Why Would A Protestant Christian Convert to Eastern Orthodox Christianity?
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2020
- Why would a protestant convert to Eastern Orthodoxy? Here are a few reasons from this man's personal reflection. To support our efforts, join us as a member here on RUclips or visit our Patreon: / theoriatv
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Before my wife passed, she wanted to attend an Orthodox Church but I put my foot down, and said, Honey, I don't care how beautiful their worship is, it is "dead worship!"
In other words, there was no life of the Holy Spirit there because it was like a religious dance, a beautiful stage play.
Years later, after my wife had passed, my son mentioned in passing that he was going to an Orthodox Church. As a Protestant, in my mind that was a Big, NO NO!
I decided to go because I felt I had to rescue my son, but first I had to find out what they believe so I can make a logical argument against Orthodoxy; even though
I knew nothing about the Faith or the history of the Chuch.
I went, I was in grief over the loss of my wife. I thought if I go the Lord will meet my need and I will feel better. By the time the Liturgy was over, I was MORE depressed.
I could not get out of there fast enough!, and I ran! On the way to my car, my son came after me. I told him that I was more depressed after this Liturgy than before I arrived.
So,............ where is God in this Church? Next, my son put his arm so gently around my shoulders and said, "Dad, if you ever come back just to visit remember this one thing, that the worship of God is not about you, it is about God!!! Immediately I recognized the truth of those words! He spoke a truth I had never considered.
I went back again and again, till we had the Paschal service. It was during that service my heart totally changed because I was so deeply touched by it,.As everybody proceeded out of the Church in procession out onto the street. As we proceeded, my mind was made up not to return to my former church. I said to myself that from
now on, THIS WILL BE MY CHURCH!!!
This happened 18 years ago, and I am still there.
Amazing brother. I am searching. Thanks for sharing!
@@tbo2120
May God bless you wherever you are. I'm not orthodox either but recognize how challenging it can be to traverse the waters looking for Christ's way and church. God sees us all in our lives and is not distant.
@@tbo2120 You've found it.
Wow, I pray for you and your wife.
😍🕊️☝️❤️☦️
I am switching from Protestant to Orthodox because I want to know the truth.
Still praying for you every day, Mark!
Amen!! 🙏🏼 it’s a wonderful journey!
@Daniel Labbe absolutely! There isn't an Orthodox priest around who would accept you into The Church if it was any other reason than seeking God the Father and Jesus, His Son. In fact The Church is the Bride of Christ! And my bride, my wife, may be lots of places in the city we live. Indeed she is in lots of places. But if I can't get ahold of her I know one place she WILL be, HOME!
So my question is why in the world would you NOT want to be a part of The Church where Christ is?! If you're seeking God, then, "Come and see!" He is truly in His house! ❤️🙏😊
"Then we went to Greece, and the Greeks (including the Emperor himself) led us to the edifices where they worship their God, and we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. ...We only know that God dwells there among men..."
www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/church-history/tenth-century/saint-vladimir-of-kiev
@@innocentgreen1338 amen. Exactly!! Beautiful!! ❤️😍🙏🏼☦️
Am I the only one that feels like there's a big wave of us converts coming home to holy Orthodoxy?
Thank you for sharing your testimony, God bless you!
No you are not the only one,sister.. The next years to come as history goes towards end of time will be years of re-evangelism of the West.. Already the Orthodox Church in USA is flourishing... Monasteries are founded everywhere and spiritually hungry brothers and sisters of various denominations protestant and Roman Catholics return home... Sometimes even massive conversion of congregations with their pastors.. In Europe the same...Doxa to Theo.. Praise the Lord
@Sete de Vesnicie I was talking about West, meaning USA and western Europe...it is an undeniable fact that there is a big wave of converts from protestantism and Roman Catholicism to Orthodoxy in these countries..Elder Joseph of Arizona founded 20 monasteries in USA and Canada...also in western Europe:France,England and Germany ...in already orthodox countries like Romania,Russia,Bulgaria,Serbia there are different problems...those countries were for decades under Communism...but I think they are better now free to worship..of course Facebook and secularism have been worldwide,everywhere but at least people in these countries are free to live as orthodox.This danger of secularism exists also in Greece,but whatever they do,no matter what,Orthodoxy has deep roots in Greece and Romania and other long ago orthodox countries...the good news is that Orthodoxy is today broadly known in USA and western Europe,many brothers and sisters come finally back home as you can see from their own testimonies here and other orthodox channels...
I understand what you say but at least Orthodoxy will shine all over the world after the third world War according to St Paisios prophecies and of other saints... After the big disaster of the upcoming third world War there will be a triumph of Orthodoxy.. Every body will learn about it and then there will come the apostasy and Antichrist... At least that's what prophesies say.. Also in Greece young people are coming more and more to church not like in previous years and there are many Turks Muslims who are secretly baptised in Greece and also in Turkey.. Also the 1/3 of Turks will become Christian as st Paisios also said... Anyway we must be optimistic although true orthodox will be the small flock... We do not want to be great in numbers per se but for our brothers to know the Orthodox faith. May God enlighten our souls and protect all of us.. Amen
It IS growing Worldwide, do the studies and research. However, it is also shrinking in some few countries as well. So there is truth to both sides of that. But Overall it is growing. And I just believe it will continue to. There’s always negative people and naysayers everywhere u go and in anything u do. Just pray for them. Also that is why we all must pray for the church. Yes, it will suffer persecution, especially orthodoxy. And the world hasn’t seen anything yet. More terrible things are coming but we have to stand strong. God is doing something and it’s up to us to stay faithful to the end. Life was never promised to be fun or easy and especially as a Christian. We also have to be very careful as well.
At the same time, All that glitters isn’t always gold either. There is much ecumenism and modernist nonsense now within orthodoxy we have to be watching out for and be on guard for. It’s becoming very rampant now and seems as if the more orthodoxy spreads, the more it’s becoming more watered down and more like Protestantism. We need to be very careful, satan is becoming very deceitful and undercurrent and infiltrating from within.
We as Orthodox need to also keep to the truth ourselves and uphold the traditions and tenants of our faith before we lose it.
This COVID has revealed many things both good and bad.
Abit of info also in this video of facts n history🙏💒✝️
ruclips.net/video/hZNtaFzIqJc/видео.html
Former atheist who was raised in a protestant household here.
May God bless you for your conversion.
Amen.
*God. God bless g.
God bless you from Orthodox Romania!
@John Smith this doesn’t address much of what was commented in the video tbh.
Ortodoxo e comunista é sacanagem kkkkk
Welcome to the Church, Brother-in-Christ.
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@John Smith I am interested. Could you tell me one or two of those lies please?
I have been out of the church for 10 years now. The Protestant church lost its way when it began trying to morph into the culture around it. Many older and middle-aged believers like me were suddenly lost in all the smoke, lights, emotion driven music and watery preaching. Other Protestants simply abandoned the faith altogether for politics and social action. I started reading some older catholic writers awhile back and that led to reading some Orthodox writers. Then I began listening to the ancient orthodox music even though I couldn't understand a word. As I write this I am not Orthodox but my heart is leading that way. Pray for my wisdom and discernment if you have a moment. Thanks friends.
May God keep you and bless your journey
God bless you brother and lead you to His Orthodox Church... He never let's down sincere searchers... With prayers from Greece
Just said prayer for you. I became orthodox in July. Attend a Divine Liturgy if you can...”come and see...”
Abit of info also in this video of facts n history🙏💒✝️
ruclips.net/video/hZNtaFzIqJc/видео.html
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
I'm an Orthodox from birth , and I'm grateful to God every day that I am Orthodox
Is Eastern Orthodox the truth?
@@jakedubin8219 100%
@@jakedubin8219 theyhave bunch of pictures in there they declare them as holy its idolatry and they praise mary
@@chris-jy4im Dear friend! As a Greek Orthodox born i would like to educate you in a few things you have in a very wrong way.
-The Orthodox church is the absolute conitinuation of the Church the Apostles created and NEVER changed even a word of their teaching. That is why it is called the Ancient Church. We keep every single detail untouched and unchanged. Luther created your church 15 centuries later. Also let me tell you that he mainly opposed Catholisism and the ways of the Pope, since he originally was a Catholic. The Orthodoxy had nothing to do with his dispute with the Pope. So think about who do you call idolatrys -the Apostles? The first Christians?
-Regarding the icons or pictures as you call it. The first Christians and evern unthil the 15th centure AD did NOT have a bible. The New Testament Gospels were most likely being composed between 70 to 100 AD and only few had manuscripts, even fewer could read it because they were written in Greek. The Bible as a whole was first printed in 1450 AD. So in order to learn the stories and teachings of our Lord they used pictures. That is why iconography was created in the first place. For people not to forget the story of our Lord Jesus.
-When we venerate in front of an icon, we do NOT worship or venerate the wood but the person that is pictured. You will never find an icon of God as we have never seen him, but our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ came as a man so we can paint him. Think of this- maybe in your home you have pictures of beloved family of yours that have passed away, Sometimes when you missed them you might as well look the photos, hold the photos or even kiss a photo of your child, do you kiss and love the paper at that time? Do you miss or think about the paper of the photo??? No, you think and remember the person that is in the photo. That is exactly what we do with our Icons. We venerate the person that is pictured NOT the wood of the icon. So all this about idolatry is really nonsence and also insulting for us.
-Mary! How can Protestand people believe that God just allow to a random little nice girl to carry His Son in her and to raise Him to be a Man. What are you thinking? He waited until the race of people would be able to produce such a pure and unsinfull person as our Mother Virgin. How can you believe that He would allow His Son to have biological siblings... It is so unthinkable, inconceivable, incomprehensible that you dare to think like that. So do you believe that somewhere around the world there are people who carry the DNA of our God? In the Bible you can see that our Lord was not ready to start the miracles but in Cana wedding after the request of His Mother, He did it. Do you believe that the God that created everything since the beginning of time, would obey any random person?
