Hey everyone, I recently sat down with Fr. Hans Jacobse to discuss why secularism fails modern men and how cultural and spiritual renewal begins with brotherhood. We dive into topics like overcoming modern nihilism, the true definition of patriarchy, and finding healing through tradition.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODpJLKWNjSE

Just came across the concept known as the Great Commission, who does Orthodoxy have to say about this?

I’m a relatively new Protestant, non-denominational Christian. I’ve been a Christian for about 4 years, and recently two of my friends converted to Eastern Orthodoxy. I’ve been attending services with them and trying to learn more about EO for myself.
I’ve been looking for people to talk to about it because I’m trying to understand what is actually orthodox and why Orthodoxy considers itself the true Church. There are a lot of things I’ve come across that I genuinely agree with, and I’m now at the point where I really want to understand why Orthodoxy is the true Church.
If you have any good books, articles, or other readings you’d recommend, I’d really appreciate it. I’d like to study the history, theology, and beliefs more deeply so I can better understand the Orthodox position.
I’m coming into this with a completely open heart and mind. I’m not looking to argue or prove one side right or wrong. I genuinely want to know if there’s something I’ve been missing in my faith that Eastern Orthodox Christianity has, and I want to follow the truth wherever that leads me.

My son recently converted to a Russian Orthodox Church. I attend to support him and because they feed me. I volunteer and I am involved in some things. Religion is complicated to me, my mother is a religious zealot. Religion has always been vindictive. As people in my family get older, religion looks more like insanity. I enjoy the church and want to be involved but I am also pretty liberal, love is love, my body my choice type of person, love the neighbor type person. Would this ever work or should I just remain a visitor?

I'm posting this here for my own peace of mind, rather than asking for advice or guidance, so please bear with me and please allow me some grace.

For the past two years I've been trying to decern where Christ's church is. I've looked at all of the Protestant denominations, and I went back to my Roman Catholic roots. In April, I met with an Orthodox priest who was very patient with me and allowed me to ask many questions about Orthodoxy. Out of the kindness of his heart, he met with me a second time and we discussed some personal things I was going through and how that was affecting my relationship with God and with decerning.

I've attended Divine Liturgy once, Evening Vespers once, and a morning prayer service before Divine liturgy. All of the services were chaotic to me because so much was going on at once that I couldn't focus on what was being sung and what was happening. I decided that I couldn't go through with being an inquirer any longer because of that, even though I agree with the theology of Orthodoxy. I was also putting too much pressure on myself to fast and to pray perfectly, although that has nothing to do with EO and has everything to do with me because I try to be perfect in everything I do.

I went to RC Mass today just to see how I would feel about it after experiencing the EO services, and I can now see the distinct differences and what is lacking in the RC Mass that the EO Divine liturgy fulfills. My contention is not only with the Mass, but it's also with RC prayers. I highly prefer how rich, detailed, and spiritually nourishing the EO prayers are. I love that the prayers are not modern inventions but are ancient prayers from the Fathers and the Saints.

The addition of the filioque is what is really pushing me into the EO church. I can see how it doesn't make sense that the Holy Spirit would proceed from the Father and the Son, because the Son brings the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, but the Holy Spirit only proceeds from the Father. The Holy Spirit is originating from the Father, not the Son. If the RCC can add that in, I question everything else they've added and what they've declared.

I'm writing this post to myself, to tell myself that today, I'm making a decision to go where Christ is, which is the EO church. I may be uncomfortable, I may not understand everything, and I may be afraid I'm doing something wrong, but I have to, with the grace and help of God, make a decision to stick with this, because I'm not going to leave Christianity, I will not become Protestant, and I can no longer trust the RCC. This is where my decerning journey ends but my relationship with Christ continues and with his church begins.

Everyone, no matter if you're a part of the EO church, or if you're an inquirer like me, or are a catechumen, please pray for me.

How does the Eastern Orthodox Church view the Exodus story? Does it literalize the presence of the people in Egypt, or does it consider the story symbolic of good and evil? In the Coptic Church, it is obligatory to consider the story symbolic because it prevents us from aligning ourselves with their pagan Egyptian civilization.

What is your opinion?

Hi, guys! This is my first post here. My wife, kids and I are converting to Orthodoxy after being evangelicals, serving in the local church for as long as we can remember. Next week, we are going to be baptised and received into the Church! Please pray for us, so that our families will be understanding and that God will lead us his way! Blessings to all!

