Even though my journey is very different from yours, many elements ring true and relatable to me as well. Glory to the Lord! May the Lord lead Asia to Orthodoxy!
Hey Tao, I really enjoyed the columns that you've written and noticed that you haven't published anything in 8 months. I hope that all is well with you.
Hi Mike, hope you're doing well also. I'm still around and glad to hear you enjoyed my essays! Always open to taking new article ideas if people have them.
God bless your journey! Since the last time you posted, I have made the jump from orthodox inquiring to catechumenate. Glory be to God!
Can you elaborate more on the bit about how the Philokalia goes against the medieval western practice of "proactively imagining visual images in one’s mind during prayers in order to ecstatically embody the pains and joys of the saints"? I am formerly a Protestant Christian, and this is a practice that I have inadvertently been doing for years
When doing your task [of prayer], you see light or fire outside [yourself] or in, or a face—of Christ, for example, or an Angel, or someone else’s—do not accept it, in order not to suffer damage. And yourself do not make images; and those that come on their own—do not accept them, and do not allow your mind to keep them. (Philokalia 5:233)
[N]ever accept if you see anything physical or spiritual, inside yourself or out, even if it is an image of Christ, or an Angel, or some Saint, or a light appears to you and shows in your mind. The mind itself has a natural power of imagination and can easily create a phantom image of a thing, which it desires… In the same way, a recollection of good or bad things usually shows their images in the mind and leads the mind to imagination… (Philokalia 5:224)
In my own words:
I was taught that in prayer, we try to concentrate on the words of the prayers and unite our minds with it. I read that we should not allow our minds to be distracted, wandering on other things including random thoughts and imaginings.
Thanks for sharing; a few questions if you have time. How did you know that your preference for Orthodoxy wasn’t merely a personal or aesthetic preference and that it was a recognition of a greater truth? Did the ROCOR priest who baptized you explain the baptism as a conditional baptism? How did you get comfortable picking the Russian side over the Greek side in the current schism?
(1) I am not the type of person who would stake my life and soul on core ideologies due to what I'd consider at the time arbitrary preferences. Since "Byzantine Catholicism" already exists, you can already kind of get Greco-Russian style religion in Roman Catholicism already. For me it was more about learning about the history of the Papacy, comparing it with the modern Roman Catholic Papal dogmas, and checking out whether that really held up to scrutiny.
(2) Unfortunately, I do not think that it is obvious that the Roman Catholics have a sacramentally valid baptism. I was taught in the past that some leniency was given to heterodox groups that possessed the proper form (manner of doing things) of baptism, but the modern Roman Catholics have mostly lost that too and do not baptize physically in the apostolic manner. (And I know this personally to be true about my own Roman Catholic initiation, which was not done in the way the Early Church would have done it.)
Relatedly, the Council of Florence clearly dogmatized a version of the Filioque that is unambiguously in contradiction with the teachings of Church Fathers like St. John of Damascus. To me (this is my own opinion) when Roman Catholics baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they do not do so with the same understanding as was held by the Ancient Church.
There are very talented people who have discussed this topic in great detail who are better than I, like Fr. Peter Heers, who has written about this question extensively for those who are interested in learning more.
(3) As an Orthodox Christian in ROCOR, I was taught that the relationship with the Greeks is a fracture of brotherly relations, not a full blown schism like the East-West Schism. I was also taught that these types of controversies were not uncommon in the First Millennium Church, such as with the Meletian schism. In the Russian tradition we have quite a few people, including myself, who visit and attend services at Greek churches from time to time.
Regarding the issue itself, when I think about contemporary problems, I don't pick a side immediately but, if I am interested in knowing, I look at the material facts closely and see what is happening in history. For example, rather than looking at legal documents and abstract theories, I prefer to read about issues like churches being confiscated, or the number of bishops who approved versus disapproved, and what people say with their boots on the ground. To me, that kind of investigation is more productive.
I asked this already on X and I will ask it again - why does St John of Damascus, who ERRONEOUSLY claims that we do not say that the Holy Spirit is from the Son, trump numerous other Saints and councils, who DO SAY that the Holy Spirit is from the Son??
Is St John of Damascus somehow more authoritative than Sts Hilary, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Leo the Great, Gregory the Great, Athanasius, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Epiphanius, and several others who DID SAY that the Holy Spirit is from the Son?
And while St John of Damascus was in material error regarding this question, he was not in a formal error, because in other places he plainly says that the Son has a role in the production of the Holy Spirit, which if not in words, at least in substance means the same as the filioque, and which teaching is contradicted by the eastern "orthodox" council of Blachernae, which contrary to the unanimous consent of the Fathers dogmatized for the "orthodox" church that the Spirit is produced by the Father ALONE, without any mediation of the Son.
ISLAM-JW & TRINITARIANS= 2- OPOSITE SIDES OF SAME EXACT HERESY!?!
GOD IS A MODALIST -JESUS IS PART OF GOD WHICH GOD MANIFESTED OF HIMSELF IN HUMAN FLESH NOT A 2ND OR DIFFERENT PERSON.
