is a gate to Haven. Right there is a dome with windows (these are the only windows on the temple) shining onto the faces of angels with rosy cheeks. They smile at you and they're inviting you to join them with open arms. Is there a more beautiful message? There's no sitting (sleeping) during Liturgy and at times there is a smoke of incense that represents the Holy Spirit. I am not a believer but this is how I understood it. Just imagine what impression such Liturgy would make eight hundred years ago on an illiterate peasant. He would be shaken to the core. That would be a life changing experience comparable to going to a rock concert today. Yes, it was an educational multi-media show created eight centuries ago. Wow!
@@drjanitor3747 Wow how very thought provoking Who knew > You right > This guy wrong Insanely insightful, thank you for your wonderful and not at all nothing of a response
Luke 18:9-14 The Pharisee and the Tax Collector 9 He also told this parable to some cwho trusted din themselves that they were righteous, eand treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men fwent up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, gstanding by himself, prayed1 hthus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 iI fast twice a week; jI give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, gstanding far off, kwould not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but lbeat his breast, saying, ‘God, mbe merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For neveryone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
I got my start in christianity as protestant UMC now GMC ( my church treated communion as the body and blood) but i was a lukewarm christian for 13 yrs then became saved but living outside of the spirit (Romans 7:15-18) struggling/giving into sin for 5yrs 9mo, then i repented and asked for the Holy Spirit to come live in me so i could be made clean and my life reflect the bible. Now i live life as a Romans 8 Christian living in the Holy Spirit. Since then my chains have been broken. Not only that, the wool that was covering my eyes making me a man of division (an abomination to the Father Proverbs 6) and after reading Matthew 10:40-42 being able to see clearly, the verses make it clear that doing things in the name of saints (prophets, rightious-man, disciple) is a-okay. And the way saint veneration is explained by the clergy also made my "you're worshiping idols" comments from back in the day pointless, they dont worship them. They venerate them because the Name of God that is within them, and said saints are still alive because we do not worship a god of the dead, but The God of the Living. Since that revelation of matt 10:40-42 i will never call Orthodox or Catholics heratics. They are my Brothers/Sisters in Christ, as are my Protestant Brothers/Sisters i cannot wait till we all come together as the full body of Christ no longer divided by spiritual pedigrees and men of division.
I like your eyes opening but keep in mind what Mark 16,16 is saying and also remember that Simon wanted to buy Gift and take it outside of the Church but met his end... That story tells us that in order to get Baptized one needs to go to the Lord's Church - EOC He founded 2000 years ago and is only one in possession of the Apostolic Succession. Others, like OOs and RC lost it due to departures from the original doctrines.
Look for your answers in the merging of orthodox Christianity with the ancient greek religion, the rituals, the warship traditions and the mysticism initiations (Eleusis, Apollos oracles in Delhi)
Great conversation. Hope you enjoyed your first Divine Liturgy, there's nothing like it! Maybe you're already planning on going again, but some good advice I heard is to commit to attending at least 3 - 5 Liturgies. That first time it's just so much and often extremely foreign, particularly for Westerners and Protestants. Going a few times allows you to get a better feel for all that's going on. It's incredible rich and theologically full.
@ Thou art peter, and upon this rock (Jesus) (petras=Peter)I will build this church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18-19. Whats sad is people tend to think they know more than the body of Christ, talk about leaning on ones own understanding
The more I am learning now that I have begun to find my faith again. The more I am thinking orthodox is the way to go. However, sadly their aren't any orthodox churches close to me.
I visited the Serbian Orthodox Church and enjoyed the Holly Liturgy which is, I was told, unchanged since it was founded eight hundred years ago. That, in my opinion, explains the icons. Eight hundred years ago very few people were literate and these icons were the perfect tool to teach them the faith through examples set by saints. Icons are self explanatory. The temple represents Haven. Showcases what the afterlife would be like if one follows the example given by saints. There's gold everywhere, chants. The whole Liturgy is led by priest chanting (it's more a recitativo) and chorus responding (concerto - concertino) in classical music which led to opera. There's a throne reserved for invisible but omnipresent God and chain over a seat (so nobody would dare to sit on God's lap) by the altar which is a gate to Haven. Right there is a dome with windows (these are the only windows on the temple) shining onto the faces of angels with rosy cheeks. They smile at you and they're inviting you to join them with open arms. Is there a more beautiful message? There's no sitting (sleeping) during Liturgy and at times there is a smoke of incense that represents the Holy Spirit. I am not a believer but this is how I understood it. Just imagine what impression such Liturgy would make eight hundred years ago on an illiterate peasant. He would be shaken to the core. That would be a life changing experience comparable to going to a rock concert today. Yes, it was an educational multi-media show created eight centuries ago. Wow!
Greek Orthodox here. Remember that a priest in the orthodox Church doesn't treat what he does as his job. He is a true believer that chooses this path. You can tell that not only believes what he's saying but he's extremely calm and trying to make you understand not only his point of view but prove to you why he believes. Humble and with humility explaining to you. Unlike the countless Christian denominations that become loud preachers trying to excite feelings in you so you can be under their control. Look at what's happening with the evangelicals here in America I mean do they really believe ????? Thank you for this interview and I'm sure it helps spread the word the true word
13:33 And it was St. Andrew who created our Bulgarian Church, 1st century, 50km from my home :) He took the Black Sear Coast and continue North, making Churches everywhere He goes.
@@Nshandles88 Is there a room for hate in Orthodox Christianity? Slavic people have lived since ever in Macedonia all the way to Thessaloniki (Solun).
On the pew thing, I know of one parish where the priest noticed that many visitors weren’t coming back after the first time. So, to make it seem more “American,” they added pews to the church. They noticed many more people were coming back, and many actually converted. The big empty space freaked them out. Basically, the priest at that parish realized that the pews themselves were nothing to run people off over and that if adding them brought more people into the Kingdom then so be it 🙂.
Korean Orthodox here. I was a Buddhist most of my life until the Lord came to me and opened my eyes. God bless my Christian brothers and sisters ☦️☦️☦️
Not Korean but I was a Buddhist as well before converting
Buddhism also preaches about loving others and compassion, I wonder what made u change your belief. No hate, just curious mate 😊
@@Gavin_Francis_123it’s an incoherent worldview with no account for morality, epistemology, nor metaphysics.
@@Gavin_Francis_123 ^^what he said lol. But also another doctrine of Buddhism I never agreed with was the fact that there is no higher power in sense there is no one to worship in Buddhism. And the entire journey of enlightenment is very self based and I personally don’t believe that our main focus of life should ourselves, that seems very selfish to me. Still so much love and respect to all of my old teachers and monks I studied under but I am reborn and cannot go back after being revealed the Truth
Orthodoxy is a works religion.
This Orthodox priest is based.
He's my dad btw. Glad to have him as a father - both in the flesh and in Christ.
Really? That's cool.
Thats awesome! You’re very fortunate to have that wonderful man as your father!
@@isatq2133 Why is he based?
@@borivojpopovic9488 There are much more complex answers that most people in the comments will not understand, as most who are believers at the level of going to church for Easter and Christmas and that's it. How do you explain to such believers who do not understand the answer to the question of which God do you believe in and what is his name? 75% will not know how to answer that they believe in the Holy Trinity( mada je i ovo los izraz jer postoji razlika i to velika kada kazes Sveto Trojstvo i Sveta Trojica, gde se tom based answer nece objasnjavati o ipostasu jer nece nio razumeti ni rec).
Your dad is living the absolute best life possible, serving Christ with the totality of his being as a priest but also able to have your mother and you in his life, I could only dream of having his life (and I don't imagine I can). I am Catholic, I am paralyzed by all our rules, and there's always a 'legal case brief' to stunt questions or concerns about our cantankerous system. I am curious how Orthodox explain away the primacy of Peter as Christ declares that "upon this rock, I built my church," establishing him as the head of the universal church. I have heard Orthodox answer that it was actually Peter's recognition that Jesus was the Christ which established the faith of the Church, and this was what that meant, but I would be very curious to know if that is the truth. I think there has to be a head, a vicar, and even the Orthodox once recognized the Bishop of Rome as a first among equals, but I've heard convincing arguments in favor of a Pope, and now even the Orthodox Church itself is in schism, lots of conspiracy theories going around, and that's disturbing, especially with how the Russian Church functions. I really want to believe in Orthodoxy, because its spirituality is absolute bliss that brings me to the light, but I worry about the Catholic claims against it. We have our own Orthodox, but they do not have many accessible churches near me, while (thank God) Eastern Orthodoxy does.