Still we love our Mother since she begs her Son for our salvation every minute, always, as we love our beloveds, but we do NOT worship her. We venerate her. The same with the Saints. If for example you need something and you know someone who is a good friend to the person that can give you what you need, isnt it quite normal to ask
him to intervene and maybe say something good for you? Is this so strange? That is what we do when we pray to our Saints. Again we do not worship anyone else but our God! Also we admire them as fellow humans that were able to actually repent and reach enlightmnent. In our day people admire athletes, actors, artists, politicians and all kind of people. Is it so bad to admire and honor real and enlightten christians as the saints?
-Do you know where the word Heresy comes from? It comes from the Greek verb "αίρω" (it sounds "aro" which means i remove, lift... So for us, Heretics are those who changed the Dogma those who removed whatever they didnt like according to their thoughs and needs. Those who made it really easier to call themselves christians, those who had the ego to believe that they know better that the ancient Fathers of the Church, the Apostles. This is astonishing indeed.
Trying to be a real Christian is not easy! It is really hard especially in the world we are living today. A new persecution of the Christians has begun in a very harsh way! So my dear brother please wake up and return to the real one and only Church. The Orhtodox Church! And even if you decide not to. stop spreading false and insulting claims for thinks that you really are not educated. Start by loving the people that also worship Jesus Christ as their one and only God! Do not hurt them, because know that calling us idolotries is really hurtfull.
Please believe that in the Orhtodox Church we pray first for the ones who consider us enemies and then for the rest of the world and lastly for our families. So i am sincerely and from the bottom of my heart praing for you and your family to be alwasy well and in the arms of our Lord!
@@elroussa are u serious my Brother in Christ Lets discuss this If u praise Something or somebody you Worship them didnt u read what Ive written before thats a fact Do u want me to pull scripture in to this and make IT easy and simple I have Russian Friends that were orthodox and they also admit that IT IS a fact you cant deny It
And i would never kiss a Photo of a Family member of Like this ITS the Same again U should Not do that ITS Not good to do such Things because the Person on the Photo IS Not the Person No more ITS Not good to kiss Pictures of death people IT doesnt Matter If Family member or Not U can have Picture yes but ITS Not the Same Mary and all the Others yall praise them yall Worship them I would never do that because the Lord didnt teach US to do that were did He showed US that
I am the son of a Pentecostal pastor. I became disenchanted as I entered my twenties. I was of the mind that if what I had called Christianity was all there was, I didn't want it. It never even occurred to me to search, but my brother texted me one night and said "When Paul says to keep what he taught in word and epistle, where's the word part?"
That launched a complete reevaluation and realignment of my life and my wife and I will be baptised in Nov. Glory to God!
God Bless you Daniel Abit of info also in this video of facts n history🙏💒✝️
ruclips.net/video/hZNtaFzIqJc/видео.html
How beautiful! Glory to Christ our Lord and God!
God bless you
Do you think, that Orthodoxy needs reformation and return to the teaching of the 1st century? facebook.com/vestovoya
orthodox worships idols .please please come to jesus.
I converted to Protestantism in 2012 and chose to be nondenominational. I practiced Christianity with the knowledge I obtained in the Bible, and attended a Baptist church for 4 years. In 2019, a member my church sexually harassed me for half a year and eventually confessed his love to me, despite his best friend being my boyfriend. After rejecting him, he continued to stalk me. I decided to explore other Christian denominations to see what I could find. My first stop was my "local" Orthodox Church, which was an hour and a half away. The first week I attended I thought it was a cult, but the people were exactly as my former pastor described how a church should be; like a family. I asked the priest, "What do you have that other churches don't? Because whatever it is, I want it too." All he said was, "Seek the Lord, and you shall find your answer."
I'm now a catechuman and I thank God for leading me to His Church ☦
God bless g.
God bless you
@@elpo203 You too man.
@@elpo203 God bless.
Alleluia!
Another Protestant here studying, and seeking the Orthodox Church. My heart is being stirred up, and I believe it is the Holy Spirit. Thanks for sharing.
Is the Orthodox Church true?
I am a convert to the orthodox Christian church . after losing our son to suicide the protestant church we attended did not help us through this horrific tragedy. I was Lutheran all my life..but now I needed to find a merciful and forgiving God again and find our son...I found both and peace and hope in the orthodox church with its deep worship and consistent history through 2000 years
You need to pick a church based on that church having correct doctrine, not based on it making you feel comforted. If a buddhist came up to you and was super nice to you, would you abandon Christ?
Man, that's a hard way to do it! God be praised, you found your way there, though.
@@patrickbarnes9874 I have done 14 years as a Bible study leader and I have great knowledge of Christianity's history and Scripture knowledge plus knowledge of all kinds of different denominations within Christianity. I spent several years investigating the Orthodox since its inception at the day of Penticost. Even before our son died I was asking two questions... What was it like when Jesus Christ walked the. Earth and how did the church worship and practice it's faith and the deeper question is how far away are we from that worship and tradition as Christians and does it matter? I found that we are far from it in most denominations and I believe that it does matter. If all I was looking for was a feel happy Church there's hundreds of denominations that act like that and present that to their congregations. If you haven't ever experienced, and I hope you never do, a really deep wounding tragedy in your life it does beg you to find the peace of God..
Which is what I did in Orthodoxy. And the meaning of the word orthodox or orthodoxy means right doctrine.
❤
@@patrickbarnes9874Eastern Orthodox Church is ORIGINAL CHURCH from year 33(NO DEVIATIONS).
Catholicism became HERESY in 1054.
Protestantism is man-made SECT from 1517.
I’m a cradled Russian Orthodox Christian. I fell away from the faith due to public schooling, even though I went to church every Sunday. I stopped praying around 8th grade and then I went through 2 years of terrible hardships. Then God relieved me and I still did not return. I looked towards New Age beliefs (which I did not know were anti God) and tried manifestation last year. I fell into depression and overwhelming sense of impeding doom. Every day I would wake up feeling like something bad was going to happen. I repented for 40 days and my mental state was completely healed. The demon that was torturing me with intrusive thoughts and overwhelming fear had left me. Ever since that miracle, I’ve been praying every morning and evening, trying to keep the fast on Wednesday and Friday, studied the Bible more, and I now find joy in my heart to go to church. Pascha is my favorite celebration because our Christ rises again. I see the world through peace and patience, knowing God is there to help me and guide me. I am no longer lost and trying to do things by myself without the help of God. God bless you all and I pray for you to experience your own miracles in your journey with the Lord
Played this with the volume up so hubby could hear it. As soon as you mentioned Church history, he said, "yep there it is!" We converted to Orthodoxy 6 years ago. We studied the history, and after that, we felt there was simply no other choice. It has been truly LIFE CHANGING for us.
Amazing the wonders of our Lord to the hearts of sincere searchers. Praise the Lord
I'm sure I could write a book about my conversation, but here's the tl;dr: I wanted authentic, ancient Christianity. I was blessed to find it.
Thank you for sharing! If you appreciate our content and believe in our mission would you please consider becoming a patron? www.patreon.com/user?u=44232317
Would like to hear your testimony.
I love the music, the bible studies and the concern in the evangelical church on helping others meet Christ, however, after being a born-again believer since 1984, I wanted more depth within my worship experience and to experience the connection with the Church & the saints of the past. The Orthodox Church doesn't change, doesn't engage in fads and is holistic in that all of your senses are involved. The icons, incense, candlelight, acapella singing, the beauty of every Orthodox sanctuary......draws me to Christ and is so lovely to experience. It calms my soul and helps me to really concentrate on the Lord.
I love that we have a meal together after the Liturgy. It feels like a family. I love my little church. I am in Europe.
Beautiful! Welcome Home brother!! I’m an ex Pentecostal Charismatic pastor now been Orthodox for years. And still Loving it more each day!
Greetings from Orthodox Romania!
@Rachel. So interestingly, I had the same sentiments as you. But a couple of things happened. One, I happened to stop speaking in tongues when becoming orthodox. The tongues just stopped! Also, upon further research, I discovered in the early church “tongues” meant speaking in other languages…Not unintelligible gibberish that we do today.
So also u have to check the spirit. Maybe u (as well as I had in the past) received “something” but that something was maybe not of God. There’s also false tongues and false spirits too. It’s also interesting to note there’s the kundalini spirit prevalent in many churches today. Which is not of God at all! It’s demonic. Such as the barking like dogs..holy laughter and rolling on the floor.
And If you think about it, it really doesn’t make any sense. why would God/Holy Spirit give a language that you can’t understand at all amd it doesn’t even make any sense?? 🤔 you’re not helping anyone not even yourself.
Also, I spoke in tongues for many decades every single day and night in prayer for several hours at a time. But during my last few years, as a Pentecostal , I started feeling that it wasn’t right/correct to be doing this..And wasn’t even helping me.
Also they don’t necessarily entirely “reject it”. Some do believe in it and do it too. But it’s just not talked about much anymore in orthodoxy and not common. That “gift” was for a certain time and season for the initial spreading of the Gospel. So it’s not needed today. But again their tongues are not necessarily gibberish..but other languages that they miraculously pick up. Etc.
Keep sticking with it you’re on a wonderful journey I took five long years to convert and thousands of hours of study which only continue to prove to me that Orthodox is the original true church, the modern extension of the early church. They only teach, practice and believe what was taught by the apostles in the early church as was passed down from them and saints/ church fathers. Everything that is done has a reason and a purpose, it’s a beautiful faith. It’s not some new addition or cult among the numerous modern heresies we see today of tens of thousands of denominational sects. Think about it Pentecostalism didn’t start till 1906 Azuza St. revival which I’ve been to that spot.