The garden…God said you will die…Satan comes along and states no you will be more WISE……today God said He is one; Satan’s children come along & say no "three in one" is more WISE & humble in the face of God’s grandeur in “a mystery”
THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTAINT THEOLOGICAL ISSUE & COMMANDMENT UNDER THE LAW & CHRIST CAME TO FULLFILL IS 👇👇👇
Mark 12:29 Jesus answered, "The 💥MOST IMPORTANT💥 is, 'Hear, O Israel: THE LORD OUR GOD, the Lord IS ONE.
If you cannot grasp the simple concept of "ONE" then the rest of all of theology (good or bad) is moot. There is a big difference between modalisim - one person who is God manifested in three different ways verse three different persons with diffiferent minds, amounts of Knowledge, power & authority over each other.
Rom 1:20. For THE INVISIBLE THINGS OF HIM from the creation of the world are CLEARLY SEEN, being understood by the things that are made, EVEN his eternal power AND GODHEAD; so that THEY ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE;…
Man is made in the image of God (the image that he uses primarily when described in scripture)
First: “CLEARLY SEEN” …”EVEN HIS GODHEAD”…Can’t appeal to “beyond the limited human mind to comprehend” …..Can’t appeal to “Incomprehensible”:
There is a big difference between MODALISIM - one person who is God manifested in three different ways verse TRINITY= three different persons with diffiferent minds, amounts of Knowledge, power & authority over each other.
1) THESON=
Jesus is only a son by vertue of the fact that the human flesh that the SINGULAR GOD occupied belonged to God personaly there was no other spirit in Jesus to lay claim to the male human flesh/son of marry/"SON OF MAN" ...erogo "son OF GOD" bleonging to God (as a possesion) not a second or different person!!
Psalms 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, THOU ART MY SON THIS DAY HAVE I BEGOTTEN THEE; The spirit of God has always existed but the union of human flesh animated by the spirit of GOD himself did not exist till the human flesh was conceived, & born. Different conditions do NOT = different persons.
🔥2) GOD ALMIGHTY CLAIMS HE IS GOING TO SEND HIMSELF, AND NOT ANOTHER PERSON!!
God uses "modalisim" to explain who God would send.. So, why doesn't everyone??
Your right arm, sits at your right hand & is WITH YOU & IT IS YOU, it can only know & comunicate what your head gives it, even differntly as your mouth moves simoultaniously & yet is is equal to you and not a different person!?!) God using a modalistic explanation of himself is the truth.
Psalms 118:16 💪THE RIGHT HAND💪of the LORD is ✝️EXALTED✝️
(”lifted up” John 12:32 And I, if I be ✝️lifted up✝️ from the earth... 33... signifying what death he should die....
John 17:1.., Father, the hour is come; ✝️GLORIFY thy Son,✝️ that thy Son also may glorify thee:):
....... THE 💪RIGHT HAND💪 of the LORD DOETH VALIANTLY.....
Psalms 98:1...: 💪HIS RIGHT HAND,💪 and 💪HIS HOLY ARM,💪 HATH GOTTEN HIM THE VICTORY......2. The Lord hath MADE KNOWN 💢HIS SALVATION💢
Isaiah 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and MY SERVANT whom I have chosen: that ye may KNOW and BELIEVE me, and UNDERSTAND that ✝️I AM HE✝️....11 I, even I, am the LORD; and 💢BESIDE ME THERE IS NO SAVIOR💢. 43:13 Yea, BEFORE THE DAY was✝️I AM HE✝️;
(John 8:58 Jesus said.....BEFORE Abraham was, ✝️I AM ✝️. 59 Then took they up stones to cast at him:...) 👈THIS IS A SPECIFIC TIME JESUS SPECIFICALY CLAIMS TO BE GOD & THEY UNDERSTOOD HIM PERFECTLY!!
Isaiah 53: 1. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is 💪THE ARM OF THE LORD💪
REVEALED?
ISAIAH 52:6.. MY PEOPLE SHALL 🎯KNOW MY NAME🎯 therefore THEY SHALL KNOW IN THAT DAY that ✝️I AM HE✝️ that doth speak: behold✝️,IT IS I✝️ .. ..,… 10. THE LORD HATH MADE BARE 💪HIS HOLY ARM💪..
John 8:24....IF YE BELIEVE NOT that ✝️I AM HE✝️, ye shall DIE IN YOUR SINS…. 28. ... LIFTED UP the Son of man, THEN shall ye KNOW that ✝️I AM HE✝️
You cant claim to believe that "I am HE" if you believe Jesus is a different person then God Father because to you Jesus is not HE but "some other different person sent by Him"!?!
"WHO" it was (what person) that came "IN THE FLESH", IS THE DETERMINING FACTOR IN WHAT IT MEANS TO BE “ANT-CHRIST”! To deny the father is to deny the son because they are one and the same person!!