Orthodox Greek here, God bless
Greek Orthodox Too!!
K emena
@@epiphanyx3705 Greek here too and now a Protestant
Παρόν 👍
@MatthewFloor you ve left orthodoxy and went into in heresy (protestant 😮)
My brother, you look so anxious. Relax, you are in a room that loves you. You are safe. Hugs.
I noticed that tоo, restless legs...
I also do this. It isn't anxiety so much as heightened mental activation. Not nervous but super engaged so I'm not aware that I'm moving
ADHD 😆
Had to pee😅
Serbian Orthodox here, thank you for the interview and God bless!
2. Mojsijeva 20:4-6 NSPL
[4] Ne pravi sebi idola, ni obličja od bilo čega što je gore na nebesima, ili dole na zemlji, ili u vodi pod zemljom. [5] Ne klanjaj im se, niti im služi. Jer sam ja, Gospod, tvoj Bog, ljubomorni Bog, koji kažnjava decu zbog krivice njihovih otaca, do trećeg i četvrtog kolena - onih koji me mrze, [6] ali iskazujem milost hiljadama koji me ljube i vrše moje zapovesti.
Zanima me da li mislis da su ikone ok prema Mojsiju?
@@kilervgmmm Otac Borjan je objasnio u videu.
@@lazarnikolic8385
Razumem da je Borjan rekao ali pitam se da li treba da verujem njemu ili Svetom pismu?
Cetiri poglavlja posle zabrane da se pravi oblicije bilo cega na nebesima evo sta kaze sveto pismo
2. Mojsijeva 24:9-11 NSPL
[9] Posle toga se Mojsije popeo sa Aronom, Nadavom, Avijudom i sedamdesetoricom izrailjskih starešina. [10] Oni su videli Boga Izrailjevog. Pod njegovim nogama je bilo nešto kao postolje od čistog safira, jasno kao sâmo nebo. [11] Bog nije dizao svoju ruku na glavare Izrailjaca. Gledali su Boga, jeli i pili.
Videli su Boga ali im nije bilo dozvoljeno da prave oblik.
Evo i kasnije proroka
Knjiga proroka Isaije 6:1-5 NSPL
[1] Godine kad je umro car Ozija videh Gospoda kako sedi na visokom i uzdignutom prestolu, a skuti njegovog plašta su ispunjavali hram. [2] Iznad njega su se postavili šestokrili serafimi. Svaki je imao šestora krila: dvama je zaklanjao lice, dvama je pokrivao noge, a dvama krilima je leteo. [3] Oni su klicali jedan drugom i govorili: „Svet, svet, svet je Gospod nad vojskama! Puna je sva zemlja slave njegove!“ [4] Od glasa onog koji kliče zatresli su se dovraci na pragovima i Dom se napunio dimom. [5] Na to sam rekao: „Teško meni, propao sam, jer sam čovek nečistih usana, i stanujem sred naroda nečistih usana; a Cara, Gospoda nad vojskama, videle su oči moje!“
@@lazarnikolic8385
Knjiga proroka Isaije 6:1-5 NSPL
[1] Godine kad je umro car Ozija videh Gospoda kako sedi na visokom i uzdignutom prestolu, a skuti njegovog plašta su ispunjavali hram. [2] Iznad njega su se postavili šestokrili serafimi. Svaki je imao šestora krila: dvama je zaklanjao lice, dvama je pokrivao noge, a dvama krilima je leteo. [3] Oni su klicali jedan drugom i govorili: „Svet, svet, svet je Gospod nad vojskama! Puna je sva zemlja slave njegove!“ [4] Od glasa onog koji kliče zatresli su se dovraci na pragovima i Dom se napunio dimom. [5] Na to sam rekao: „Teško meni, propao sam, jer sam čovek nečistih usana, i stanujem sred naroda nečistih usana; a Cara, Gospoda nad vojskama, videle su oči moje!“
2. Mojsijeva 24:9-11 NSPL
[9] Posle toga se Mojsije popeo sa Aronom, Nadavom, Avijudom i sedamdesetoricom izrailjskih starešina. [10] Oni su videli Boga Izrailjevog. Pod njegovim nogama je bilo nešto kao postolje od čistog safira, jasno kao sâmo nebo. [11] Bog nije dizao svoju ruku na glavare Izrailjaca. Gledali su Boga, jeli i pili.
Cuo sam sta je rekao ali ili je on u pravu ili je Sveto pismo. Izraelci su videli boga posle zapovesti ali nisu mogli da prave oblicije stvari na nebu?
@@kilervgmmm Hristos se kao lik Božiji javio ljudima i dopustio im da ga vide. Isto tako, za vreme Preobraženja Hristovog, Mojsije i Ilija su ga takođe pogledali i razgovarali s njim.
Čak je i Sveti apostol i jevanđelist Luka prvi ikonopisac. Njegova prva ikona bila je Bogorodica.
Ako želiš da budeš ikonoklasta, slobodno napravi vremeplov i vrati se u 8. vek.
American Orthodox here! Glad to see so many interested in learning more about the one holy, catholic and apostolic church! We 'have the receipts' throughout history, since the very start of the Church, if one only takes the time and effort to look into the truth for themselves, as I did.
Russian Orthodox is here, God grant everyone who reads health, goodness, and love. I hug you all, brothers in Christ❤
Your brother from USA Bainbridge OH i pray you have a healthy and amazing life. I hope one day we can meet and talk about the Lord.
И вама поздрав из Србије❤
God bless you and I wish you the very same my brother in christ
Чел, я иногда захожу на каналы для верующих, Русскоязычные, однако тех кто пишет грамотно меньшинство, а на английском ты написал грамотнее чем многие верующие на своём пишут.
Greetings to all the Russian brothers from Greece.
Online arguments can be so frustratingly unfruitful. Pride dominates and the truth gets pushed aside. Even if I am right, I do a disservice to the truth, getting puffed up and trying to prove myself right. May God grant us all the humility to allow the Light of the Truth to enlighten our darkness. Glory to Jesus Christ.
Absolutely agree. They do no service to the souls of my brothers and sisters. Plus they aren’t likely to change the opinion of whomever is arguing. Sincere debates are almost never present online.
Well if you are here conversing with people to test your faith or prove you are right you are in the wrong place for motive. I believe our motive for as Orthodox should be to spread the truth. We put out the info. I don’t care if a half a present of people that read my comments have humility and act on them. And I do get people who find me again and thank me for my comments because it made them stop and think.
@@katiek.8808 Well I should pray for more tact and humility with responses. That’s wonderful to hear about your getting such positive feedback from your speaking the truth in love.
I fall into this trap often.
@ your tact is probably fine. Some people don’t like hearing they are wrong. Most respond with anger.
Catholic here. The Eastern rite is so beautiful! May Theotokos comfort you and God bless you all!
Excerpt from “The Historic Church” by historian John Morris
The Jesuits extended their efforts to win adherents for Rome not only among Protestants, but also among the Orthodox. They adopted what one Roman Catholic scholar has called a “Trojan horse policy,” to establish a group of clergy and laity within the Orthodox Churches who accepted the papal claims and worked secretly to extend the power of Rome over the Orthodox Churches.628 Eventually, this led to a series of schisms from the Orthodox Church that created a group of Eastern Catholic Churches. Eastern Catholics follow Eastern Orthodox forms of worship, and have married priests, but also accept the authority of the Pope. Through their relationship with Rome, they also accept Roman Catholic doctrine, although some Eastern Catholics have retained more Orthodox teachings than others. The existence of rival bodies in union with Rome but which outwardly looked Orthodox has been a constant source of conflict and tension between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Churches. Disagreements over the Uniate Churches have led to the break down of more than one dialogue between Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics.