It was started by two guys, one a Charles Fox Parham Who began speaking in tongues. Looking back on that Incident now seems kind of sketchy, there’s a lot of weird things to that. And what about everybody before them? And long before I discovered the Orthodox Church I knew there was something wrong with modern Christianity. I also encourage you to look up father Barnabas Powell He’s also an ex Evangelical Pentecostal pastor Who is a Greek orthodox priest. He also has a RUclips series called Orthodox Boot Camp..Unless it has been taken down now and he’s on Ancient Faith radio which has many podcast talking about orthodoxy and in particular talks about speaking in tongues in some of his podcasts
@@rh10033 yes. I understand your situation and sentiments. I Went through the exact same things you are going through right now. I had a lot of those same questions among many others, not to mention the stumbling blocks I had to get over coming into orthodoxy, such as things that they do that we had always been taught were wrong in Protestantism. Again, I would suggest you get in touch with Father Barnabas where he can explain and expound better. Yes, You are definitely correct there’s too much disunity confusion and schisms within Protestantism and God is not the author of confusion. they can’t All be right and teaching completely different doctrines …which means that they’re mostly all wrong. Yes, as I stated before there was a need at some point in the beginning of the church to spread the gospel and maybe they did speak in “unknown tongues”, but what would that have benefited?? Let’s use a little common sense.. do you think that it makes more sense to speak in an unintelligible language that no one can understand or a language that others can understand ?? it was probably meaning that they were speaking in other languages to spread to those nations/areas. Also the protestant Bible has less books (which were removed later on after the reformation) from the original Bibles and also the orthodox church is who gave us the Bible by coming together in ecumenical councils to decide which books were official “cannon”
It didn’t just drop from the sky one day like protestants think, no. It was the early church itself that gave us the Bible hundreds of years AFTER the church had been going strong on the earth. In other words, if we were living in the first centuries, we would be Orthodox right now anyway by default. We also have miracles all the time in orthodoxy and some priests/Bishops do exorcisms too casting out demons. So the “signs” are definitely there too!
Raised a Jehovah’s Witness, agnostic for over 20 years now I live in a city that has Orthodox churches and will be attending. I agree that an honest look at Church history will show anyone that the Orthodox churches are where we should be. We need the depth of christianity that the Orthodox Church offers now maybe more than ever. God bless and all Glory where it rightly belongs.
God bless brother
@Kathleen Schneider God is guiding your family, glory to Him!
Perfect comment. Well done. Greeting from Serbia
Would you have any reading or video recommendations for staring this process?
I was also a Jehovah Witness until my teen years, I left them to become an agnostic/atheist. Then I decided to give God another chance, I looked into Orthodox Christianity, started to attend liturgies, and reading the Orthodox Bible.
I plan to get baptized in the future one day.
My biggest issue with Protestantism is that whenever there’s a disagreement they just start a new denomination. With the Orthodox Church whenever there is a disagreement they seek the guidance of God and they look at church history and how the Fathers came to their decision. Right now I’m a baptist but my personal views lean more orthodox so I’m praying about what church to attend in the future.
There is a difference between the Protestantism in America and in Luther's Germany after King James. The books Church History in Plain Language and Saints and Strangers will give you a good grasp on on that
I found the orthodox faith in 2008 in Ankawa, Kurdistan. Walked in during mass and they were speaking Arabic. I could not understand a word, but I felt something within my spirit with the prayers and the incense and the icons. Long story short I found my faith and was baptized and got married in the orthodox faith and now I raise my son into this faith. GOD bless all Orthodox Christians around the world.
Wonderful story. God bless you and your family. 🙏🏻
Is Eastern Orthodox the truth?
@@jakedubin8219 Yes, it is, mate. Handed down unchanged from the Holy Apostles themselves.
I’m a lifelong Christian and former Protestant pastor. Around 2- 2.5 years ago I began studying the early church as I had become disillusioned with Protestant Christianity. After much searching and praying, I found the true and apostolic faith; the Orthodox Church. I have really taken to the life and work of St. Gregory Palamas. I will be received into the Church very soon.
Former Protestant myself, and I'm looking to Eastern Orthodoxy too because it seems they have the fullness of truth. It's a rocky journey because even though I'm still Christian, Eastern Orthodoxy is so different requiring a paradigm shift apparently.
Same here. Took me about a year to finally make the decision. One day, when I was reading about the Orthodox position on the Kingdom of God, I could no longer stand it. I needed to "come home". I am so glad that I did.
When I met my now wife a couple of years ago, we were both Protestant. It has taken her a little more time to get acclimated, but the journey has been well worth it.
God Bless!
This is what helped "push me over the edge". When I realized the great truths presented here, I could no longer continue on as I formerly had.
"Too often modern Christians forget that the Church is not just an institution, but the Kingdom of God that is both here and is yet still to come. The Church is described as the Bride of Christ. We are betrothed to Christ. The second coming is the wedding day and the final consummation. Therefore, we live this present life in two dimensions: as saved and yet hoping for salvation; as betrothed to Christ and yet in anticipation and anxiety for the consummation of the marriage; as joyful and yet penitent; as having everything and yet possessing nothing; as living in this world and yet “having here no continuing city”; as in the world yet not of the world; as being members of Christ’s Church, receiving the new life of baptism and eternal life in the Eucharist; and yet as striving to be made worthy of the Kingdom to come.
This double character of Christian life is absolutely essential"
- Fr. Vassilios Papavassiliou
Yes it is!! But well worth it! I’m an Ex Pentecostal and charismatic pastor for 15 years who has now been Orthodox for many years now!! Still loving it more each day!
@@zealousideal amen! It's hard work, but it's worth it. I have never been as sure of my faith as I am in Orthodoxy.
@@George-ur8ow Yea, even though I haven't been baptized or confirmed yet, just looking at Jesus in a different light and accepting him as he is, has made Scripture come more alive; strange to describe it. Looking back at church history, I can't in good faith go back to Protestantism just based on the fact that the majority don't accept one of the councils that define who Jesus is...the one concerning the Theotokos.
I'm cradle Orthodox, and I am truly humbled by stories like this one. For all my experience in the Church, for all my intuitive knowledge, phronema perhaps (God willing!), I never had to find the Church. Thank you for sharing this.
Me too brother
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True. U are blessed to be “born into it!” But I think there is also a jewel 💎 in discovering it the hard, long and painful way too. 😉
I too am a cradle Orthodox and find sometimes we take it for granted rather than realize the true treasure it really is.
@@user-ir5ul1ph1c would you consider supporting this channel by becoming a patron? www.patreon.com/user?u=44232317
Welcome to the real and peaceful Orthodox Christianity. Sending my prayers from Ethiopian Orthodox Christian
God bless you, my brother in Christ Jesus.
Salvation is found in Christ and not in any Eastern orthodoxy or Catholicism or protestantism. No matter how you look at it either the scriptures are enough or they are not
@@patcola7335 Orthodoxy leads us to Christ.
@@Jayce_Alexander No it is the father who draws you to Christ. Jesus said himself all that the father gives him will come to him and the one who comes to him he will in no wise cast out.
The Father who draws us to Christ is apparently drawing many of us to Christ by way of His church along the way. It's evidently the case!
Also, I'd ask the question, truly, what is the reason you hold fast to the conviction that Scripture is "enough"?
As someone who has myself been a born again Bible believer since I was a child, I've now learned that historically, the early Christians relied heavily not only upon the Scriptures but upon remaining immersively within the whole life and teaching of the unified and unbroken Church, especially given that the average believer through most of world history had no access to the 66 book compilation of Scriptures so many of us have on our shelves today that we take for granted.
I was raised Southern Baptist, and during my adolescence and most of my 20s I thought I had a strong foundation in faith. During my military service, I explored some Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan, and read The Analects and The Dammapadha while stationed in Japan. Then I deployed to Iraq, and by the end of my tour something changed. It would be almost two years before I realized I was dying spiritually, and had to find a church that I felt I could feel connected to. While stationed in El Paso, TX I hit rock bottom spiritually. At some point I recalled learning about the Orthodox Church from high school world geography, and visiting a few Orthodox parishes while overseas. So, I figured it was time to see the Liturgy. It turned out, I lived just a 5-minute drive from two Orthodox parishes! Upon entering and witnessing my first Liturgy I immediately knew I found what I'd been looking for. That was in 2011. It hasn't been an easy journey since, but because of Orthodoxy it has been both a humbling and enriching one.
NORMAL PEOPLE TYPE BIBLE CRITICISM ONLINE AND LEARN THAT THE HEBREW MYTHS ARE MYTHS, STUPID. BUT YOU FROLIC IN IGNORANCE AND ARE COMPLETELY WILLING TO DIE FOR YOUR HUNCH THAT A BOOK WITH TALKING ANIMALS IS TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW EDUCATED ARE YOU? THE JEWS CREATED JEHOVAH GOD IN 950 BCE, THEN THEY STOLE SATAN FROM THE GREEK MYTH OF HADES. YOU MUST BE UNIMAGINABLY PROUD OF BEING PROPERLY BRAINWASHED...................................
I too was stationed at Fort Bliss, there is a Greek Orthodox Church there but at the time did not have anyone to lead, so I could not attend, but what a coincidence. Orthodoxy is the way and I’m happy you have found it. ☦️🙏🏻
Did you go to the Antiochian parish, then? Thank you!
I am a Protestant inquiring Orthodoxy, Through a video on RUclips of a Protestant having a tour of a Greek Orthodox Church I was drawn ! I have been researching for a year and I can no longer truly call myself a Protestant, I hope to visit an orthodox parish for the first time in December
God bless you!
Abit of info also in this video of facts n history🙏💒✝️
ruclips.net/video/hZNtaFzIqJc/видео.html
Search for some Monastery if you can. It would feel great when you attend
God bless!
I am a former Lutheran converting to Orthodoxy. The chaos of Protestantism led me to ask a lot of questions that led me to the True Church. I was always seeking after God, and always being told *about* God, but never experiencing Him. Thank God for His eternal mercies.
Greetings from Orthodox Romania!
@@vladodobleja748 Thank you!
Great testimony, what made you choose Orthodox of Catholicism?
@@Pax-Christi The innovations in theology that led to contradictions and further innovations to work around them, taking their Mariology way too far, and not finding their claim of supremacy convincing.
Why they draw the Father and pray to people (after getting paid) here in Eastern Europe?
Why do they say, that the Catholics made them draw the Father?
This Sunday I was in both assmblies: Hundreds of Orths kneel down in front of hundreds of images and ask for help...
