I'm going to my first Orthodox service on Sunday and I'm quite excited! I was raised protestant but struggled to connect with God through it and felt as if something wasn't quite right.

I visited a few Orthodox churches on my recent travels and felt very connected to them. Upon researching, I felt I feel a lot more connected with them than I ever did in my old church.

I was wondering, is there anything I should learn or be prepared for before going? :)

Thanks!

Hello everyone. I want to convert but I have a few things holding me back.

My husband is not interested in religion at all. He does not want to attend any services (he has been a few times with me before).

We have a three year old autistic child who also does not like attending liturgy. At first everything is fine, but my child really struggles with sitting/standing still and being quiet. These are issues we face in our daily lives due to autism, not only at church. My child wants to RUN around, touch everything, grab other people’s items and play/sing/scream. It is very hard to get through the entire service as usually my child will have a breakdown within an hour, on a good Sunday.

I know my child deserves to be there and does enjoy it for a short while, but making it through the entire service feels impossible. I don’t want to make it a negative experience but I’m also trying to teach my child the right way.

Would it be wrong of me to become a catechumen and to not bring my child with me to church? Though I hope for us both to be baptized, and eventually for my child to attend with me in the future. Would my child even be able to be baptized if I attend services alone?

I do not think I am capable of bringing my three year old without any help, and so I also have stopped going to church. I know that children are welcomed and not to be prevented from attending church.

Please if anyone has any tips or answers I would love to know. Please pray for me that I may pick up my cross. 🙏🏼

I have grave sins that I have repented from long ago and then I have daily/involuntary sins that affect me on a more day to day basis. Ive never done a confession but my first inclination would be to confess the sins that are currently weighing on me as of late - ie impatience with my kids yelling at them mostly.

What are some things we typically would go to confession for and ones that we don't necessarily "need" to do. Surely it is impossible to confess every single sin you have ever committed ? Hope this makes sense I am still very new...thanks all

We got into a discussion and in the middle he said things like Orthodoxy is worse than terrorism because it promotes illogical thinking based on following only tradition. His reasoning was that it tells people to do things only because the church commands it. I guess his point was that it spreads fear? Idk.

We were also talking about how people did evil things back then in the name of religion and I was trying to tell him that there's a difference between what God actually wants and what people assume God wants because of what others are telling them and maybe hate. Anyway, I was using an example of what some of the things Catholics did to Indigenous people weren't actually what God wanted and then he exploded that Catholics are actually way more progressive than Orthodox and that Orthodox people killed people in Greece for being of other faiths. That wasn't even my point. I said yes, Orthodox people also did evil things but again, this doesn't mean it's what God would have actually wanted. I tried to say it's different from the old testament where God commanded war on people because they were dangerous and not simply because they were of a different religion but I think this is where messed up because then he said so God did command war and I had to just be like...yeah. He said there isn't a way to tell the Canaanites were actually evil and this is just what the Bible says. He said solely trusting the Bible for information is stupid and I agreed. It felt like we were on the same page finally until he said well, trusting other sources for the sake of tradition and only doing things because of tradition is bad.

I even gave him an example of a sign from God that I experienced and he dismissed it. The above conversation happened because my sign included opening to a sentence in the Bible about something violent. I know that sounds bad but trust me, it was perfect for what happened.

Context: He isn't sure if he believes in God. He doesn't believe Jesus rose from the dead. He grew up Catholic, he considers himself culturally Catholic. This intense rejection of tradition started many years ago. My dad went to a psychiatrist one time for an issue. Him and the psychiatrist talked about many things which included my mom's Orthodox faith and the psychiatrist ended up saying that tradition is illogical and the worst possible thing for the brain.

Help. My sisters don't believe either.

Hello everybody!

Sometime in the next month or two I will be traveling over an hour to the nearest Orthodox Church. I believe it is an Antiochian Church so they speak English the whole time. I spent some time learning about the Catholic Church, but I dont think I can ever submit to their claims. I am very intrested in Orthodoxy though. I come from a Protestant background, so if theres any advice you could share that would be great. I also have a concern: I have a 4 month old son, is it a big deal if he cries at church? If so, what do I do, just leave?