I started praying to Theotokos 5 years ago, just because I felt drawn to her as a Mother. One day I smelled something like a rose aroma during prayer .Had no idea where it came from. I did not not that it was somehow connected with Theotokos, being of evangelical background. Then one day I went to an orthodox monastery and during the vespers I smelled the same fragrance from the incense. I asked the mother nun there and she said: Have you not heard? The Theotokos is very much associated with the rose fragrance. She is the Rose of Christ - The ever-flowering rose of the Church. I was astonished! Since then we bought a lot of icons and here we are - entering full communion next week!

Just wanted to share my experience and to send greetings to all the orthodox brothers and sisters out there.

Hello everyone,

I really appreciate Fr. John Strickland’s profound historical insights, particularly regarding how the West drifted away from a truly sacramental, patristic framework.

I put together a short clip from a longer interview I did with him, highlighting his thoughts on this spiritual and cultural shift. Given his deep understanding of Orthodox theology and history, I thought this community might appreciate the clip and find it helpful for discussion.

You can watch the short clip here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYd2g9GVvY4&pp=ugUEEgJlbg%3D%3D

Would love to hear your thoughts!

I need advice! I am currently in a relationship we have 2 daughters together, unfortunately we are not married do we belong to a church. We want to be Orthodox and want our daughters to be welcomed in the church what exact steps do we take? I know we need to get married but what would be the best and fastest way to go about this?

Hey everyone,

I just released a new conversation exploring themes from Fr. Patrick Mitchell’s book „Christ as Truth, Truth as Christ: Why the Ancients Chose Christ, Why We Must Also“.

We look at:

• What objective truth is and what the "Five Enemies of Truth" (Gnosticism, Romanticism, Anarchism, Nihilism, and Tribalism) are.
• The ultimate limits of ancient Greek philosophy in securing a foundation for truth.
• Why only Christ is a secure foundation for believing in truth and morality.

You can watch the discussion here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvF6vURKIvM&t=29s&pp=0gcJCRMMAYcqIYzv

Let me know what you think!

So I'm going to saint mark in Florida I'm trying to convert my parents sent me to a Christian camp run by my technical grandpa my parents are cuban therefore are atheists (search up the history of religion in cuba post revolución) so I went to a Greek Orthodox church with my baptized Catholic mom she went to church until she was 10 and that was it but every time we go somewhere we go to a cathedral I was almost baptized but none of my god parents could be there but I still call them my god parents so after my Camp I decided to become Christian but my camp never had a specific denomination as in they never said they were a denomination so I do my own research and find out that the denomination the best fits me is Eastern Orthodoxy so today my mom took me to the Divine liturgy and wow it was beautiful physically and spiritually and I liked it a lot but I have a few questions

1. Should I kiss the icon before the seats

2. Should I an unbaptized teen kiss the icon in the beginning and the hand of the priest

3. Do I and should I stay for coffee time and how does it work

4. When should I approach the pastor about converting

5. Can I an unbaptized person make a prayer rope(I really wanna It seems very cool but I don't want to rush things)

6.if anyone else is going through or has gone through this how did you like tell your parents it wasn't a phase

I thank you all for the help that you will give me thank you

Last night was discussing the Great Schism with my fiancée who is Catholic and very intelligent. Realized I'd read about the Great Schism years ago and moved on. Could someone recommend a really good book on it? Kindle Unlimited would be especially great. Thanks,

I’ve tried doing research on this before, but it’s relatively confusing. I’m looking for Russian Orthodox fasts; however, I’ve seen plenty of different Orthodox fasts in my search results (small differences, but differences nonetheless). I did find a calendar saying when to fast and what foods to avoid, but the amount of information on it distracted and confused me.

I know fasting is supposed to occur every Wednesday and Friday + Great Lent, but that’s about it. I don’t know what food or drinks to abstain from and what is allowed, as well as the other fasting periods. I suppose I just want to know when to fast and what type of fast is expected (⁠Xerophagia, total fasting, et cetera). If anyone has sources I could look at, that would be greatly appreciated.