I'm Greek Orthodox from birth, feeling grateful because if I wasn't from birth an Orthodox I might never known Orthodoxy and how rich and beautiful is. Glory to God! God gives us the life we can handle!
Δόξα ο Θεός!
I am truly surprised by reading these comments and seeing how many young people love the Orthodox Church....... it’s beautiful! I’m 19 and didn’t start taking the church seriously until I was 18, when I began reading church history. I also met Mormon missionaries last year and was thankfully protected by God the whole time I was with them and never left the true faith of Eastern Orthodoxy. LDS people are lovely and wonderful, but there is an emptiness in their church because it is built upon lies......I will continue to pray for them and I truly hope that they find the truth of God’s love no matter what. I’m happy my mother and father are Orthodox! I love this church so much! Welcome to our family!
God Bless you 🙏💒✝️
Hi there, Melinda! Yes, the LDS case is interesting in some ways. I remember meeting a pair of their missionaries in Germany many years ago, and over a tough couple of days, had to sort out whether to accept what they were saying. After sorting that out, my next meeting with a different pair of their missionaries in Virginia quite a few years later went much better and may even have been helpful for them - at least I hope so, because by that time, I was Orthodox myself and was able to try and give them some ideas that might point them in a better direction.
I'm very glad for you that you're making strides in your spiritual understanding. What was your starting point in approaching the history of the Church?
@@pgsells first of all, thank you for sharing your experience with the LDS missionaries! It is very interesting to hear that another Orthodox had a similar experience.
My starting point in approaching the history of the Church was actually Jordan B. Peterson's lectures, and if you have not heard of him, I highly recommend looking him up. He talks about personal responsibility and gives a psychological backing to religion. I had also read the Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (whom Peterson talks about extensively) and was moved by one of the main character's justification of atheism. After I read Ivan Karamazov's (the character) argument about the existence of God, I knew that I needed to know more about Eastern Orthodoxy and what it stood for if I was going to live a meaningful life. The book makes a very compelling argument for atheism, but it didn't lead me to become an atheist and only made me motivated to know more about the Church.
@@melindaa9938 You're welcome :) It surprises me that you find such a case for atheism in _The Brothers Karamazov_, since Dostoevsky was surely Orthodox himself, and there is the element of his having modeled Elder Zosima on one of the real Elders of a little before that time.. I was going to say St. Seraphim, but I don't think it was him. On the other hand, Dostoevski was not one to bother with mere caricature characters; any character advocating for a point of view would have been speaking from the point of view of the author having worked to understand it first.
I'm indeed familiar (at least in some contexts) with Peterson, mostly from seeing snippets of his psychology lectures - I haven't really sat down and read his writing that I can recall. I suppose, then, that it depends on how he approaches Church history. I'm glad that you're getting some insightful sources! I would say, though, that inevitably, relating to her history through the lives of the saints is going to help you grow even more spiritually than will a perspective from the outside looking in. And then, you become a part of her history as well. :)
I’m happy that you are recons getting familiar with the lives of the saints! I have been trying to do this recently and St. Seraphim is definitely one of my favorites from the 18th century! I also forgot who Zossima was based off..... thank you for sharing your insight with me! I also reading of Father Thaddeus! He’s very interesting as well :)
I was raised Calvinist, and for most of my teens and young adulthood, I was convinced I was unelect and unloved of God from eternity past. I was taught God has a nice list and a naughty list - to paraphrase - and there is no possible way to get from one list to the other. I did a lot of naughty things as a child, trying to read the Bible was like watching paint dry, daydreaming during church was the only way I could withstand the boredom, and while I did get the most out of family devotionals after dinner (we called it Bible Time), my favorite part was always when it was over.
I was about 13 when I realized the words of the scriptures were not taking root in my soul. I thought of the parable of the sower, and as I looked in the proverbial mirror, I knew I was the soil with the thorns. I wasn't repulsed by the gospel; there were things that moved me, but I was distracted by the cares and pleasures of the world.
We were taught to wait upon the Lord, and he will give you a new heart. I took this to mean "Don't pursue God. That's a work. If he wants you, he will make you want to come to him."
So that's exactly what I did. I didn't try to resist my sinful passions, because that's trying to earn your salvation, which is a sin. Now it's possible I misunderstood and thus misapplied what I was being taught, but the problem was I couldn't bring myself to go to my parents or my pastor, because I was too afraid of what I might hear. Best case scenario, I'd be told to just pray, but to my doubting heart, that always translated to "Just cross your fingers and hope for the best," which was of no comfort to me whatsoever. In the Calvinistic system of soteriology, your chances of being elect of God are less probable than winning the world lottery.
And as if that wasn't bad enough, we were Family Radio listeners, and around the time I became cognizant of my fallen state, Harold Camping was proclaiming that God's final judgment was come and had begun in the churches, that the true believers were to depart out and bring the gospel to the world as individuals in this last period of history, which would only be a few years. I was at the FR conference when Camping announced the year he was convinced the end would come.
The soul-crushing helplessness, and hopelessness, of watching the year 2011 tick closer and closer, and receiving no great revelation of God's truth or any supernatural change of heart, is a kind of despair that is truly indescribable. I felt completely, utterly, totally alone.
I felt a momentary relief when nothing happened on that much publicized date, but it didn't last, because I was still convinced I was on a railroad to hell; even if Jesus didn't return right then, I was still mortal, and had an eternity of torture the human mind is not capable of imagining to look forward to after I passed. Nearly eight years of quiet anguish followed.
Then one of my brothers started going to an Orthodox church not far from where we live, and I could not help noticing the dramatic change for the better in his spiritual life. Not long afterwards, two more of my brothers started going. I eventually got to a point where I wanted to check it out myself, but alas, procrastination is one of my chief sins. It was when I reached another low point in my life when I put my foot down and forced myself to go.
That was a little over a year ago. In that time I have had experiences which I cannot explain rationally. I've had *two* encounters with Our Lady, including one which was the next best thing to a Marian apparition. Best of all, I have encountered a God who desires *all* to come to understanding of the truth and salvation, as well as a heavenly host of innumerable saints and angels who are praying for us.
To go from believing you are unwanted and unloved by your creator to discovering all of that is something I do not have sufficient command over the English language to describe. This is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me.
reading your story brought tears in my eyes,because I realised how thirsty for the Real Church of Christ our brothers and sisters are in USA...what a spiritual damage has been done to many souls who were taught to be felt uwanted by Lord..with all those protestant denomiations which were the reaction to the heresies of Roman Catholicism...at the same time I can not find words to gratify God for I was born in Greece a traditionally Orthodox coutry,what a treasure we are given and how unworthy sometimes we prove ourselves to be against such treasure...Praying for all brothers and sisters who still ignore Orthodoxy as well as for all catechumens so that our Lord protect and guide them safely into His Orthodox Church...God's blessings.
Read St Symeon the New Theologian: On the Mystical Life
I was reading this and was thinking "this sounds super familiar" and then I kept reading and was like "this sounds SUPER familiar...". And then I looked at your user name. Small world 😁 I'm really looking forward to being able to be more a part of the church in January...
How has your orthodoxy conversion been since then?
I am in the process of catechism right now, after studying Orthodoxy on my own for over a year. I'd known "about" Orthodoxy since college (which is longer ago than I care to admit), but most of what I knew was wrong. It was in the process of questioning some elements of Protestant theology, and then beginning to read some of the church fathers for another project that I started inquiring into Orthodoxy. I will say that Hank Hanegraaff's conversion also made me curious as to why such an astute man could join a Church I considered dead in empty ritualism. It's hasn't been an easy road. There's been a huge learning curve, to say the least, and attending an Orthodox church regularly isn't easy where we live. However, in Orthodoxy I've found a faith with clear historical continuity, a plan for spiritual formation; multi-sensory but reverential worship, and constant reminders of the love of God. I was a devoted Protestant and have many wonderful friends in Protestant denominations, but in Orthodoxy I believe I've found the fullness of the Faith that I was always searching for.
Abit of info also in this video of facts n history🙏💒✝️
ruclips.net/video/hZNtaFzIqJc/видео.html
Alleluia !
Welcome home! This is very similar to my own conversion reasoning. When you said that you wanted to experience the actual transformation that Christ brings that really hit home with me, though most of the time I spend talking about history, theology, and arguments about legitimacy. Around the time of the 500th anniversary, I started reading and studying the Reformation. At first I knew that I no longer wanted to be low church or Calvinist and thought I was a Lutheran. Then I saw that Luther himself directed his followers, during the early time of the Reformation, to seek out "the Greeks" to find what the early Church was like without Rome's corruption (the Augsburg/Constantinople dialogue).
The current state of most Lutheran Churches and the Roman Catholic Churches also turned me away from them. I reached out to a professor I had that new to be Orthodox and he introduced me at a Church. At first I went to Church on my own to weekday liturgies as my wife was very unsure of why I wanted to change churches again to something that seemed incomprehensible at first since our first visit was to a Church that was doing a mostly Greek Liturgy. Now are very happy in the Orthodox Church we have found and have recently baptized our third child into the Church.
God bless you all
God Bless you brother I’m so happy I found this video it really made my day God Bless the channel owner and this lovely convert 🙏💒✝️
I am now currently exploring the Russian Orthodox Church in America.
ROCOR is the good one.! Thumbs up.! Russian OC and Serbian OC are the most traditional if you ask me...
God bless
Good luck from Serbian Orthodox Christian, may God bless you and guide you in the right way brohers and sisters.
I think the Lord is calling many of us to the Orthodox Church. I have been drawn as well, and it started similarly, by investigating the history of the Church. The more I read, pray, and listen, the more I feel in my soul that, yes, this is where I must go. I have watched numerous videos here on YT and purchased an Orthodox Study Bible, but I have yet to attend an Orthodox Church in person. I hope to do so soon.
God bless you!
@@Theoria God bless you too 🙏
He’s calling you deeper.