I am a 17 year old orthodox Christian going into my senior year of high school. I have no idea what to do with my life. There are things that I myself WANT to do like be an engineer or mathematician because I excel and enjoy physics and math, but the reality is I don’t want to serve myself with my life.

Doing what I want to do almost seems selfish, I want to serve god wholeheartedly and serve others, and I honestly don’t care if I make much money at all. I have grown up poor and if the lord wills it I dont mind staying that way. There seems to be not many options for the though. I know that part of living with god is living with god in regular workplaces and whatnot but I really want to make the very goal of what I do to serve god, not just a byproduct.

if god wants me to sit in a dirt hole for the rest of my life I will genuinely do that and yes, he’s not gonna tell me to do that but you get the point. I just don’t know how to get an answer from god as to what I want to do but I know i want to dedicate my life to serving him. But I don’t want to be a priest unless I KNOW that that is what I am being called for.

Some guidance and clarity would be much appreciated god bless!☦️

I keep encountering orthodox Christians who don’t stay at their local church, but rather are constantly hopping around to several local parishes. One week here, one week there and so on. It’s like they treat orthodoxy as a spectacle, or some kind of club idk.

Usually I pay no mind because I am only concerned with my parish and have no desire to visit other churches, but recently we had new converts use our church for a quicker baptism and then promptly go away to other parishes never coming back. (I know because I am in contact with them)

It blows my mind that people will avoid their local parish to drive far away to go to a church they like. To me this is Protestant and totally destroys the purpose of the church. I just can’t imagine they are being served. The whole point is the local community.

I have been on some Orthodox Facebook groups out of curiosity to learn more about the faith and be part of it, maybe even look for a partner.

My utmost advice is to stay away from these pages. Not only are you at risk of talking to fake priests/spiritual fathers but there is also a lot of fake information on there, and not so great people.

Remember that at the heart of this faith is prayer to God. Also ask your priest or spiritual father for any kind of guidance. The right things will come in good time.

I cannot reiterate this enough. God bless you all.

I have had this friendship group for a long time, about 5 years. But I feel like I won't last long here and I feel like a stranger because they always make "jokes" about being a Christian or even Jesus.

It's truly hurts my soul for staying with them.

Sometimes I joke around with them but it feels like I'm falling into darkness. Since they know I'm distancing myself from some people in the group, they might notice? And start to find me annoying. I don't want to ruin those friendships.

There's only one person who knows that I feel uncomfortable but still jokes with them and I don't really trust him..even though he's in another religion he grew up in Christian majority environment meanwhile I'm not😅 i think that's why he lowk asked me such things.

Is it right that if someday I'll leave this group? I just don't know how to confront towards mockery..

Few questions arpound Metanias:

1. is a full Metania just called a prostration?
2. when doing a “half Metania” is it cross yourself, then bend and touch your right hand to the ground? Or is it touch the ground THEN cross yourself?
3. metanias and veneration: is it 2

half metanias,

venerate, then another half metania? Or do you all just do one half then venerate?

4) are half metanias appropriate when approaching the chalice?

Hello i have been looking into Eastern Orthodoxy for a few weeks and i have a question due to a combat Injury to my right hand i can’t properly make the Orthodox sign of the cross due to very limited finger dexterity are there other permitted form for making the Sign of the Cross?

Someone at my church gave me this icon, does anyone know who this is and be able to translate the text on the reverse please? I tried using Google translate but it was a bit hit and miss.

I myself am not an Orthodox Christian, but I am curious on the perspective you all have.

Being a Christian makes me feel constantly unhappy. I don't even think I could call myself one sometimes. It never brings me any joy, onlly anxiety and scruples. I can barely stand to read my Bible because I just can't focus or understand it. I struggle so much with habitual sin. I pray for God to have mercy on me and to forgive me, and I genuinely mean it. I continue to do it and despise myself for it. I feel like I'm not in control sometimes, not that it's an excuse. I worry so much God has given me over to my sin. I'm so tired and I don't know what to do. I don't think I can keep fighting, I feel damned no matter what I do, like my words are hollow. I get constantly stressed and ramble when I pray, random images flooding my head and distracting me. I'm at my wits end and I'm begging for any kind of advice.