The Union of Brest in 1596 and the Birth of the Eastern Catholic Churches
The first and largest Eastern Catholic Church began in Ukraine in 1596. The Orthodox Church in the lands that are now the Ukraine and Russia began in 988. At that time, the ruler or Grand Duke of Kiev governed Rus, a loose federation of principalities in what is now Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, as well as parts of what is now Poland, and Slovakia. As recorded in The Primary Chronicle, the most ancient Russian historical text, St. Vladimir, the ruler of Kiev and grandson of St. Olga, who became a Christian as early as 955, was dissatisfied with the primitive paganism of his people. He appointed a committee to study various religions and to recommend a new more suitable faith. The committee rejected Islam because they found no “joy” in the religion. They also refused to accept the prohibition on alcoholic beverages which is part of Muslim teaching. They then went to Germany where they found Western Christianity more satisfactory. However, overwhelmed by the beauty of the Orthodox Liturgy, they witnessed in Constantinople, they reported, “We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendor or beauty anywhere upon earth. We cannot describe it to you; only this we know, that God dwells there among humans, and that their service surpasses the worship of all other places.”629 As a result, St. Vladimir and his people became Orthodox Christians. There is no doubt that the advantages of an alliance with the Orthodox Byzantine Empire played a major role in his decision.
Although Kiev enjoyed a brief time of growth and prosperity following its conversion, it soon entered a period of decline. In 1169, Prince Andrew Bogoliubsky, the ruler of Rostov and Suzdal, attacked and occupied Kiev. After his victory, he assumed the title of Grand Duke, but instead of taking up residence in Kiev, he established his court in the more northern city of Vladimir. In 1237, the Asiatic Mongols began to invade the Eastern Slavic lands, leading to Mongolian domination that lasted until the fifteenth century. The decline of Kiev and the Mongolian conquest prepared the way for the rise of Moscow, which became the capital of the Russian state. In 1300, Metropolitan Maxim, the leader of the Orthodox Church in Kiev, moved to Vladimir, completing the decline of Kiev. These events created a power vacuum in the Western part of Rus that the Grand Dukes of Lithuania were quick to fill. The Lithuanians conquered the southwestern part of the areas once ruled by Kiev. In 1569, Lithuania entered into a dynastic union with Poland. Thus, the conquered area fell under Polish rule.630
The new rulers of Ukraine and the surrounding territories were dedicated Roman Catholics. Sigismund III, who became the King of Poland in 1587, actively persecuted the Orthodox Christians living under his rule. With Jesuit support, he pressured several Orthodox bishops to accept papal primacy. On December 23, 1595, Pope Clement VIII agreed that if Orthodox accepted his authority, they could retain Eastern Orthodox forms of worship and their married priests, thereby establishing the Ukrainian Catholic Church. At the Council of Brest-Litovsk in October 1596, a group of former Orthodox bishops officially ratified the agreement with Rome. Prince Radziwill, Sigismund’s representative in Brest, prevented the Orthodox Bishops and their supporters from participating in the discussions.631 Because the Ukrainian Catholic and all Eastern Catholic Churches are based on the principles of the Union of Brest Litovsk, they are frequently called Uniates, although some Eastern Catholics find the term offensive.
The Polish King then began a systematic persecution of those who rejected the union with Rome. On October 15, 1596, just a few days after the conclusion of the Council of Brest, he issued a decree declaring membership in the Orthodox Church an act of treason and banning the Orthodox Church in his lands.632 He ordered Orthodox Bishops replaced by Uniate Bishops, and he took church buildings from the Orthodox and gave them to the Eastern Catholics. The Polish king also supported Josaphat Kuntsevich, the Uniate Bishop of Polotsk. Josaphat, considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, was a radical papist who ordered the removal of the graves of Orthodox Christians to “purify” the lands around the former Orthodox Churches that had been given to the Uniates. Because their forms of worship come from the Byzantine Church, which was predominately Greek, the Uniates also call themselves Greek Catholics.633 In 1646, a group of Orthodox in Sub-Carpathian Russia, an area that had once been ruled by Kiev but had passed to Hungarian control, yielded to pressure from their Roman Catholic rulers to accept the Union of Uzhorod, an agreement similar to the Union of Brest-Litovsk. This established another Uniate Church, known in the United States as the Byzantine Catholics. Meanwhile, some Rumanian Orthodox Christians living in Transylvania, an area conquered also by Hungary, yielded to pressure from their Roman Catholic rulers to submit to Rome at the synod of Alba Julia of October 1696, thereby establishing the Rumanian Catholic Church.634
Supported by the Roman Catholic authorities, the Uniate Churches grew and prospered at the expense of the Orthodox Church. By 1946, there were about 3,500,000 Eastern Rite Catholics in Ukraine. However, after the Second World War, Joseph Stalin, the ruler of the Soviet Union who was no friend of the Orthodox Church but feared papal influence even more than Orthodoxy, forced the Ukrainian Catholics to disband the Union of Brest-Litovsk and to rejoin the Orthodox Church at the Council of Lvov in 1946. Eastern Catholics in the rest of Eastern Europe under Soviet domination suffered the same fate, as the communist rulers forced them to accept the authority of the local Orthodox bishops. It is unfair to blame the Orthodox for Stalin’s persecution of the Eastern Catholics. The Russian dictator also persecuted the Orthodox. Indeed, in 1946, the Orthodox were in no position to reject Stalin’s plan to force the Uniates to convert to Orthodoxy. Significantly, some Orthodox leaders, such as Archbishop Palladii of Lvov and Ternopol, tried to help the Uniates during the time of Stalinist persecution.635
During the decline and fall of the Soviet Union and Communism in the 1980s, the Eastern Catholic Churches emerged from persecution and demanded the return of all church buildings that had once been Uniate. The Orthodox officials suggested that each community decide for itself whether or not to remain Orthodox or to return to Eastern Catholic Church. However, the Uniates rejected this proposal. Instead they demanded possession of all buildings that had belonged to the Unia before Stalin regardless of the wishes of the people. The conflict has been especially bitter in the Ukraine. Although the Orthodox tried to reach a compromise with the followers of Rome, some Uniates refuse to settle for anything less than a complete victory for their cause. There a Committee for the Defense of the Ukrainian Catholic Church led by Iva Ghel, used violence to seize Orthodox buildings for the Unia. Similar conflict between Uniates and Orthodox took place throughout Eastern Europe. As a result, Orthodox Roman Catholic relations entered into a new period of tension.636
The Melkites and Eastern Catholicism in the Middle East
The Jesuits and other Roman Catholics were also active in the Middle East. With the support of French diplomats, the Roman Catholics carried on an active campaign to convince clergy and Faithful of the Patriarchate of Antioch to accept papal authority. Throughout the seventeenth century, several Patriarchs of Antioch may have secretly accepted the authority of the Pope. When Athanasisu III died in 1724, a group of pro-Roman bishops elected Seraphim Tanas, who had received his education in Rome, to the vacant Patriarchal throne. After assuming office, as Cyril VI, he openly submitted to papal authority. However, the Orthodox bishops of the Antiochian Church rejected the pro-Roman Patriarch. With the support of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, they chose a Greek monk from Mt. Athos, Sylvester, who became the Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. Because the new Patriarch taught strict adherence to the fasting traditions of the Church, the Uniates attracted members by offering them an appearance of Orthodoxy through services that are almost identical to those of the Orthodox Church, together with a much more lax religion that did not expect its followers to follow the ascetic practices of the Orthodox Church.637
Continued….