God bless
I would disagree, because of the idolatry, bowing down to idols and icons, breaking the very first of God commandments, I would say that as he says in the Bible “from out of her my people“. You cannot break this commandment and that’s what both the orthodox and catholic churches do, they bow down to statues of Mary, which is heresy, and They Have a dead Jesus hanging on the crosses, Jesus is alive, he rose again from the dead, brothers and sisters why are you sitting in the church where a false did Jesus is sitting on across. He is in heaven at the right hand of the father. Unbelievable, I pray that you see the light and come out of these churches before it’s too late
I was raised LDS (Mormon) until I was twenty. With that foundation I knew I always wanted to follow Christ, and I wanted to be active in His Church. Instead of serving my two-year mission I joined the US Marine Corps, and deployed to Iraq. It was there I began to identify as LDS in name, but agnostic in practice. After returning home I knew I was done being Mormon, and was encouraged by my younger brother, and dear friend (who is now my wife) to attend a local non-denominational church. I did so, and slow began to love it. I was married by one of the pastors of that church, my son was dedicated in that church, and I was a campus pastor for four years for that church after returning home from Bible school altogether I was a non-denom Protestant for nearly 10 years. As a pastor is when my wife and I discovered the Orthodox Church. We learned all that we could for four years before becoming catechumens, and, glory to God, my wife, son, and I were baptized and chrismated on Theophany of 2019.
Wow!
I’m a former Jehovah’s Witness!
@@CarolineJoyAmico I’ve met a few JW’s that have left their faith, but never one that has converted to a different faith after leaving. That’s pretty incredible! When were you baptized & chrismated Orthodox?
God bless
@@CarolineJoyAmico God bless brother
Is the Eastern Orthodox Church true?
Thank you fo sharing your story. Since you have invited people to tell their story, I will very briefly tell mine. Like many others from Eastern Europe born in the late seventies, I was born Orthodox. However, we lived in communist atheism and had no printed bibles or any other Christian or spiritual books or material (to me, it was normal). Our mother or grandmother would bring us to church a few times in the year, were bored, did not understand anything. Our parents liked travelling in the mountains every summer, and we would sleep in monasteries ecause it was cheaper. However, the smell, the icons, the songs have an impact on us, and they had an impact on me. I read the Journal of joy by Nicolae Steinhardt, when I was in my twenties, besause I loved literarture, and I started understanding Orthodoxy. The book was recommended by a literature teacher who was a friend, and was not a believer. Then I read the Bible, and other books, started going to church, and finally becoming what I was meant to be at baptism. God Bless!
I grew up in a Baptist home, my parents, like yours, are devout and weaned me in the teachings of the scriptures. It wasn't until I was invited to attend an Old Catholic Church (a group who split from Rome after Vatican 1) that I began to look deeper into the early Church Fathers.. over time I began to participate in sacramental life and I soon started to attend a local Orthodox Church.. I am soon to become a catechumen. I love the Orthodox Church ☦
Welcome home!
God bless and thanks for sharing!
Beautiful. Welcome home brother!
Praise Our Lord for leading you home... You are on the right path... Prayers from Greece
This is what happened to me. And once you start to discover the truth of church history and realize that Orthodoxy is the truth; it becomes inescapable. And you just have to act on it. I couldn't deny that it wasn't the truth. (typos galore)
I feel the same way. It’s like saying “Where else can we go, no one else has the words of life!”
orthodoxy is not the full truth - they deny their own past olf communion with Rome by talking about communion of equals that existed between Patriarchs, with no root in history - the problem is that keep on inventing 'tradition' as they go...
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@@silveriorebelo8045 Catholics are the reason that Agia Sophia is in Turkish hands after the two crusades! Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church means in greek The Church of the true faith that was given by the Apostoles in the all world! Orthodox is a greek word that means true faith ,Catholic is also a greek world that means the universal!At least we don't have a pope that thinks he is unmistakable and gives that gives indulgence that easy !Only Jesus was unmistakable because He was the perfect man and Gοd at the same time when He lived on earth!God is unmistakable!
@@silveriorebelo8045 We don’t deny having had communion with Rome, and the idea that *we* are the ones inventing tradition as we go is laughable. If we are inventing tradition, then you are inventing and mass manufacturing it. And we don’t deny Peter his seat as chief apostle, but you do seem to forget the saying, “you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel”. Their equality is firmly rooted in the intended equality of the twelve tribes in the Torah, and so they judge each their own region (Their Patriarchate) but Peter, much like the role of Judah, is chief shepherd among them. All bishops have received the keys of the kingdom through Peter, but Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome are the Patriarchates with direct continuity of leadership. Petrine authority however, also like Judah, does not make men incapable of sinning so as to be out of communion with the elect of Israel until this day. Sometimes the church needs to remind the pastor of his duties and limits so that he can make appropriate corrections. But Rome has not done that.
I have been a follower of God since Oct. 1978, mostly in small 'c' charismatic/pentecostal/Alliance (CMA) churches. From the beginning, I have been prayerfully reading, studying and often teaching from the scriptures.
In 2003, my life took a rather tragic turn, and I entered into a period of great emotional pain and stress, but it was also a period in which I felt closer to God than at any other time in my life.
What I learned over the next 15 or so years about the character and nature of God, my understanding of how we should interpret the Bible, even down to what is salvation and the atonement, made me feel more and more out of place in any denomination I knew of. I would sometimes say, in safe company, "I know enough to make myself a heretic in any church."
One of the teachers that I had been following a bit, toward the end of those 15 or so years, had made a foray into Eastern Orthodoxy, which piqued my interest.
As I explored Orthodoxy for myself, I found that many of the things I had learned during the previous 15 years that were so 'un-Protestant' were affirmed by the Orthodox Church.
The first time I set foot in an Orthodox Church was on Feb. 26, 2017 - the first day of Lent. The nave was packed with young families and old. Young children were milling about. A toddler hanging over her parent's shoulder was doing her best to sing the liturgy even though she had not quite learned to talk. It was a 'divine chaos'. And I immediately felt like I had come home.
Yes, there are a number of things that some Protestants may, initially, find difficult to embrace, but to that I say, trust the historical record - the Eastern Orthodox Church has faithfully maintained the transmission of truth since the beginning.
I grew up in a Calvinist home secretly rejecting Calvinism as, even from childhood, it seemed to contradict the idea of a loving God. Then, I left for college and rejected religion all together. I had never seen a church that conformed to the descriptions of her in the scriptures. I eventually was drawn to a non-denominational Protestant congregation by the elder's knowledge of scripture and the passionate zeal of the members. Something was missing from their practice though. I felt as though I was seeking after the same spiritual experience that others in the church were telling me about but I never experienced what they claimed. Then, I went to prison for something I didn't believe was wrong and I read as much theology and church history as I could get my hands on. I started attending a Catholic mass as well as the protestant services. After I was released, I started loosely exploring the Society of St. Pius X, a traditionalist pre-Vatican-II organization. Their adherence to the Pope's authority while simultaneously rejecting several dictates of the Vatican were irreconcilable and I began to think that there must be another way. My faith in the promises of God had grown deeply so I knew that somewhere on Earth God's Church must exist. I just hadn't found it yet. I knew of only one other way: Orthodoxy. I didn't know anything at all about it, but I asked about Orthodoxy in a traditionalist far-right Christian group on Facebook and surprisingly someone from my city invited me to Saint George Orthodox Cathedral. I attended one liturgy and wept. I was home. I knew it in every fiber of my being. I'm about to be Chrismated in a few months. Glory to God!
God bless you brother... Very touching your journey to Orthodoxy
I never heard of the word Chrismated. I'll look it up right now. I'm learning interesting things on this RUclips posting.
@@nealpixley4789Glory to God! Keep seeking Jesus! ❤️😊🙏
@@nealpixley4789 chrismation is the anointing with oil. It comes from the greek word for oil, chrism. Traditionally, after baptism, Christians were anointed with blessed oil as an act of sealing the Christian with the Holy Spirit as it says in the scriptures. We Orthodox continue this tradition whenever someone is joining the Church. We actually yell "SEAL!" three times during the chrismation service. Personally, it's one of my favorite services I've witnessed. Watching new Orthodox Christians entering into the Church is really powerful and makes me think back to all of the millions of Christians that have come before me taking part in this tradition.
Glory to God, for all things!
I have been an Orthodox Christians since 1993, and have not left it since and never will. The truth of all is in this Orthodox Faith. If you find it, most happy and grateful will you be. Amen☦☦☦
This was an amazingly produced video, but the power resides in the testimony itself and the warm, sincere, yet sober presentation. I was raised Roman Catholic, fell away into total agnosticism and hedonism for many years, had a radical repentance experience in my mid twenties and became a non-denominational Christian huge into apologetics....until eventually realizing the purely subjective and arbitrary nature of my Christian beliefs....and the fact that I couldn't even rationally account for the intelligibility of the canon of Scripture itself, no less the correct interpretations of them relative to fundamental dogma. This led my wife and I to start a Bible study in our home, where we eventually (and through the grace of a Christian friend online) encountered the writings of the Apostolic Fathers and entered the world of the early Church's beliefs and teachings. I then struggled for 6 months to take an objective look at the claims of the RCC, reading book after book on the differences between the two, and the history that led to their separation.
Ultimately God, through the grace of the Divine Liturgy, the loving care of my spiritual father, and the sweet aroma of the pure and undefiled faith, called me home to the Holy Orthodox Church. God bless you and thank you for sharing your journey, brother.
"We have seen the True Light! We have received the Heavenly Spirit! We have found the True Faith! Worshiping the Undivided Trinity, Who has saved us."☦️
Thank you for sharing!
Amin!!!!!!!
I was brought up Roman catholic and turned my back from the Faith in my teenage years. Recently came back to God thanks to my wife. Her father is a pastor for a non-denominational church and has been since the 70's. I started attending their church when I met my wife and despite having grown in my faith since then I now find myself unsatisfied with "read Scripture and spend time with God" along with small groups. I have been considering eastern Orthodox Christianity for a little while now and have started reading some of the early Church Fathers. I feel the need for a coherent view of the Trinity along with the full history of the Body of Christ and its apostolic succession. I have a hard time reconciling a traditional and historical separation of the Body of Christ.