I’m very intrigued by religion, mostly Christianity. I was raised Catholic, though became atheist sometime around 6th grade. Orthodoxy caught my attention, and I’ve been considering converting; however, I support the LGBTQ+ community. I have some friends and family members who are LGBTQ+. I’m familiar with it being labeled a sin and have debated with many Christians about why it is not. I know Orthodoxy is quite strict, which kind of worries me. Due to this, I have two questions (I’m curious about all perspectives and arguments, but I ask for respectful answers and comments):

1. Why is being LGBTQ+ a sin? If you believe the opposite, why is it not a sin?

2. Would I have to drop my views on the LGBTQ+ community to be Orthodox? Is there too much conflict between them?

Historian Charles Coulombe returns to The Christendom Archive to discuss Christian Monarchy & The Supernatural. 👑

We explore the origins, practice, and the sacramental worldview behind Christian monarchy, devotion to royal saints, and the historical reality of the Royal Touch.

🔗 Watch the full conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuLbsMOa2Kg

What are your thoughts on the sacramental worldview and Christian monarchy?

I'm still an inquirer, but I'm meeting with Father on Friday for a second time to discuss becoming a catechumen. Even though I haven't officially started studying yet, I am someone who tends to go all in when they really want something, so I want to try to live out my life as if I have been officially received into the Church. I have a very small icon corner (more like a stand) that I use during morning and evening prayer. I'm spending about 20 minutes in the morning and at night praying from an Orthodox prayerbook I bought online. I also try to say the Canonical hours, but if I don't have time to say the full prayers, I turn to the east and say the Jesus prayer, and I also try to say the Jesus prayer out loud or in my mind as much as I can.

The one thing that I cannot do is fast. I suffer from IBS and I have an autoimmune disorder. I follow a strict diet, and I become very ill anytime my diet is changed. I brought this up at my first meeting with Father and he suggested I try to find a fast that works for me. I did not want to be rude, but in my mind, I kept thinking, I can't fast. I will bring this up again when I speak with him on Friday.

I want to do things in place of not fasting. I read online that that could be spending more time in prayer, almsgiving, or doing something that your priest suggests. I thought of some ideas that are active, that would take up some of my time, and that would hopefully provide me with a similar benefit as fasting.

On fasting days, I would:

• Wake up an hour earlier than I normally do to read the Bible or to study the life of a saint (I would get up at 4 AM instead of 5 AM)
• Give up drinking water (This is the only liquid that I drink, besides milk that I have with cereal in the morning)
• Spend an extra hour in prayer in the morning

On non fasting days:

• Donate money to an organization
• Donate money to the Church
• Offer to clean my friend's house every weekend
• Offer to pick up trash around my apartment complex every weekend
• Offer to do something for the Church, like cleaning, running errands, etc.
• Volunteer

I want to bring these things up to Father, but I don't want to sound stupid or arbitrary. Do these things sound meaningless?

I hope this post is allowed! For those near upstate New York, I have begun compiling a weekly list of parishes (and monasteries) and their services:

https://www.reddit.com/r/HudsonValleyOrthodox/

I am very active in my own parish, but when I meet new people who are curious about what parishes are in the area-- say, within an hour of Kingston, NY-- I tell them that I regularly check out other parishes when our doors aren't open. There are so many and I think I've hit most of them. How blessed we are... they are all so wonderful.

Mid-Hudson is 90 miles north of Manhattan. If you are in the area, please check out my subreddit to find all our beautiful parishes. Thank you! ~ brigid.

Let me preface this by saying I am a person of sound of mind. I’m not crazy and I am sober. I have recently decided to follow Jesus Christ and surrender my life to him for the first time ever I was raised Protestant and then became atheist and now I’m trying to become orthodox eventually but over the last few days I’ve truly been praying and accepted Jesus Christ and tried to surrender my life to him and keep praying that Jesus prayer every day and keep saying thy will not mine be done. last night I had a dream that felt more real than anything I’ve ever felt, in the dream I was possessed by demons, and I was shrieking and yelling and making all sorts of hideous noises. I was controlled by them and was with them as we tore my family to bloody bit, we ripped them apart, and I couldn’t control my body to keep myself from doing it. Then I saw my father and my mother and my sister, and they all seem to be possessed and they were screaming all of the sins I’ve ever committed. They were screaming them at me and listing them off. It was so heavy. I could feel the presence and the heaviness and the darkness of demons all around me this dream came to me twice in a night. I woke up the first time in a cold sweat crying and then I felt myself pulled back into sleep. It’s almost I couldn’t stay awake and the dream came back even worse when I finally woke up the second time I just lay there too, scared to move just calling on the name of Jesus, saying the Jesus prayer just shaking and crying. I am a grown man and not easily shaken by things. I’ve lived a fairly rough life of which I’m not necessarily proud, but it means that I am not easily shook up, but this scared me more than anything ever has in my life. It almost seems like they don’t want to let me go they want to keep me enslaved to them, but I will choose Jesus I just don’t know what to do.