“Ironically, the followers of Rome who left the Orthodox Church of Antioch chose to call themselves “Melkites,” a title which comes from the Syriac and Arabic words for king originally used to describe the Chalcedonian Orthodox due to their allegiance to the Church of the Byzantine Emperor. After they established their own Church, the Uniates used generous subsidies from France and other Roman Catholic countries to entice Orthodox to leave their Church and join the Eastern Catholic Church. The Romanists also persuaded Orthodox to convert to the Unia by offering education in the schools and medical care in the hospitals they were able to build with moneys sent from European Roman Catholics. Under the Turks, the Orthodox Patriarch had certain judicial powers, including the right to sentence an offender to prison or galleys. However, those guilty of offenses could escape punishment by joining the Melkites and then could count on diplomats from France and other Roman Catholic countries to use their influence with the Turks to protect them.638 In 1750, the Melkite Patriarch consecrated Joseph Babilas to serve as the Uniate Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt.639
Orthodox Objections to Eastern Catholicism
The existence of the Eastern Catholic Churches has been a constant source of disagreements between Orthodox and Roman Catholics for several reasons. Orthodox see the establishment of the Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome as a form of ecclesiastical imperialism. When the Pope extended his jurisdiction into the canonical territory of the Orthodox Patriarch, it showed that the Roman Church considered the local Orthodox Churches defective because they had not accepted Rome’s “expansionist” claims.640 These tensions erupted in legal actions and violence following the demise of Communist domination in Eastern Europe when the reorganized Uniate Churches sought to regain control over properties that had once been theirs but which has been Orthodox for almost half a century.
However, even without the violence, Orthodox find it offensive when Roman agents use clandestine campaigns to persuade Orthodox to convert to the Eastern Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. Orthodox authorities also object to the confusion among the Faithful caused by clergy and buildings that look Orthodox, but are really Roman Catholic because of their allegiance to the papacy. Some Eastern Catholics claim to be “Orthodox in communion with Rome.” However, by accepting the Roman claims to supremacy and with them, Roman Catholic doctrines, Eastern Catholics have broken from Orthodoxy and cannot legitimately claim to be Orthodox. Some Eastern Catholics attract Orthodox by emphasizing ethnicism or local nationalism. Others offer Orthodox an opportunity to escape the discipline of the Orthodox Church.
The Eastern Catholic Churches have also caused concern for the Orthodox because they have seen that Latin authorities frequently treat their Eastern Catholic brethren with a superior attitude. The union with Rome has led to the Latinization of several Eastern Catholic groups. For example, some of them abandoned the ancient Orthodox practice of infant communion and introduced the Latin custom of “First Communion.” Others not only commemorate the Pope, but also have added the filioque clause to the Creed. Some have greatly abbreviated traditional Orthodox services in a manner not unlike the post-Vatican II Roman Catholic Mass. Some Eastern Catholic Churches have statues. Some Eastern Catholic faithful practice such Latin devotions as the rosary and devotion to the sacred heart.
When Eastern Catholics came to the United States and Canada, the local Latin authorities prevailed on Rome to forbid married Uniate priests from serving Eastern Catholic communities in the new world. This violation of the various agreements that had established the various Eastern Catholic Churches led many former Eastern Catholics to become Orthodox after they immigrated to America. Beginning in Minneapolis in 1892, Father Alexi Toth, considered a Saint by the Orthodox Church, led thousands of Uniates into the Russian Orthodox Church after suffering persecution from the local Latin authorities. In 1938, Orestes Chornock of Bridgeport, Connecticut led a group of Carpatho-Russians from the Unia into the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.641
References:
628 Aidan Nicholas OP Rome and the Eastern Churches (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1992), p. 283
629 Ware, The Orthodox Church, p. 264
630 Michael T. Florinsky, Russia: A History and An Interpretation (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1970), pp.31, 41, 44
631 Ibid., pp. 258-259; Runciman, The Great Church in Captivity, pp. 262-264
632 Dimitry Pospierlovsky, The Orthodox Church in The History of Russia, (Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1998), p. 93
633 Ibid.
634 Nichols, Rome and the Eastern Churches, p. 294, 299-300
635Pospiellovsky, The Orthodox Church in the History of Russia, p.363
636 Igor Troyanovsky, ed. Religion in the Soviet Republics: A Guide to Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Other Religions, (San Francisco: Harper, 1991, pp. 126-127; Pospiellovsky, The Orthodox Church in the History of Russia, p. 364
637 Constantius, “The Patriarchs of Antioch,” in Neale, A History of the Holy Eastern Church: The Patriarchate of Antioch, p. 184
638 “The Church of Antioch,” and “State of the Patriarchate of Antioch in 1850” in Ibid., pp,206, 215
639 Runciman, The Great Church, pp. 234-235
640 Ignatius IV, Orthodoxy & The Issues of Our Time, p. 105
641 Constance J. Tarasar, ed. Orthodox America 1794-1776: Development of the Orthodox Church in America, (Syosset, New York: The Orthodox Church in America, Department of History and Archives, 1975), pp. 53, 191
Catholic=satanic
Ortodox Christianity is the real Church The Original Church ☦️♥️♥️☦️❤️♥️❤️♥️❤️❤️☦️❤️☦️❤️☦️❤️☦️☦️
@@cypher6938
Excerpt from “The Historic church” by John Morris”
Orthodox Objections to Eastern Catholicism
The existence of the Eastern Catholic Churches has been a constant source of disagreements between Orthodox and Roman Catholics for several reasons. Orthodox see the establishment of the Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome as a form of ecclesiastical imperialism. When the Pope extended his jurisdiction into the canonical territory of the Orthodox Patriarch, it showed that the Roman Church considered the local Orthodox Churches defective because they had not accepted Rome’s “expansionist” claims.640 These tensions erupted in legal actions and violence following the demise of Communist domination in Eastern Europe when the reorganized Uniate Churches sought to regain control over properties that had once been theirs but which has been Orthodox for almost half a century.
However, even without the violence, Orthodox find it offensive when Roman agents use clandestine campaigns to persuade Orthodox to convert to the Eastern Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. Orthodox authorities also object to the confusion among the Faithful caused by clergy and buildings that look Orthodox, but are really Roman Catholic because of their allegiance to the papacy. Some Eastern Catholics claim to be “Orthodox in communion with Rome.” However, by accepting the Roman claims to supremacy and with them, Roman Catholic doctrines, Eastern Catholics have broken from Orthodoxy and cannot legitimately claim to be Orthodox. Some Eastern Catholics attract Orthodox by emphasizing ethnicism or local nationalism. Others offer Orthodox an opportunity to escape the discipline of the Orthodox Church.
The Eastern Catholic Churches have also caused concern for the Orthodox because they have seen that Latin authorities frequently treat their Eastern Catholic brethren with a superior attitude. The union with Rome has led to the Latinization of several Eastern Catholic groups. For example, some of them abandoned the ancient Orthodox practice of infant communion and introduced the Latin custom of “First Communion.” Others not only commemorate the Pope, but also have added the filioque clause to the Creed. Some have greatly abbreviated traditional Orthodox services in a manner not unlike the post-Vatican II Roman Catholic Mass. Some Eastern Catholic Churches have statues. Some Eastern Catholic faithful practice such Latin devotions as the rosary and devotion to the sacred heart.
When Eastern Catholics came to the United States and Canada, the local Latin authorities prevailed on Rome to forbid married Uniate priests from serving Eastern Catholic communities in the new world. This violation of the various agreements that had established the various Eastern Catholic Churches led many former Eastern Catholics to become Orthodox after they immigrated to America. Beginning in Minneapolis in 1892, Father Alexi Toth, considered a Saint by the Orthodox Church, led thousands of Uniates into the Russian Orthodox Church after suffering persecution from the local Latin authorities. In 1938, Orestes Chornock of Bridgeport, Connecticut led a group of Carpatho-Russians from the Unia into the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.641
References:
628 Aidan Nicholas OP Rome and the Eastern Churches (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1992), p. 283
629 Ware, The Orthodox Church, p. 264
630 Michael T. Florinsky, Russia: A History and An Interpretation (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1970), pp.31, 41, 44
631 Ibid., pp. 258-259; Runciman, The Great Church in Captivity, pp. 262-264
632 Dimitry Pospierlovsky, The Orthodox Church in The History of Russia, (Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1998), p. 93
633 Ibid.
634 Nichols, Rome and the Eastern Churches, p. 294, 299-300
635Pospiellovsky, The Orthodox Church in the History of Russia, p.363
636 Igor Troyanovsky, ed. Religion in the Soviet Republics: A Guide to Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Other Religions, (San Francisco: Harper, 1991, pp. 126-127; Pospiellovsky, The Orthodox Church in the History of Russia, p. 364
637 Constantius, “The Patriarchs of Antioch,” in Neale, A History of the Holy Eastern Church: The Patriarchate of Antioch, p. 184
638 “The Church of Antioch,” and “State of the Patriarchate of Antioch in 1850” in Ibid., pp,206, 215
639 Runciman, The Great Church, pp. 234-235
640 Ignatius IV, Orthodoxy & The Issues of Our Time, p. 105
641 Constance J. Tarasar, ed. Orthodox America 1794-1776: Development of the Orthodox Church in America, (Syosset, New York: The Orthodox Church in America, Department of History and Archives, 1975), pp. 53, 191
I grew up in Protestant churches, but the first time I went to an Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy was the first time I became a Christian. I've been trying to be Christian all my life, but the Protestant church constantly turned me Agnostic. Fifty years of disappointment. I finally found the Holy Spirit. If you've never been to an Orthodox Divine liturgy, you are cheating yourself of something really special.