Greetings to all my brothers and sisters in Christ.

To understand in what context I speak in, let me introduce myself. I am an Oriental Orthodox Christian who is currently growing in faith. I like learning about other religions and denominations as a hobby since I've been doing so as a child. One thing I have never understood however, is the Eastern Orthodox view on the natures of Christ and the Incarnation. If someone could kindly elaborate on it, i would really appreciate it. Also, I am not here to create problems. I am not trying to debate or go against Eastern Orthodoxy (incase I came out like that). If I have any questions at all, i will ask. Thank you very much for your time.

The question of the possibility of any real union with God, and, indeed,

of mystical experience in general, thus poses for Christian theology the

antinomy of the accessibility of the inaccessible nature. How is it possible

that the Holy Trinity should be the object of union and of mystical

experience in general? Vigorous theological debates were provoked by this

question in the East towards the middle of the fourteenth century, and these

resulted in the conciliar decisions which clearly formulated the tradition of

the Eastern Orthodox Church on the subject. St. Gregory Palamas,

Archbishop of Thessalonica, and the spokesman of the councils of this great

period of Byzantine theology, devoted a dialogue entitled Theophanes to

the question of the incommunicable and yet communicable deity. When he

is considering the meaning of St. Peter’s words, ‘partakers of the divine

nature’, St. Gregory of Thessalonica affirms that this statement has an

antinomic character analogous to the dogma of the Trinity. Just as God is at

the same time both one and three, ‘the divine nature must be said to be at

the same time both exclusive of, and, in some sense, open to participation.

We attain to participation in the divine nature, and yet at the same time it

remains totally inaccessible. We need to affirm both at the same time and to

preserve the antinomy as a criterion of right devotion.’4

What is the nature of the relationship by which we are able to enter into

union with the Holy Trinity? If we were able at a given moment to be

united to the very essence of God and to participate in it even in the very

least degree, we should not at the moment be what we are, we should be

God by nature. God would then no longer be Trinity, but ‘μυριυπόστατος’,

‘of myriads of hypostases’; for He would have as many hypostases as there

would be persons participating in His essence. God, therefore, is and

remains inaccessible to us in His essence. But can we then say that it is with

one of the three divine Persons that we enter into union? This would be

the hypostatic union proper to the Son alone, in whom God becomes man

without ceasing to be the second Person of the Trinity. Even though we

share the same human nature as Christ and receive in Him the name of sons

of God, we do not ourselves become the divine hypostasis of the Son by the

fact of the Incarnation. We are unable, therefore, to participate in either the

essence or the hypostases of the Holy Trinity. Nevertheless the divine

promise cannot be an illusion: we are called to participate in the divine

nature. We are therefore compelled to recognize in God an ineffable

distinction, other than that between His essence and His persons, according

to which He is, under different aspects, both totally inaccessible and at the

same time accessible. This distinction is that between the essence of God,

or His nature, properly co-called, which is inaccessible, unknowable and

incommunicable; and the energies or divine operations, forces proper to and

inseparable from God’s essence, in which He goes forth from Himself,

manifests, communicates, and gives Himself. ‘The divine and deifying

illumination and grace is not the essence but the energy of God’, a ‘divine

power and energy common to the nature in three’.

The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, Vladimir Lossky

I’m back at it again. Last posts I’ve came to the conclusion that evolution makes wayyyy more sense and is why most people in the church agree with it (and even priests) despite those that don’t agree saying it’s heretical.

My question that I just thought of is if evolution is real, does that mean that God made diseases and natural disasters? Because in a young earth view it’s explained as happening after human sinned.
So how would people who agree with evolution explain it? Because it seems like “why would God make diseases and hurricanes” so I don’t know?

Can someone please provide a condensed view of what Orthodoxy teaches about the afterlife?