Thanks for sharing your story and hearing me out! I pray our Lord Jesus Christ leads me and my family to the full truth.
You are in our prayers bro...! Many have realized where the truth is by studying early church fathers... their faith is well and preserved in Eastern Orthodox Church. May God bless you and your loved ones.!
@@johnnyd2383 thank you dearly! Just today I emailed my small town's only Orthodox Church and the leader there emailed me back saying he will come to our home to meet us next week and welcome us into the Sunday liturgy service on the 8th of November! The Lord blesses!
My wife is looking forward to it as well. This is wonderful.
You are on the right path... Go on looking straight ahead... Praise the Lord...!!
@@jerome6193any updates on your transition to orthodoxy?
@@gimnation2638 thanks for asking. My wife and children and I have been received into the Church since my comment here.
I thought I needed a time machine to experience the fullness of the true early church of Christ. I thought it had been lost in the confusion and ambiguity caused by the schism and its sons and daughters, the Protestant churches. How blessed I am to have found it intact standing firm. The Antiochian Orthodox Church as mentioned in Acts.Thanks be to God!
Amen Amen Amen 🙏
Alleluia !
I grew up in a totally secular household and during the Bush administration/9/11 committed myself to militant atheism. Eventually many things changed, profoundly, and I even found myself not only with brand new values but brand new friends and relationships as Christ coming into my life actually made me ENCOUNTER LIFE. I came into the church via the Young Restless Reformed movement and did, indeed, read the Bible and plenty of theology. But not only did some things fall apart in my life (due, I know now, to severe deficient spirituality) but I also could not stomach belonging to a tradition which hated anything mystical, anything below the very surface, hated ritual of all kinds, and especially hated the idea that God IS love. And it was that Calvinism, especially in terms of soteriology, I could not longer stomach. I knew God had to be who he said he was. Eventually, after much study and weighing, I committed to the Orthodox Church and I am currently a catechumen.
Gob bless you brother... Praying for you and all Orthodox catechumens..
I'm a 44-y.o. Christian, who has been in the Church of the Nazarene all my life. Over the last 12 months I have been learning about church history and getting more interested in Orthodoxy.
Eastern Orthodox Church is ORIGINAL CHURCH from year 33(NO DEVIATIONS).
Catholicism became HERESY in 1054.
Protestantism is man-made SECT from 1517.
My story is the same, I did not find any reality of God in Protestant "churches", there was only manmade thinking and feeling and a lot of self-assurance. So I became orthodox with my two sons last Octobre, my daughter did not want to go this way with us. I hope she will follow one day. And now I know I am a christian an can really be in Christ!
Monia vuosia!
Abit of info also in this video of facts n history🙏💒✝️
ruclips.net/video/hZNtaFzIqJc/видео.html
I'm not yet officially orthodox, but I'm about a year into my journey. For me it also had to do with church history. I had always thought of myself as a protestant instead of a Catholic, and so I dated the starting point of my spiritual tradition to 1517. When I learned about the FIRST great schism (West from East), my mind was blown. If I had lived back then, I would have been in full agreement with the East (I don't believe the bishop of Rome had the authority to change the creed, even if it was a single word). From there I realized that orthodoxy technically should be my home. The more I learn, the more I realize how true that is.
God bless you. Thanks for posting.
Hallelujah.! Welcome bro.!
@@johnnyd2383 Thanks!
God bless
How did it go? Are you Orthodox now?
Amen 🙏 my wife and I recently converted as well from the evangelical world. And our son was baptized at age 2. The Orthodox Church has shown us the love of Christ more than anything we have ever encountered. Incredibly thankful to hear that you found the faith, and our prayers are with you and your family.
Alleluia !
Orthodoxy is the greatest adventure anyone can experience . It is a window through which you can glimpse the Divine. Orthodoxy changes the way we view the world and the people. It fills with the knowledge of the true meaning of love and compassion. And Orthodoxy teaches us how to overcome our vices and passions.May the Lord help us all..
My story has some of those very elements. I grew up a Southern Baptist, but always found so many hypocrites in my church life. Don't get me wrong but watching preachers get arrested for stealing, Decons having affairs with both men & women church members, and the straw that broke the camel's back, the preacher pf our Baptist church was arrested for running a male prostitute ring. I couldn't take it anymore & went faithless for a number of years....to me church was a joke. Then I was offered the opportunity to visit an Orthodox church for a co-workers wedding....and I was overwhelmed once I was there, and I felt a voice inside say, " My son welsome to My Home" it was irrefuttable, I started going each week and now 21 years later has been Chrismated into the church and love our Parish, Priest, Matuska, and everyone at Sts. Peter & Paul Church (OCA) in Miami, Fla
Wow, so true. I almost heard the same words “Welcome home, this is where you belong.” You are right, it’s irrefutable. 😇
@@Mark-yb1sp yes sir it is !!!
I was born Orthodox and I know it is the true Way for worshipping God, but I wanted to warn you, the Church is made of human beings, and we all sin all the time, so don’t be discouraged if you hear about scandals in the clergy etc. Just because a person falls doesn’t mean the Faith is to blame.
I think that only Jesus Christ is not a hypocrite. He is the only human being who is worthy of total devotion. Anyone else will be a disappointment.
Beautiful..welcome home!
But I must also carefully add. Don’t let others falls and failures determine yours. (Ie. If u see another brother, Sister, priest or deacon do something wrong or sin. That shouldn’t be why u ever leave a church or especially God himself. )
I grew up attending churches all over the place. I went to a Catholic Church with some neighbours up the street, a Presbyterian Church with my aunt, a Baptist Church at the end of the block wherre my mom sent me but didn't attend herself. When my mom died we had the funeral out of an Episcopal Church and I was very taken with the statues, incense, smells, bells and yells. I discovered the beauty of the liturgy of the church so I started attending Episcopal Churches. In my married life we attended Lutheran, Baptist, and Free Methodist Churches. I grew impatient with the incomplete nature of Protestantism. It always seemed to me like something important was missing. My wife, on the other hand, was becoming attracted to the Pentecostal church. I became interested in the Orthodox Church when I was in Alaska in the Coast Guard and being a history major, I was interested in Church history. I became convinced that the Orthodox Church had the original deposit of faith as it says in Jude. There is so much truth that Protestants miss especially in the modern happy-clappy non denominational denominations. I have found my home in the Orthodox Church and have been there for 22 years.
God bless you! Would you consider supporting our channel? www.patreon.com/user?u=44232317
3 years ago I converted from Roman Catholicism to Russian Orthodox Church. To cut a long story (a really long one) short, I was going through one of the darkest and toughest times of my life, and at some point I decided to start maintaining real relationships with Christ (not only asking him for help, which, actually, always comes in the right time). Not those "only in my heart" thing with visiting church once or twice a year, but by trying to change myself in a good way, also my understanding of the world and people, as well as to start actually praying. In the course of time, I started to love liturgy and prayer. Of course, I didn't become a perfect person, but now I know the exact way, by following which I follow Christ. Also, especial thanks to the terrific person, who brought me into the Orthodox Church and, later, became my Godfather. God Bless!
return home. the orthodox church isn't the true church because it wasn't founded by jesus. They split from rome in 1054 AD after many disagreements with rome. The filioque is correct its not an add on its the truth because jesus is god and the spirit does proceed from him (because he is the son of god) and the father too. God bless
@@CopperheadAirsoft « But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. » - John 15:26. The pope went into schism from the True Church of God when he decided from his own arrogance to add the Filioque which is against the very words of Christ Himself. He then deceptively tried to defend himself by forging claims of supremacy meaning he did not only assert himself to the level of God but to the level above God by preaching something contrary to Christ’s teaching. I pray that the pope will one day come into communion with the true Church of Christ again just as Peter’s apostleship was restored (John 21:17) after denying Christ, however until that day comes Andrew is entrusted to be primate of the apostles.
Eastern Orthodox Church is ORIGINAL CHURCH from year 33(NO DEVIATIONS).
Catholicism became HERESY in 1054.
Protestantism is man-made SECT from 1517.@@CopperheadAirsoft
@@CopperheadAirsoftIn 11th century, Rome broke off from the Church (other 4 Patriarchates) by introducing 13 CHANGES to the original teaching of Christ.☦️
13 CHANGES: Filioque, Primacy, Infallibility, Unleavened bread, exact moment of transubstantiation, Holy Communion in bread only, Purgatory, Immaculate conception of Mary, Celibacy, Chrismation separately from baptism, & By Bishops only, Calendar, Celebration of Easter, Baptism by sprinkling.
Welcome brothers and sisters...it feels so great to see you her...am an orthodox from Ethiopia.one of the most orthodox populated in the world. you have come to the right religion..you should feel lucky. we pray for our brothers and sisters who are lost else where.
God bless everyone of Ethiopia from a Greek Orthodox… 🙏🏻
@@angelwings3128 ...and from Russian Orthotox :)
Thoxa to Theo, may God bless you and your family, I am a Cradle Orthodox, and a Converted Orthodox, I only thank God every day, showing me more, and more each, the truth.
Same here.
Cannot believe it took me so long to realize that I was born into what I was looking for this whole time.
Glory to God!!!
God bless!
@@George-ur8ow Same here. Blessed to be Christian Orthodox 🙏🏻
I am a catechumen from a Protestant background, please pray for me
Welcome to the God's vineyard.! May God lead you on that narrow path to His Church.!
God bless you and guide you safely to Orthodox Church. Prayers and greetings from Greece
Come back Home. This will be the best decision! Stay strong
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on DJT ~
@@johnnyd2383 Welcome to God's Vineyard? As though he was not in one before. So its wrong for protestant to protest selling certificate of Salvation and questioning the "only Latin" bible tyranny? If you are reading the bible in your own mother tongue, remember tons of protestants were killed by the Church for you to have that.
Slava Bogu ☦️❤️ glory to God ❤️
A Former Southern Babtist - Hedonist - Athiest.. But I was Spiritually Hungry. Inguirer on the Path to Orthodoxy
Thanks for giving your story brother. My wife and I were Anglican/Episcopalian for many years. We converted to The Orthodox Church nine years ago. Our only regret in doing so is that we had not converted many years ago. May the Lord's blessings be always with you.