God Bless you!
Beautifully said ☦️
@@joelb138 I feel for you. Rituals God hates rituals. Read the Prophets.
@@ernestoaguilar5681
"God hates Rituals read the Prophets"
The Prophets start with St. Moses receiving Rituals from God.
St. Elias performed offerings to God opposite the Baalite Priests and slaughtered them.
St. Malachi speaks on Gentiles offering incense to God and a "Pure Offering".
Christ participated in the Rituals of the Temple, including the "Man Made" one of the Festival of Lights.
So no, God does not oppose Ritual. Man was made as a Ritual Creature.
No. God gave us rituals. It our ungodly rituals which He hates or when when perform His given rituals with impure hearts that He hates. When He broke bread, prayed and gave it to His Apostles, saying “Take, eat, this is My Body.”, was He not Himself perfoming a ritual?
Examine what He means .
In the Old Testament, God told the priests to prepare insence. Later on He says, “I hate your incense offering because……?.”
Their hearts were not pure!
So God is not opposed to incense, but it must be offered with a pure heart.
Externals are important but they must correspond to a good disposition (internal).
Same goes with many other things which Jesus criticized. Clean the inside of the cup “first”, not only.
Fr Borjan is the real deal. A lovely man, and a wonderful priest. It’s an honor and a blessing to have him in my life. ☦️
Amen
@ don’t I know you? 😜
@@eggsackley9435
Yuppers
Bulgarian Orthodox here, God bless you brothers and sisters! Amen!
Ethiopan orthodox here,God bless you
You are not Orthodox. Stop calling yourself what you are NOT.
Posting again as my first post disappeared! But thank you for having Father Borjan discuss these things with you. He is my own Spiritual Father and Parish Priest. God has done a work in our midst and continues to do so. The Parish was nearly going to be closed, with only a few elderly people in attendance. But The Holy Spirit had other plans, and today our number grows and grows thanks be to God and the intercession of the Theotokos! We welcome all for a visit and as Father Borjan said, we welcome all questions. Come with good will in your heart and seek earnestly and may the God of all comfort show you the Truth which was once a hidden gem here in the US, but is now being discovered by a great many souls. The Ark of Salvation is open to those souls who seek God. Glory to God!
Good to read..
Swedish Orthodox, thank you and may God bless all our brothers and sisters, even those who are yet to find the Light.
This is rare indeed.
Very rare to see Swedish orthodox. God bless
So awesome! God bless you!
Greek Orthodox here. This interview was rather an spirited introduction to the Orthodox Doctrine. Bless you all my brothers.
Greek Orthodox From The USA!! I'm tired of Evangelicals treating us like we have more than one God!! We're not polytheists, we Have One God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit!!
Yes misrepresented!
As a Catholic I defend the Orthodox Church whenever possible 🎉
@@iggyantioch, I've Learned how much Protestants are wrong about The Roman Catholic Church!! I Visited A Ukrainian Eastern Rites Catholic Church The Other Day!!
@@OrthodoxChristianBeliever
The “eastern right” actually proves that “Roman Catholicism “ is false if you really think about it. After all, they venerate Saints in that sphere who formally condemned post schism “Roman Catholicism,” as having extricated itself from the true church. This includes people like Saint Gregory Palamas and several others. Now, ask yourself, does the Orthodox Church venerate post schism “Roman catholic” saints? Absolutely not.
AMIN
What type of evangelicals are you talking of? The majority of Evangelicals believe in the Trinity, including most pentecostals around the world.
this is what real christianity looks like. it's the ancient perserved apostolic faith. unchanged and uncorrupted since the great schism. no purgatory, no paying away for your sins, no tithes, accurate biblical canon. icons are legit if you know anything about history. so funny how protestants pick and choose orthodox church fathers but don't agree with anything else they believed in. even the orthodox metaphysics regarding the trinity is the most coherent.
There is a yearly membership fee though, around 300$
@@mar1noo No there isn't.
Different jurisdictions have different rules--the OCA encourages tithing, for example, while some churches have a dues structure, and others may be supported by the state. Ultimately the church building needs to be built and maintained, the priest and any staff need to be able to support their families, etc.
Orthodoxy is not ancient. It’s very old but it has never disappeared and therefore isn’t technically ancient and therefore can’t be known through archeology or historical Scholarship alone without also understanding what it is today, which is precisely what it has always been, the Church of the Apostles that has remained compliant to the authority of the Holy Spirit since Pentecost. The main objection of Protestantism is that the Apostolic Church was lost, ceased to exist, “ancient” and must be restored through Scholarship and their interpretation, pick the interpreter, Calvin, Luther….Billy Graham, Joel Osteen, of Scripture. So to call the Church ancient kind of plays into their hands. I prefer the Church from Antiquity.
As a Protestant i saw how church Protestant church grows so fast it is also because of constantly offering so the church is able to use the money to do more ministry and share the gospel by holding some events. Purely just sharing my view
Serbian Orthodox teen here. Great video to share with protestants who are bIind and dont understand anything. God Bless you and the Father!☦️🇷🇸🙏❤️
So good to see young people in the community. Bless you.
The complete treasure.Orthodoxy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Slavic (Croatian-Slovenian) Orthodox here. Thank You for this!
Bro just say orthodox you don't have to put a country in front of it
Хрватски православац?
@@yellowwasprakija2869 Croatia was orthodox years and years ago. After serbia declined in shs all orthodox are serbian, croatian orthodox became serbian orthodox. Its all documented.
@@K3vinGross волио би знати где је документовано и кад су то ‘хрвати’ постали Срби ?!?!?
@@yellowwasprakija2869 i dont understand. But Take a Research about it. Its even confirmed by the bulgarians. In Croatia there is a Bulgarian Patriarch Alexander and He is the Leader of the HPC
Australian Orthodox here. Thank you for this video. "Was Pentacost a metaphor?" I heard the 🎤 mic drop.
Orthodoxy is the one true church of christ founder by christ and the apostles
Well, yesterday I spoke to a orthodox priest and he told me, that anyone, who says I am the only one and this claim, isn't worth listening to. We shouldn't think, that God is so small and is so poor, that he has only one way of worship. If it ain't against scripture, don't be so haste to claim these things...
@@Harmytwo I very seriously doubt an Orthodox priest told you that.
@@Harmytwoif an orthodox priest told you that, he’s sadly heretical. Ecumenism is a heresy.
@@perochialjoe Sadly, it is plausible. Lord have mercy.
Amén 🙏🏽 Our Lord Jesus Christ is risen! ☦️
This is great!
As always, Father explains it very well.
Thank you for asking Father Borjan these questions. I am an enquirer into Orthodoxy and this was very helpful and confirmative.
You have the holy Catholic Church which is the ONLY CHURCH. You have 48,000 man made protestant CULTS that serve Satan. And you have the orthodox CULTS that serve Satan. The Bible is a Catholic book.
Thank you for sharing about Holy Orthodoxy.