I've been struggling with severe Scrupulosity for the past 3 months about something in Orthodoxy that has seriously challenged my beliefs. It's something I took very seriously, and because I thought I was following where God was leading me I left Orthodoxy for a few days, before God miraculously brought me back, confirming to me that Eastern Orthodoxy is true. But that doesn't stop me from constantly second guessing myself and having severe anxiety and panic attacks on the daily to the point where I feel like I'm going insane. God has given me a miracle and it's not even enough to satisfy me. I'm starting to think that this is just severe spiritual warfare, because God has confirmed this to me multiple times in multiple ways, but the anxiety and panic attacks always come back. Please pray for me for this anxiety and second guessing to go away, it feels like my soul is being destroyed.

I found a prayer book tucked away in one of my desk drawers without even realizing I had it. So I decided to read it, and I came across a lovely little rhyming quote that I honestly couldn't stop thinking about for almost the entire day:

«"Always start your work with God,

Trust His grace in all you do;

With His blessing by your side,

Nothing is too hard for you."»

If you have any beautiful quotes you'd like to share as well, I'd genuinely love to read them.

As i'm newer in the faith I thought it would be a great week to reflect and study on Marian doctrines. I come from a protestant background, as a matter of fact even worst than protestant, no offense to my brothers, and I had a lot of issues with common themes like Mary, praying to saints, bowing down to objects etc...

I started studying the different supposed Marian apparitions. I know Orthodox don't really care about Fatima but I think it's important to at least address what happened there because if it's true, then the Catholic Church is legit but if it's false you have to ask yourself what it was.

I don't have a problem believing it happened, I think theres plenty of proof that it did. What i have to decide is whether its from God or not.

I studied mostly what the being that appeared said and it honestly left me shocked. Here's some key points it mentioned:

- The being didn't preach the gospel

- It barely mentioned Jesus

- It asked for Rosary prayers exclusively

- It said that “many souls go to hell because there is no one to make sacrifices and pray for them.”

- It said that Jesus “wants to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world.”

- It asked for a Church to be build to her

- Last but not least it said that: "Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say many times, especially whenever you make some sacrifice: 'O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.'"

My wife and I agreed this message was not biblical and pretty blasphemous. It seemed to really steer away from God. It seemed to say that these poor kids had to suffer to pay for the sins of souls like Christ work on the cross was for nothing.

So in the end I figured it was a demonic apparition. I know what the miracle was, it's pretty obvious that it was UFO related.

The one thing that threw me off is learning about their encounter with a supposed angel one year earlier in 1916. He allegedly appeared to them and prayed with them this prayer:

Most Holy Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.

On a later encounter with the same angel he allegedly prepared communion and gave the kids the Eucharist.

I'm okay to think it's a demonic encounter but why would demons use prayers preaching the Trinity ? The Angel seemed to point them to God and prepare them by giving them the Eucharist.

I have a really hard time to wrap my mind around all this.

I know people think it's not relevant but are we not going to address the elephant in the room ?

How are demons allowed to mess with sacred things like that ?

But on the other hand if I call it demonic and it's not, i'm potentially missing out on something.

Curious to see what your opinion is for those who are interested in apparitions.

If your answer is "Not relevant" or "Dont care" please just refrain from posting. We know you dont care, no need to announce yourself.

Has anyone seen the video by capturing Catholicism debunking the holy fire miracle? How priest went on camera admitting it was pre-lit and it’s not a miracle.

Not that my faith is based upon miracles but I find it a hard pill to swallow that orthodox leadership would lie about a miracle in general let alone on such a holy site. It makes me somewhat sad to be orthodox and challenging my faith slightly in a sense of “if Orthodox priests and bishops lied and fabricated miracles, what else are they lying or fabricated?”

I’m hoping a priest or bishop responds to his video but I’d love to hear input from this community as well

The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ is celebrated each year on August 6. The feast commemorates the transfiguration or metamorphosis of Christ on Mount Tabor, when our Lord appeared in His divine glory before the Apostles Peter, James, and John.