I wish Orthodox Churches existed here in Puerto Rico. We only have 3 but all are extremely far away from where I live. I am a former atheist. I became a Christian when I read the Church Fathers and found an intellectual side of the faith that my Adventist Church did not provide me when I was younger. I want to attend an Orthodox Church so badly. I hope more Orthodox Churches come here to Puerto Rico.
More and more parishes are opening all over the world.. stay tuned bro.!
Brother,you should pray for an ortodox priest to came in your town,i will pray for you too. God bless
Contact Bishop Maximus of Pelagonia. He is the missionary bishop for our Metropolis and speaks Spanish. He should be able to help you start a mission in Puerto Rico.
Thank you for sharing this. I recently left my nondenominational, Protestant church for theological reasons and have been considering converting to Orthodoxy.
It is very common these days and you can find on youtube many videos where you can learn details of The Faith. Reading writings of the early Church fathers would help as well.. they are witness of unchanged doctrines of Orthodoxy in the history.
God willing, my story will actually be available end of November via an Ancient Faith Radio podcast interview. 🙏☦️
But, suffice it to say, I have found in Orthodoxy that which was missing sorely from my entire Christian life before; the Christian faith, in its fullness. Properly seen in an embodied community of believers living in sacramental union with God through Christ by the Holy Spirit. I have found, as Saint Vincent of Lérins says, "That Faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all."
(And so glad, like the others have said, to see new content from you all again! ☺️)
God Bless you brother OmG I wish I had known you before this video I made yesterday about this topic !!!! THE LORD WILL WORK WONDERS THROUGH YOU !!! God Bless you and THIS CHANNEL
I grew up in a fundamental Baptist church and met my wife there. We switched to a milder but still Protestant church after having our first son. We are both frustrated with seeing the disconnect between dogma and lives unchanged by the word of the gospel in our own lives as well as many we knew from our childhood.
This past year I have come to the brink of Atheism and leaving the faith altogether until I started seeing a better way. A way that truly acknowledges the supernatural world and rejects the materialistic worldview. A way that truly integrates the story of Jesus into real life. I am still deeply searching for the way forward and appreciate prayers for wisdom. I never thought I would be giving an honest look to the Orthodox Church, but here I am trying to learn what I can.
I have been a Christian since I was 11, but really became devoted to Christ during the Jesus People movement (One way!) while in high school. It was at that time I really began to understand the Bible and read it on a regular basis. It wasn't long before I read of the original believers who met daily to break bread, pray, and read the Bible. They also had all things in common. Fast forward- graduation, marriage, children, divorce, college, remarriage, and it's 2003 or so (Doesn't time go by fast!). After decades, I was still fixated with that rustic church of first century Christians. Suddenly it struck me. Most churches are part of a denomination. What denomination was the church Peter, Paul, and James belong to? Was it still around. I prayed and asked God, if by some miracle it still existed, to lead me to that denomination. It would be a miracle, I thought, if that church still existed. Than I added criteria to make it more impossible to encounter this church. It had to have no influence of American culture, it had to possess characteristics from temple worship, and be totally unique. Told God that if by some wild chance that church existed, I would run to it. About 4 years later or so I remembered hearing about the Orthodox church when I was in junior high and how it split from the Catholic Church over some misunderstanding. Checked out the history of it on RUclips tube as well as Orthodox services and was shocked. This actually looked like the church I had been yearning for for over 40 years. Found out there was actually one in town and dropped in one Sunday for liturgy. Right away I saw similarities between it and synagogue worship. My criteria was being met. It actually had a cantor (later on discovered his title is "reader"), there was incense, and the priest wore a robe. It was like something straight from the temple in Jerusalem. I could easily imagine Paul teaching his Gentile believers that this is how you worship God. I was home. After over 40 years of yearning and waiting, I was home. By the way, "One Way."
Is the Eastern Orthodox Church true?
@@jakedubin8219 It is the only church that can traces its roots back to the apostles, and doesn't have any heretical doctrine Innovations.
Greetings from Bulgaria. It is amazing to see how many Western people convert to Ortodoxy. It melts my heart. Bulgaria is officially Orthodox, but it is deeply painful to know that the bulgarians do not respect Orthodoxy and go to buddhism, prostestantism, hinduism and other crap like that because it is " modern ".
In our own media they call us Medievalists, Dark Agers, even Christianotaliban... Good I say! Everyone today is depressed, illiterate and dying of cancer! Take me back!
@@MikhalisBramouell But i thought Greece is one of the places where Orthodox Christianity is respected and loved?!
@@magdadrague Not since 1974 when the communists took power and imprisoned the Junta! Just last year they removed Christ from the Constitution and our children no longer pray the Lord's Prayer in school... Since 1974 they also abolished the Ancient Greek education so Greek children could no longer understand the Divine Liturgy, and since 1986 they legalized abortion which Greece is now the first nation in Europe to murder her own children: we have now up to 400 thousand embyocides yearly, which is more than 83% of all our children! Pray for us, because Sts Cosmas and Paisios and Porphyrios and many many elders have prophesied that God will execute great revenge on us for this outrage!
@@MikhalisBramouell I pray that more people in Greece and young people as well find the truth - Orthodox Church! Never ever give up on Christ if someone laughs at you or mokes you, you are definetely not alone! The righteousness is not on Earth, but Christ IS alive! Jesus never told us that it would be easy here.
Deception is hardly modern but that is the point, that modernity is the deception. Be encouraged and may Abba keep you faithful in Christ Jesus.
good video! I just subbed! :) I have been a christian for around 30 years, mainly stumbling around with no direction really on how to follow Christ. been up and down through many different kinds of "churches" and had pretty much gone back to the world for the last few years. Then comes 2020, and it had drove me to despair pretty much and I needed to get back to my faith, what ever it was. Now all the churches this summer were closed due to the virus scare, but there is this little orthodox church in the neighborhood that I drove by and never really noticed before, and when i was searching online, it came up in my search, and i knew right where it was haha. they were rotating every other sunday, and standing only, so they could keep distancing per state regulations. I called to see if they were accepting visitors, and they were happy to invite me. I really liked the service and the icons and candles, but what really had the biggest impression on me is their Christ like love! I continued to go the rest of the summer, and just now enrolled to be a catechumen. I believe I found my faith home and I look forward to the journey of faith with joy!
How neat! Glad for you!
Standing.! Yes.! That is traditional Orthodox practice... Thumbs up.! Enjoy being at home...
Finally at home.. Keep going without looking back... God is with you brother... Prayers from Greece
I was a protestant for most of my Adult life a Seventh day Adventist from birth till about 18.
I could easily write a book telling the story. But who would want to read it?🤣
However there ARE several things I'd like to point out.
1, Scripture makes absolutely no sense if read alone. St Paul seems to contradict himself incessantly, and directly contradicts Our Lord Himself if one tries to read from a Protestant perspective.
Most of the parables and illustrations of Our Lord Jesus directly conflict with the idea of Grace and Faith alone.
2, Most of the things i learned concerning "the Kathliks" including the Eastern Church, were not correct. In fact they were mostly malicious lies born of political turmoil and hatred. While it is undeniable that many Catholics committed great sins. So also did many protestants including Luther, Calvin, Zwingly and many others. These sins (including murder) were conveniently omitted by our historians. Therefore by that measure one ca not be a Protestant NOR Catholic.
Yet i cannot deny the Resurrection. So ........
3. As a protestant and having read certain works and lives of martyrs i thought it would be a good thing read aloud these things as a means of encouraging others. After all, doesn't our faith come to us through them? THAT idea was quashed immediately 🤣. Only after attending Divine Liturgy did i figure out why.
The reasons to become Orthodox are pretty much inexhaustible. When you actually ponder it.they just keep coming one after the other. Never ending.
The SDA are the hardest nuts to crack. They are the ones who always try to convert me or think they are the best or the ONLY true Christians. So tired of hearing their false retoric. They are really deluded along with JWs and Mormons. It’s sad and disheartening to see so many lied to ..brainwashed and led astray.
Abit of info also in this video of facts n history🙏💒✝️
ruclips.net/video/hZNtaFzIqJc/видео.html
They ARE a hard nut to crack. Just like like my kind:
I’m an ex-Jehovah’s Witness.
@@CarolineJoyAmico wonderful! So I’m curious to know how you converted? (Ie. what changed?) I love hearing conversion testimonies. I was also ex Catholic, ex Baptist, ex charismatic Pentecostal, and evangelical. Yes, those three groups/sects seem (imho) to be the hardest to convert. (JW’s, SDA, LDS)
Seraphim Rose said God will not judge Protestants just for being Protestants because they are just following their own traditions that was taught to them.
Amen too. I have always said this. Tho many orthodox call them “heretics” and even many saints or whatever, tho technically correct, at the same time God can’t judge them for only following what they know to the best of their abilities. It’s US now that we know better that will be. I knew then and still know now I would have gone to heaven as a Pentecostal. But I also had a choice to make. The problem was once I found the true faith I couldn’t go back.
Amen 🙏
Correct. The Orthodox Church does NOT teach that people of other faiths are barred from Heaven. One of the things that I love about my church, but sadly too many Orthodox people don't seem to understand this and instead allow hate into their hearts and confuse religion with nationalism.
@@snlescaille Yes, our theology teaches that non Christians can be saved and go to Heaven. Absolutely. Even being an Atheist is not necessarily a bar to Heaven. On the flip side, being a devout Orthodox Christian is not a guarantee of Heaven either. Being devout is NOT the same thing as being pure of heart. Heaven is for those that love God and are pure of heart. But you have to understand that you can love God while at the same time denying Him while alive, because that question is only asked at the moment of death and the deceased is at that moment powerless to lie (think of it as a type of supernatural truth serum).
@@snlescaille We Orthodox believe that one can repent after death as well. God decides all of these things, not us. Look, you don't have to agree with our teachings. I honestly could not care less, frankly.
im Ethiopian Orthodox. more than 60%of the 114 million population of Ethiopia is Orthodox. i was born into the religion and i thank God everyday for it.