The other big thing to realize with icons and idolatry, is that, historically speaking, idolatry is actually a well defined practice with specific ceremonies and specific beliefs surrounding them. That is, ancient people built idols, but they were not stupid; they knew that the idol in and of itself was not a god. Instead, they had a specific ceremony for the idol to breathe in their god/spirit. Once the spirit inhabited the idol, the people would then "take care of" the god by giving it food offerings and such, and then they expected that in response to their hospitality, the spirit would then be favorable towards them. So, when God prohibits idolatry, He is not only prohibiting the worship of other gods, but He is also prohibiting His people to try and worship Him in this way. That is why it is significant when Solomon says "the heavens of heavens cannot contain You, how much less this house" (1 Kings 8:27) But, what's also significant to mention is that, those spirits or gods that idolatry seeks to have inhabit their idols, are actually fallen angels, or demons (as it says in the Psalms or by St. Paul in Corinthians). So, idolatry is dangerous because it's actually real, or at least dealing with real demons. But, this is also why it doesn't work in the way the idolaters intend it to (i.e. since they're dealing with demons, instead of trapping the demon and getting it to do what they want, the demon instead inhabits them and creates chaos).
Anyway, if that in and of itself doesn't clearly distinguish idolatry from icons, then perhaps it might help to realize that even pagan temples had icons which were clearly distinguished from their idols. In other words, they are historically two very different things and served very different functions; there is no way to get around that fact.
Having that said, perhaps the most important thing to distinguish icons from idolatry is that God Himself commands iconography in the Tabernacle and Temple (Exodus 25:18-20, 26:1, 36:35; 1 Kings 6:23-36), which is significant, because Orthodox temples are the fulfillment of the Jerusalem temple and are the local manifestation of it where the fullness of the church in that place comes together to worship in spirit and truth. The Icons of the Tabernacle and Temple were, under the Old Covenant, only depictions of the angels in heaven, but they are fulfilled in the New Covenant because Christ has defeated death and plundered hades, so now all the saints in Christ dwell alongside the angels (in other words, depicting the saints in icons is a confession of salvation/Christ's victory). And just as the Tabernacle and Temple were earthly manifestations of the Heavenly Temple (Wisdom 9:8; Malachi 1:11; John 4:21-24; Hebrews 8:1-5, 9:11-14, 10:22-24, 13:10-15), so too are Orthodox Temples and the Divine Liturgy a manifestation of the heavenly liturgy (as depicted in the Book of Revelation for example - Revelation 1:10, 4:1-5:14, 7:9-17, 11:15-19, 19:1-10). Icons are therefore not only windows into heaven, but a confession that heaven and earth come together in the Divine Liturgy where we mystically worship alongside the angels and saints (even the Lutheran liturgy confesses this when they say "therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying... Holy, Holy Holy...").
If that wasn't enough, keep in mind that even ancient Judaism had iconography (look up the Dura-Europo's synagogue), which shows once again that it was Judaism and everyone else who changed, where as Orthodoxy has remained the same.
Veneration (showing honor, love, and respect) is just what Christians do. Not only do we do it to each other since we are all made in the image of God, but even in Protestantism it is done to the Bible by being bound in the finest leathers with gilded pages, etc. Veneration takes many forms.
I know it's a struggle for the west and Protestantism because our culture is so far removed from Biblical culture, and that this is also in reaction to abuses of Rome, but for anyone turned off of Orthodoxy because of Icons, keep exploring; you'll be happy that you did. I know the intercessions of the saints might be another stumbling block for you, but we'll leave that for another time (although, hint: if you can understand what the Divine Council is, you will begin to see how that works as well [combine that with Ch. 9 in "The Lord of Spirits" book, and it should all click... at least, that's what did it for me).
Roman Catholic here, much love and respect for Orthodox brothers
They despise you.
@@notcrazy6288It depends on who you talk to and their level of understanding of Christianity.
I am Catholic and my late wife was Orthodox. I worship in both churches.
We are not brothers with any Heterodox... as Lord said "one faith"... and Heterodox do not have a share in that.
@@johnnyd2383 that’s not what Jesus would say
@@johnnyd2383 The Lord said one faith. Ok! Who has the right to define what that means?
Be careful about acting like you are better than others lest you fall into arrogance.
Division among Christians is one thing that brings joy to the devil and many non-Christians.
I have never been religious, never gone to a church service, but I stepped into a n Orthodox Church and it really spoke to me, every form of worshipping God is taken seriously, but I had never seen such a sincere form of worship to God, I have been interested in in orthodoxy for a long time
I AM CATHOLIC BUT THIS ORTHODOX PRIEST SOLVED ALL MY PROBLEMS. CHRIST HAS RISEN.
Christ is risen indeed!
It's maybe time for you to come to orthodoxy
There’s ONLY ONE priesthood and that’s the Catholic one because there’s ONLY ONE CHURCH the holy Catholic Church. And you have the orthodox CULTS that serve Satan.
@APaviationgame814 Time to convert perhaps?
I am serbian and i just wanted to say how beautiful is to listen to the prophet and how calming it is for the ears
God Bless Fr. Borjan and the parishoners at Holy Resurrection!
For example the Ancient Orthodox church of Cyprus became Christian by apostle Barnabas and Paul when they came to Cyprus. They made the first baptisms out of Jerusalem and the first one to be baptized was Saint Iraklidios and Saint Avxivios who became the first Bishops on the island of Cyprus. Additionally Lazarus after Jesus brought him back from the dead, escaped from Jerusalem and came to Cyprus and became the first bishop of Kitium. So Cyprus is Orthodox for 2000 years from the apostles till now and we still have saints and prophets from Christ till now..! The ancient church still exists even most don't know
My stepmom is second generation Greek living in US, and she and my Dad have told me all kinds of amazing stories about the hidden ancient churches, caves, and catacombs they were able to visit on their trips to Greece… I would love to visit some of these places one day.
ooo o john wu big respect aderfe. Akouw thn mousikh sou edw kai polla xronia sinexise thn uperoxh douleia na se exei kala o theos
Did greece become a Christian majority country right away? in Serbia some people were baptized by the apostle Paul as soon as he passed trough there in the first century but it didn't become a Christian majority country until the time of saint Sawa and the Nemanjic dynasty..
I recognize this Church! My Parish visited them for Vespers on the way up to Jordanville Monastery. The Priest was wonderful and Church beautiful! I recognize the unique white iconostasis, and the pews with the gold plates are familiar too. Wonderful little Serbian Orthodox Church
Which location is that, if you don't mind?
@AlexDerhuan i unfortunately do not recall. I remember, if I'm correct, only that it is Serbian Orthodox
@@GarrettTheFool Don't worry, thank you but what country at least?
Jordanville Russian monastery is located just outside Syracuse, new york...if I'm not mistaken.
Praise God! Wonderful video thank you, dear ones 🙏🏽
Greek Orthodox Christian here. 🎉Love from Greece 🇬🇷 🎉May the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth bless you all ❤❤
To be Christian one must be Catholic and loyal obedient to Rome or HELL awaits. Only Jesus can found a Church and that’s the holy Catholic Church which is also his mystical body on earth
Wow, this was great. Awesome show, Father!
I am Greek Orthodox and this was a wonderful discussion. God Bless☦.
I really like this priest.. he really resonates grace, patience, understanding and love. What a wonderful person.
Yes, the Serbian Orthodox church usually sends people like this away to some far away parishes, as a form of punishment coated by a veneer of grace. His Orthodox brothers back in Serbia are some of the biggest and ignorant assholes and crooks on earth and the words coming from their mouths sounds like some medieval villain shit, these are preserved to mentally damage further generations of Serbians, as well as to take as much money as they can from the state and from their believers to make the church even richer as well as themselves.
I'll give you a quote from one of the most revered metropolitans in the Serbian Orthodox church, who died a few years ago, and was actually one of the least bad metropolitans in the region, so he said: "The one who betrays the faithful, brotherly Russia, may live flesh fall off of his bones." And another one of his beautiful quotes was for gays, lesbians and women without children "The branch without fruits is to be plucked from the tree and thrown into the fire". And if this guy is one of the best, just imagine what others do and say.
You can really feel the love thru his answers
I love this brother so much. Grace be with you brothers.