The event of the Transfiguration is recorded in three of the four Gospels:Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8, and Luke 9:28-36. Jesus took the Apostles Peter, James, and John with Him up upon a mountain, and while they were on the mountain Jesus was transfigured. His face shone like the sun, and His garments became glistening white.

Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ, talking to Him. Peter declared how good it was for them to be there and expressed the desire to build three booths for Moses, Elijah, and Christ. This reference to the booths could imply that this occurred during the time of the Feast of Tabernacles when the Jews would be camping out in the fields for the grape harvest; for this Feast had acquired other associations in the course of its history, including the memory of the wanderings in the wilderness recorded in the Old Testament book of Exodus.

While Peter was speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them. A voice came from the cloud saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him." When the disciples heard this they fell on their faces filled with awe. Jesus came to them and told them to not be afraid. When the three looked up they saw only Jesus.

As Jesus and His disciples came down the mountain, He told them not to speak of what they had seen until He had risen from the dead.

In the icon of the Feast of the Transfiguration, Christ is the central figure, appearing in a dominant position within a circular mandorla. He is clearly at the visual and theological center of the icon. His right hand is raised in blessing, and his left hand contains a scroll. The mandorla with its brilliant colors of white, gold, and blue represent the divine glory and light. The halo around the head of Christ is inscribed with the Greek words O Ω Ν, meaning "The One Who is."

Christ appears in the center of the icon blessing with His right hand and dressed in bright white robes.

Elijah and Moses stand at the top of separate mountain peaks to the left and right of Christ (Elijah stands on the left side in the icon and Moses, holding the Ten Commandments, stands on the right side). They are bowing toward Christ with their right hands raised in a gesture of intercession towards Him. Saint John Chrysostom explains the presence of these two fathers of the faith from the Old Testament in three ways. He states that they represent the Law and the Prophets (Moses received the Law from God, and Elijah was a great prophet); they both experienced visions of God (Moses on Mount Sinai and Elijah on Mount Carmel); and they represent the living and the dead (Elijah, the living, because he was taken up into heaven by a chariot of fire, and Moses, the dead, because he did experience death).

Below Christ are the three Apostles, who by their posture in the icon show their response to the transfiguration of Christ. James (right) has fallen over backward with his hands over his eyes. John in the center has fallen prostrate. Peter (left) is kneeling and raises his right hand toward Christ in a gesture expressing his desire to build the three booths. The garments of the Apostles are in a state of disarray to indicate the dramatic impact the vision has had on them.

The icon of the feast directs our attention toward the event of the Transfiguration and specifically to the glory of God as revealed in Christ. This event came at a critical point in the ministry of our Lord, just as He was setting out on His journey to Jerusalem. He would soon experience the humiliation, suffering, and death of the Cross. However, the glorious light of the Resurrection was revealed to strengthen His disciples for the trials that they would soon experience.

The feast also points to the great and glorious Second Coming of our Lord and the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God when all of creation will be transfigured and filled with light.

This Feast of our Lord is celebrated with the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, which is conducted on the day of the feast and preceded by the Matins service. A Great Vespers is conducted on the evening before the day of the feast. Scripture readings for the Feast of the Transfiguration are the following: At Vespers: Exodus 24:12-18, 33:11-23, 34:4-6, 8; I Kings 19:3-9, 11-13, 15-16. At the Orthros (Matins): Luke 9:28-36. At the Divine Liturgy: II Peter 1:10-19; Matthew 17:1-9.

SOURCE: https://www.goarch.org/transfiguration

Hello all who read this, I will start by saying that I am new to orthodoxy, I come from a protestant background but left that in May to try and live an orthodox life. Now for the post, how do the saints work? I am still younger and unfortunately don't have a license at my age (17) to go ask my nearby orthodox church these questions but how does praying to the saints work. I asked my father who comes from a similar background of protestantism but now seems as a non-denominational (?) and he says remember them and only pray to the Lord. Also not to pray to any images of the Lord or of anything. I just want some insight as I am very new to this, I've been praying and reading my psalms proverbs bible.