Welcome back! So happy to see a new video from Theoria again.
More content soon. Next video: “The Perpetual Virginity of Mary: Why I Changed Mind”
We convert to Greek/Romanian Orthodoxy because we found the Truth.
I am now around 6 months into my catechism. My Orthodox faith has given me a reason to live again. Thank God.
If I had to say one specific aspect of Orthodoxy I converted for it would be.... the hats. (If you know, you know)
Seinfeld! too funny
What beautiful stories and comments, God bless you all. Keep up the good work.
You are a true American! God bless you! From russia with love, brother!
Advice, if health allows - then try to stand in the temple. If the soldiers stand straight before the commander, then the Christian must also stand before God.
I came to Orthodoxy in June of 1989. Over the years, however, I have had many doubts about God, about the faith, and about Jesus. Thanks to God's mercy, forgiveness, compassion, and scolding, I came back to Him as an Orthodox follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. I did it all: Protestantism, Catholicism, and finally HOME in the most ancient, most original, and LEAST changed church on earth: the Orthodox Church. I love the liturgy (work of the people. I don't go to church, I participate in "church" in the liturgy). I love the disciplines (fasting on Wednesdays/Fridays, other fasts, prostrations), and I love the bells, smells, and other wonderful aspects of the faith...icons, ambience, standing for two to three hours). It's a breath of fresh air. Our vision/mission statement? Not made up last week at a congregational meeting. It's the ancient Nicene Creed. One could preach and teach for an entire lifetime with that. I'm an evangelist by calling so I bring the Good News all over. I have done so in Italy and Jamaica and presently in the States. What an honor and privilege to be an Orthodox follower of Christ. To those not yet "home" I say, as they said to me, "Come and see!!!"
Welcome to the Church,greetings from Serbia...
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia
I am in a charistmatic pentecostal church. I feel so hungry for God. I feel pulled towards Orthodoxy. Any prayers would be appreciated.
Lord, have mercy.
happy easter my brother, warm regards from beirut lebanon ☦︎
I born and raised in a Spanish Mennonite church. From an early age I would sing in church I remember walking up the steps of the altar to sing. I was very active in the church. I participated in church plays, I started a praise dance ministry and I was in the choir ministry for more than 14 years. I was always taught about connecting to Christ while worshipping but later down the road I realized that it is all a "spiritual high". Those warm fuzzy feelings you get while worshipping are only driven by the flesh and We couldnt serve with flesh but just love God with ALL the heart, soul, mind, and strength. What did it meant to love God with all my mind though? My best friend (who was also once a protestant) introduced me to Eastern Orthodoxy. I began to look into it. I started reading a book on it and it has changed my life!!! I will never look at Protestanism the same way as before. My life has a whole new meaning and I can't wait till I find a spiritual Father and I start attending a parish soon
I had a Strong spiritual experience on an Orthodox church and now I see it with another eyes.
Please pray for me.
God bless you!
Thanks be to God for your wonderful testimony. He touches the hearts of those who truly seek Him.
I was born into the Orthodox Church, and have through many ups and downs realised that it is solely by His grace that we are able to carry our cross.
Moments of inexplicable divine providence and grace help us immensely in marching forwards to finish the race.
May God bless you.
I am a cradle Orthodox. I never lost my faith, but almost slipped away for several years. I have gotten stronger in my faith, but I struggle at times. Remain faithful.
Its good seeing this channel posting again! Welcome back!
I converted to Orthodoxy from a pagan faith, never have i felt better in my entire life. I'm a catechumen now and living the best time of my life
I grew up in Protestantism (Reformed Baptist and Anglican). To cut a long story short, I ran out of road, with the big questions of teenage life, there were no answers to the mounting number of questions I had. I walked out of the Protestant Church, getting absolutely nowhere, passed through the Roman Church (found that to be just a slightly different flavour of the same old subjective Protestantism I had grown up with, plus "bells and smells"), then, through a succession of events in my life, I finally plucked up the courage to go and visit the Russian Church (which, to me at the time, more resembled a small temple of some eastern religion, though not quite). The first service I glimpsed was a Sunday Liturgy, but the small Church was so packed with parishioners that I didn't understand much (and I don't like crowded places, as a rule). Using a bit of Protestant logic, I figured the Saturday night service would be far less attended, so came along for the Vespers/Matins on Saturday night the following week. I had never in my life seen the inside of an Orthodox Church, but I felt as though I had just walked in the door of my own home, it felt that familiar. The next two weeks of my life were so critical, I remember thinking I moved more spiritually in those two weeks than I had in a whole childhood of Protestantism. Not that I felt this way at the time, nor for a long time afterwards, but I have much to be grateful to my parents, for bringing me up to at least know that God exists and that I will answer to Him at the Dread Judgement. I have moved country twice since then, made utterly abysmal use of the Grace given me in Holy Baptism, but I am still in the Church, stumbling along my road, hoping for God's Mercy. Not for anything in the world would I return to Protestantism or Catholicism, the Spirit of God is in Orthodoxy. Islam made a very strong pitch for my soul once, but, as beautiful as that religion is, the Spirit of God is not in it either.
Glory to God for everything! I was warned that the Orthodox life would be thorny, and it certainly has been that! But there is hope in Orthodoxy, like you will never find anywhere else. This is home, warts and all, I am at home.
Brother, you are truly blessed to have found Orthodoxy together with your family. That was something that, in my foolishness, I didn't pay enough attention to when desiring to marry, and it has been an uphill battle ever since (especially when contending with my own epic laziness to go along with it). The one thing we did do right is that we got married in Church (my wife is baptised Orthodox, but neither her nor any of her family attend services, which makes many things very complicated). If it were not for our Church marriage, for God's Blessing on our family and, in general, His constant Help, it would not have held together to this point.
God be with you, brother!
Orthodox church have bunch of Pictures in there and declare Them as holy this idolatry and they praise mary
Beautiful testimony. I'm living this out as we speak. Thanks brother!
Amen brother! So happy you're in the flock and from your demeanor it's evident not just by name, as so many of us born Christian orthodox... Such joy in heaven! May our Saviour keep you strong in His faith ☦
Thanks, it was a great story and we do have a faith that is with us all the time.
It was good of you to share and l know what you mean about having Icons/pictures of Our beloved Lord in our homes.
Funny ,l just take my Icon corner for granted because l can’t be without it. My icons in my bedroom are the last faces l see at night and the fist faces see in the morning.
What a beautiful way to start my day!
I have been raised Mormon, however I shifted away from it and became a more non denominational or Protestant. Now I have chosen to embrace God and His True Church, the Holy Orthodox Church.
Welcome home brother God bless you from Ethiopia
I was born in the Evangelical church but throughout the years I church hopped searching for a place of worship and venerate those that were by my side all of those years. After so many many years I found it in the Orthodox church. My faith is stronger than ever. I feel calm, I feel peace but most of all.....The Love, Grace and protection overflows like a cup when it runs over. Welcome home brother!
I’ve never been close to any specific denomination, just me and the scripture. The only taste of denominal faith was going to church with my best friend often and his parents as they were Roman Catholic. I plan on going to a orthodox service soon, a little nervous to be honest.
Abit of info also in this video of facts n history🙏💒✝️
ruclips.net/video/hZNtaFzIqJc/видео.html
Don't be, trust your soul. Open up and IC XC will lead you. ❤❤❤
@@PraseSuperStar Nope, only Jesus can lead because He is the Shepherd.
@@m.e4752 IC XC is just the Greek abbreviation of Jesus Christ. You may know that, but other readers could be confused.
@@johnathanrhoades7751 Thank you for the info
After three decades of frustration in getting "my walk with Christ right" and never certain the Holy Spirit has ever been anywhere near me, let alone indwell, I started looking around outside of Protestant circles. In the last two years my exposure to the Orthodox Church has been expanding. Just finished reading Peter Gillquist's book "Becoming Orthodox". Fr. Peter makes a very strong case with his story.
Thanks for sharing! Peace be with you!
I am a Maronite from Lebanon(where else would they be) and I very much respect the Orthodox church and their people and traditions
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maronites
My story is quite similar. I studied theology and pastored in a modern Protestant tradition for over 10 years. I left the church some years ago and have recently been studying the writings of the early Church Fathers. I find more and more, that my remaining faith is aligns more closely with the Orthodox Church.
I am early in this journey but I feel more peace than I have in years.
I'm learning. :) Bless you for sharing.
P.S. I would be interested in any book recommendations you may have that you think might help better understand and practice this Faith?
You should watch the documentary series Byzantium: The Lost Empire, created by John Romer. It is available on RUclips...
❤️
I was raised LDS and was very devout. I went on a mission, married in the LDS temple, etc. I lost my faith in Mormonism and it was painful. I dabbled in Protestantism briefly, and initially the simple message of grace was very liberating. But, like you, I began to feel the need for something more. I wanted a lifestyle. I needed a Christian lifestyle. I attended my first vespers service 5 years ago and since then have fallen in love with Orthodoxy and was baptized 2.5 years ago.
Welcome brother!!!!!!!
Is the Eastern Orthodox Church true?
I come from eastern orthodox family. I am starting to learn about my religion and I am amazed to see you were able to get back to eastern orthodox Christianity.
You are amazing. really, I have never been sad or angry when people change to protestant... bc every body likes the easy road...but brave people search for the Real Truth...they read...they observe...they seek truth...welcome brother...am so proud of your boldness...!
May God help you throughout the rest of the Journey...seek him more...bc he is more than words and scriptures can say...imitate Christ ! Pray, fast and distinguish yourself from this materialistic world!
We will together pray for the world together then...we will pray together to have a shoulder that can carry all the burden and suffering of the world...
non-practicing Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Non-Denominational Evangelical, Pentacostal, Eastern Catholic, now Eastern Orthodox. just my journey through many denominations is a full story in itself, and way too long to explain here. i will never regret going Eastern Orthodox.
Is it the true church?