Greek orthodox wish you merry Christmas, God be with you
Christ is born.
@MichaelWhite-c2z really, was born
I am a Greek Orthodox. May God bless you father! Thank you 💜
Greek Orthodox here god bless you and thank you for this interview
Enjoyed this very much. Thank you. I hope many will listen and come to a better understanding of Orthodoxy! It is so wonderful with faithful solid answers to every question!
Greek orthodox here, thank you for the video. May God bless people and find their way to the real path of God and be with the paradise with Jesus Christ ,Virgin Maria and the saints .We are in hard times and devil have his people to demolish everything in Earth. Keep the true faith ,at the end we have only our souls and pray to God
Spot on answers, glory to God. Amazing how concise and clear some of the core Orthodox believes were presented!
Great to see my home parish, Holy Resurrection, featured. Thank you Fr. Borjan!
This Church is called Holy Resurrection? Why does it look like St Nicholas next to Panagia?
@@gobucs3146 I figured the icon on that panel was chosen by the parish, so I didn’t think to ask. I’m going to catechism class tonight though, so if I get a chance, I’ll ask him then.
@@gobucs3146 do you this is a problem?
@@elumy97yea, because traditionally the parish icon is in that spot.
Amin this is what zi love about Orthodoxy the wisdom humility unity of the church Fathers they live out the faith in obedience from generation to generation ❤️🙏
Wonderful!
So many important questions, answered.
As a baptized Orthodox, until I was 24 I was like many and went to church only on major holidays like Easter and Christmas. Then I started to learn about my faith and, hanging out with priests, I started reading a lot about the Orthodox faith, learned Church Slavonic (Old Church Slavonic), read a library of books (in a certain order, otherwise I would not have understood anything). Since I had been involved in music in my life anyway, I started singing during various services that exist in the Serbian Orthodox Church. Fasting, prayer and communion are what every Orthodox believer must have in their life, as the Lord says in the New Testament - Whoever does not eat my flesh and drink my blood does not have life in himself -. Christ is among us.
The Byzantine empire we thank you for spreading the good news to the Slavic speakers and the known world.
☦️☦️☦️☦️☦️☦️☦️
based
România Orthodox here God bless you brothers and sisters ! Amen !
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Indian orthodox ☦️here , lord bless you all my brother and sisters ❤️
I'm being pulled closer and closer to Orthodoxy as I learn. Sadly there are no denomination Churches near me.
Wow. What a beautiful man. You can feel the light of God reflecting on of his spirit and character.
Celtic Orthodox 😇
Thank you for this video, I'm praying for more understanding.
I’m a Serbian orthodox, I am pretty sure that I saw our patriarch at the beginning of
I visited the Serbian Orthodox Church and enjoyed the Holly Liturgy which is, I was told, unchanged since it was founded eight hundred years ago. That, in my opinion, explains the icons. Eight hundred years ago very few people were literate and these icons were the perfect tool to teach them the faith through examples set by saints. Icons are self explanatory. The temple represents Haven. Showcases what the afterlife would be like if one follows the example given by saints. There's gold everywhere, chants. The whole Liturgy is led by priest chanting (it's more a recitativo) and chorus responding (concerto - concertino) in classical music which led to opera. There's a throne reserved for invisible but omnipresent God and chain over a seat (so nobody would dare to sit on God's lap) by the altar which is a gate to Haven. Right there is a dome with windows (these are the only windows on the temple) shining onto the faces of angels with rosy cheeks. They smile at you and they're inviting you to join them with open arms. Is there a more beautiful message? There's no sitting (sleeping) during Liturgy and at times there is a smoke of incense that represents the Holy Spirit. I am not a believer but this is how I understood it. Just imagine what impression such Liturgy would make eight hundred years ago on an illiterate peasant. He would be shaken to the core. That would be a life changing experience comparable to going to a rock concert today. Yes, it was an educational multi-media show created eight centuries ago. Wow!
6:31 Great points. SO many good examples to counter the Protestant accusation of idol worship. I was going to mention some of those same scriptures if Father hadn’t. As a Protestant I had a different lens I was looking through, and even though I had read all those passages multiples times, I still had this iconoclast perspective because I didn’t connect the dots, or I listened to other iconoclasts rather than the scriptures and those who have been in the True Church since it’s inception. You can also look at history to see this in practice by faithful Christians.
As an Orthodox Christian now, it seems so silly that I would accuse people of being idolatrous who were fighting against paganism and idolatry and even being martyred, all for for their faith in Christ. Do we really think they were so dumb that they fought against idolatry and then somehow also committed idolatry? I don’t think so.
In the process of converting to Orthodox. Born and raised RC, practiced as an evangelical but found I was not satisfied. One Liturgy, I was convinced I have finally found my home.
Greek Orthodox , Thank You Father.
Thank you, father borjan!
I like this priest,he is not in line with the synod in Crete where blasphemies were said about communion,God bless him🙏🏻
Serbian Orthodox here,God Bless you all brothers and sisters ☦️☦️🙏🏻
I am Roman Catholic and I was taught that the Pope is just the administrator and someone older with a lot of Church experience who could offer advice and such. I didn’t know he had a Henry VIII style “act of supremacy”, I hope that is just a misinterpretation and not the doctrine of my faith
I don’t like how my Church is behaving but I was born Catholic, I want to help these people but they are straying from the gospel pushing for female “priests” and gay marriage. I may become Orthodox by necessity, the Church must follow the law of God not that of man
Papal infallibility is unfortunately an official doctrine of the Catholic church- one that it historically murdered other Christians over. It's definitely not a misinterpretation.
Find a traditional catholic church.. Amen 🙏
Yes, become Orthodox as the Vatican is a Titanic that hit an iceberg nearly a thousand years ago. Don’t go down with that ship. A tree is known by its fruit. Whether we’re talking about innovations, mass scale sexual misconduct, relativism, involvement in Marxist teaching (see liberation theology), etc, etc, the fact is that the “rcc” strayed from the ancient character and integrity of the faith long ago. You will never regret becoming Orthodox, believe me.
I think the Catholic church is doing pretty well fighting against accepting gay marriage and female priests etc. unfortunately the way the gays were handled in the past directly lead to so many of them going into the priesthood and committing crimes. One shouldn't be removed from a church because they are gay we just can't accept the union. How many divorced people go to church and feel superior to the gays. The gays should be part of the church and confess their sins / marry women as they've done for hundreds of years. As for the Pope the current Pope is fine just he speaks out against Americas sins so everyone hates him. But I hope for a reunion with orthodoxy as orthodoxy has far superior community. As for the structural differences I dont know but I'm sure they will be rectified in time
God be with us and do not forget to save lives next to you at least.
Love to all from Bulgaria!... Really the pews surprised me, here in Bulgaria only the very sick and the very old are allowed to be seated in the temple.
Great video, God bless you all ❤
În Bucharest,România we are building the largest Orthodox Cathedral in the world,next to the Palace of the Parliament!
That refutation about icons gives much to think about. I have reading to do
Go to the channel "harmony" and observe video speaking about the art in early Christianity.
No Johnny No!! They need to read God's word for truth not man's@@johnnyd2383
see but with this, the context of those images he is talking about is important, as God was commanding those things to happens whereas this isn't the case here
Because protestants have put into perspective all elements of the Christian faith they now call worshipping singling, clapping and reading the Bible.
When they see Catholics and Orthodox venerating the Blessed Virgin Mary they automatically understand that as worshipping.
However, worshipping for Catholics and Orthodox is Christ's Covenant getting updated and renewed in the Eucharist. In sum, there's no sacrifice in the name of any Saint or the Virgin Mary but Christ's only.
Mt 26:38 "Drink from it, all of you. This is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."