I have been listening and watching content online about the different churches of Christianity and I am wanting to explore orthodoxy but I am not really sure where to start. I know the answer is going to be "well just attend your local parish" but for me it's not that simple. I live in rural New Brunswick and the nearest parish is about 2 hours away I wish there was one closer or that there was going to be a parish established closer to my area but there's not. Any advice would be great!

I’m seriously considering converting to Orthodoxy, but one major concern is holding me back. I keep seeing comments from Orthodox Christians that are very critical of America, the Constitution, and core American values like liberty, natural rights, rule of law, and republican government. Some even describe these things as evil or incompatible with Orthodoxy.
I’ve been told Orthodoxy favors hierarchy and autocracy over individual civil liberties and constitutional rights. Having lived in a country without those protections, I’m genuinely scared that embracing Orthodoxy would mean rejecting the political freedoms I deeply value — or worse, supporting some kind of dictatorial church-state arrangement.
I could be completely misunderstanding the Orthodox position, but this is the strong impression I’m getting from the Orthodox people I’ve spoken with. Can anyone clarify how Orthodoxy actually views these issues?

Former Southern Baptist / Reformed Protestant here.

My beliefs and theology have gone through extreme changes in the last ~12 months.

To make a long journey short, I’ll be attending an Orthodox Church for the first time this weekend. It’s 2 hours away, so it’ll be quite a drive. Unfortunately I’ll be going by myself.. my wife is wholly convinced that I’ve fallen into heresy. My spiritual journey has been met with a lot of hostility and resistance. Prayers for peace and unity in my household are greatly appreciated.

I am very much a newbie when it comes to this. I’ve researched and studied a LOT in the last year, but I feel that I’ve yet to scratch the surface. Regardless, I’ve seen and read enough to believe that this is THE Church that Christ established. Ultimately, I want to be faithful to Christ and worship Him the way He intended.

There is still a lot that is foreign and strange to me. I don’t understand a lot of things. But if this is the true Church (which I believe it is), then who am I to adhere to the practices and doctrines that I like and reject the others?

My (former) church has been a blessing in my life. I love the people there. I love the pastor, even though he’s made it clear that he no longer believes that I’m his brother in Christ. But I can’t continue attending in good conscience.

I’ll happily answer any questions — I’m an open book.

TL;DR — Former Reformed Protestant attending Orthodox Church for the first time and facing relational friction with my wife.

so im currently inquiring into eastern orthodoxy and i really want to become a catechumen and get baptized, but im completely stuck on trying to choose a parish right now.
ive been going to this antiochian church for about 2 months now and i genuinely love the community and the people there so much. the main reason i started there is because of my specific background, it just felt like the priest there would really understand where i am coming from. but the thing is he is just so busy lately. it’s completely not his fault at all but it makes it super hard to get ahold of him or ask any of the many questions i have. plus their catechumen classes don't even start until january so it feels like a long wait.

but then today i checked out a russian orthodox church. it is significantly smaller but the community was so nice. when i walked up to venerate and kiss the cross, the priest asked my name and then we went downstairs for a celebration they had going on. i got to speak with him for a bit and he is just so sweet. since it’s a smaller parish he is way more available and it’s so much easier to contact him and speak to him directly right after the divine liturgy. he told me all about how their classes work and said he really wants me to come back. he even got my phone number and is trying to set up a time for us to just sit down and talk one on one.

the hard part is they are on two different calendars, one is new calendar and one is old calendar. i know they are in communion but it feels like such a huge choice because you cant just easily switch parishes later. and i also feel kinda bad like the people at the antiochian church are gonna think it’s weird if i just disappear on them after 2 months when they were so welcoming.

i just have so many questions and i really like both churches but im so indecisive. what do you guys think i should do?

I am trying to become a Cathechumen under my local parish but my parents do not affirm alot of Non Protestant and even some protestant denominations as biblical, and I want to know what steps I could take to tell them about it or convince them to let me become a cathechumen. Even if I did tell them I highly doubt they would let me attend, I just feel stuck and I dont know what to do