Nice responses from the Fr. I am an Irish Catholic but very interested in the Orthodox Church. Sadly there are no English liturgy near me. Thank you to the host also who was doing an MC Hammer dance throughout the whole interview 😂
Don't know why he was so nervous :)
I visited the Serbian Orthodox Church and enjoyed the Holly Liturgy which is, I was told, unchanged since it was founded eight hundred years ago. That, in my opinion, explains the icons. Eight hundred years ago very few people were literate and these icons were the perfect tool to teach them the faith through examples set by saints. Icons are self explanatory. The temple represents Haven. Showcases what the afterlife would be like if one follows the example given by saints. There's gold everywhere, chants. The whole Liturgy is led by priest chanting (it's more a recitativo) and chorus responding (concerto - concertino) in classical music which led to opera. There's a throne reserved for invisible but omnipresent God and chain over a seat (so nobody would dare to sit on God's lap) by the altar which is a gate to Haven. Right there is a dome with windows (these are the only windows on the temple) shining onto the faces of angels with rosy cheeks. They smile at you and they're inviting you to join them with open arms. Is there a more beautiful message? There's no sitting (sleeping) during Liturgy and at times there is a smoke of incense that represents the Holy Spirit. I am not a believer but this is how I understood it. Just imagine what impression such Liturgy would make eight hundred years ago on an illiterate peasant. He would be shaken to the core. That would be a life changing experience comparable to going to a rock concert today. Yes, it was an educational multi-media show created eight centuries ago. Wow!
Latin/Eastern Rite Catholic, here....loved the interview. Great questions and answers. Hope you will do more in other churches.
I plan to! I have an interview scheduled with a Catholic Priest & another one with a Mennonite minister
Thank God I'm Orthodox.
:-))) clown
@@drjanitor3747 Wow how very thought provoking
Who knew
> You right
> This guy wrong
Insanely insightful, thank you for your wonderful and not at all nothing of a response
Luke 18:9-14
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 He also told this parable to some cwho trusted din themselves that they were righteous, eand treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men fwent up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, gstanding by himself, prayed1 hthus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 iI fast twice a week; jI give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, gstanding far off, kwould not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but lbeat his breast, saying, ‘God, mbe merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For neveryone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
That's why every orthodox christian says: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." @@MatthewFloor
God doesn't think so!
I got my start in christianity as protestant UMC now GMC ( my church treated communion as the body and blood) but i was a lukewarm christian for 13 yrs then became saved but living outside of the spirit (Romans 7:15-18) struggling/giving into sin for 5yrs 9mo, then i repented and asked for the Holy Spirit to come live in me so i could be made clean and my life reflect the bible. Now i live life as a Romans 8 Christian living in the Holy Spirit. Since then my chains have been broken. Not only that, the wool that was covering my eyes making me a man of division (an abomination to the Father Proverbs 6) and after reading Matthew 10:40-42 being able to see clearly, the verses make it clear that doing things in the name of saints (prophets, rightious-man, disciple) is a-okay. And the way saint veneration is explained by the clergy also made my "you're worshiping idols" comments from back in the day pointless, they dont worship them. They venerate them because the Name of God that is within them, and said saints are still alive because we do not worship a god of the dead, but The God of the Living. Since that revelation of matt 10:40-42 i will never call Orthodox or Catholics heratics. They are my Brothers/Sisters in Christ, as are my Protestant Brothers/Sisters i cannot wait till we all come together as the full body of Christ no longer divided by spiritual pedigrees and men of division.
I like your eyes opening but keep in mind what Mark 16,16 is saying and also remember that Simon wanted to buy Gift and take it outside of the Church but met his end... That story tells us that in order to get Baptized one needs to go to the Lord's Church - EOC He founded 2000 years ago and is only one in possession of the Apostolic Succession. Others, like OOs and RC lost it due to departures from the original doctrines.
Look for your answers in the merging of orthodox Christianity with the ancient greek religion, the rituals, the warship traditions and the mysticism initiations (Eleusis, Apollos oracles in Delhi)
Based
Great conversation. Hope you enjoyed your first Divine Liturgy, there's nothing like it! Maybe you're already planning on going again, but some good advice I heard is to commit to attending at least 3 - 5 Liturgies. That first time it's just so much and often extremely foreign, particularly for Westerners and Protestants. Going a few times allows you to get a better feel for all that's going on. It's incredible rich and theologically full.
I thank God for His church!
I'm Serbian Orthodox too ❤
You experienced the Divine Liturgy. Not just some service.
... and you can *participate* in it and contribute to it
Orthodoxy is the true church ☦️ I whole heartedly believe if one studies early church history one would no longer question Orthodoxy
The Church are believers. God said He doesn't dwell in any specific home. Yall are lost
@ Thou art peter, and upon this rock (Jesus) (petras=Peter)I will build this church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18-19. Whats sad is people tend to think they know more than the body of Christ, talk about leaning on ones own understanding
@ peter was a bishop, not a pope.
The more I am learning now that I have begun to find my faith again. The more I am thinking orthodox is the way to go. However, sadly their aren't any orthodox churches close to me.
I visited the Serbian Orthodox Church and enjoyed the Holly Liturgy which is, I was told, unchanged since it was founded eight hundred years ago. That, in my opinion, explains the icons. Eight hundred years ago very few people were literate and these icons were the perfect tool to teach them the faith through examples set by saints. Icons are self explanatory. The temple represents Haven. Showcases what the afterlife would be like if one follows the example given by saints. There's gold everywhere, chants. The whole Liturgy is led by priest chanting (it's more a recitativo) and chorus responding (concerto - concertino) in classical music which led to opera. There's a throne reserved for invisible but omnipresent God and chain over a seat (so nobody would dare to sit on God's lap) by the altar which is a gate to Haven. Right there is a dome with windows (these are the only windows on the temple) shining onto the faces of angels with rosy cheeks. They smile at you and they're inviting you to join them with open arms. Is there a more beautiful message? There's no sitting (sleeping) during Liturgy and at times there is a smoke of incense that represents the Holy Spirit. I am not a believer but this is how I understood it. Just imagine what impression such Liturgy would make eight hundred years ago on an illiterate peasant. He would be shaken to the core. That would be a life changing experience comparable to going to a rock concert today. Yes, it was an educational multi-media show created eight centuries ago. Wow!
Greek Orthodox here. Remember that a priest in the orthodox Church doesn't treat what he does as his job. He is a true believer that chooses this path. You can tell that not only believes what he's saying but he's extremely calm and trying to make you understand not only his point of view but prove to you why he believes. Humble and with humility explaining to you.
Unlike the countless Christian denominations that become loud preachers trying to excite feelings in you so you can be under their control.
Look at what's happening with the evangelicals here in America I mean do they really believe ?????
Thank you for this interview and I'm sure it helps spread the word the true word
Ethiopian Orthodox, Thank God.
You are not Orthodox. Stop calling yourself what you are NOT.
13:33
And it was St. Andrew who created our Bulgarian Church, 1st century, 50km from my home :) He took the Black Sear Coast and continue North, making Churches everywhere He goes.
Why are you constantly shaking your legs during this theological lesson ?
Iliryo-Albanian🇦🇱 Orthodox here❤️🔥☦️🙏🔥🕯️
🇷🇸☦️🇦🇱
@private_channel11 brother we need to liberate Dardania nowadays kosovo from türko arabs, 80% they are not Albanian .
Good.
Thank you.
Clarity!
u ime oca i sina i svetoga duha AMIN
Macedonian orthodox here, God bless you!
Skopje Orthodox you mean stand corrected my friend.
Bulgarian orthodox you mean
@@Nshandles88 Is there a room for hate in Orthodox Christianity? Slavic people have lived since ever in Macedonia all the way to Thessaloniki (Solun).
On the pew thing, I know of one parish where the priest noticed that many visitors weren’t coming back after the first time. So, to make it seem more “American,” they added pews to the church.
They noticed many more people were coming back, and many actually converted. The big empty space freaked them out.
Basically, the priest at that parish realized that the pews themselves were nothing to run people off over and that if adding them brought more people into the Kingdom then so be it 🙂.
Interesting video!
Srbian Orthodox Church St Sava here from Merrerville Indiana USA.
Venezuelan Orthodox Here, God bless ☦☦☦
Мир Божији браћо и сестре!
Awesome vid
Bog vas blagoslovio braco!SLAVA BOGU ! AMIN !
Greek Orthodox here. No further comments.
Ο Χριστός μαζί σου.