3) THE FATHER=
Isaiah9:6. For unto us a child is born, unto us A SON IS GIVEN: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and HIS NAME SHALL BE CALLED Wonderful, COUNSELLER, (Holy Spirit) THE MIGHTY GOD, THE EVERLASTING FATHER,…
1Cor 6:1.......; and I will receive you. 18. And WILL BE A FATHER UNTO YOU, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith THE LORD ALMIGHTY.
Jeremiah 3:…18. IN THOSE DAYS and shalt not turn away from me 19. ..and I said, THOU SHALT CALL ME, MY FATHER;
( Eph 4:6. One God AND Father of all)
Malachi 2:10 Have we not all ONE FATHER? (Jn 41:8/ Heb 12:9) hath not ONE GOD
H) John 14: 8....Lord, SHEW US THE FATHER,.. 9. Jesus saith unto him, HAVE I BEEN SO LONG TIME WITH YOU, AND YET HAST THOU NOT KNOWN ME, Philip? he that hath SEEN ME HATH SEEN THE FATHER; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
The "oneness" between Christ and the father is not comparable to a man and his wife, for only a fool would say "When you have seen me you have seen my wife, how sayest thou then, Shew us your wife?" Notice they asked to see THE FATHER and the response was Jn 14:9 ..“HAVE I BEEN SO LONG time with you, and yet hast THOU NOT KNOW ME, Philip..... The whole point to Christ statements is that he is the SAME person as the father.
They did not kill Jesus becsuse he preached good deeds or "you are sinners".
THE POPE & ALL modern day VICARS ,prophets et al SDA, LDS-Mormons, JW EVEN muslims all fraud waiting for the 2nd comming
Anyone claiming to be a biological jew & or of biological Israel is either a fraud & liar, delusional or seriously mentaly ill.
The real problem is that people have absolutly no real idea what the gospel is.....dont belive it?
THE GOSPEL JESUS PREACHED WAS NOT DEATH BURIAL & RESURECTION ...HE HARDLY EVER MENTIONED IT!🤣🤡🌏🤣
Many point to verse such as 1 Cor 15:1-4. The first mention of the term "THE GOSPEL" is way back in CH 1!👈💥& Ch 15 itself is about the return of Christ & the resurection of the dead!! 🤣
💥1 Cor 1:6. Even as THE TESTIMONY OF CHRIST WAS CONFIRMED IN YOU: 7. … WAITING FOR ⚡⚡THE COMING OF OUR LORD⚡⚡ Jesus Christ:
💥2 Thess 2:1....WE BESEECH YOU, brethren, 💥BY💥 ⚡⚡THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST AND BY OUR GATHERING TOGETHER UNTO HIM⚡⚡, … 14. Whereunto he called you ⚡⚡BY OUR GOSPEL⚡⚡ .
💥2Thess 3:5. And the Lord DIRECT YOUR HEARTS into the love of God, AND INTO THE PATIENT ⚡⚡WAITING FOR CHRIST.⚡
Rev 1:2 Who bare record of (1) THE WORD of God, and of (2) THE TESTIMONY of Jesus Christ, and of (3) all THINGS THAT HE SAW. (Rev 19:9..These are THE TRUE SAYINGS of God. .10…for the TESTIMONY of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.)
THE OLD SONG OF MOSES v THE NEW SONG OF THD LAMB......"GET IT" YET?!?
SONG OF MOSES:
Deut 4:26 ye shall soon UTTERLY PERISH ... but shall UTTERLY be ⚠️DESTROYED⚠️...30 When thou art in 🚨TRIBULATION🚨 and ALL THESE THINGS COME UPON THEE, even in ⏰THE LATTER DAYS⏰...
Deut 30:1.....WHEN ALL THESE THINGS ARE COME.. THE 🎯BLESSING🎯 and THE 🚨CURSE🚨,....19. Now therefore WRITE YE 🎶THIS SONG🎶... .20. ....and break my covenant. 21.when many evils and 🚨TROUBLES🚨 ...🎶THIS SONG🎶 SHALL TESTIFY AGAINST THEM AS A WITNESS; ...: 22. MOSES THEREFORE WROTE 🎶THIS SONG🎶 the same day.
Deut 31 :29..EVIL .⏰THE LATTER DAYS⏰
Deut 32:17. They 👹SACRIFICED UNTO DEVILS👹, (PS 106:35-37 & Rev 9:20) ..43. REJOICE, O ye nations,.. for HE WILL AVENGE THE BLOOD OF HIS SERVANTS, and will RENDER 🚨VENGEANCE🚨(Luke 21:22)..... 44..Moses.. spake 🎶ALL THE WORDS OF THIS SONG🎶
THIS IS WHY THEY PERSECUTED JESUS. THEY DID NOT PERSECUTE JESUS BECAUSE HE PREACHED "DO GOOD DEEDS"
WHAT DID CHRIST PREACH? 👇
Luke 4:18/ Isaiah 61:1… The spirit of the Lord is upon me ......TO PROCLAIM acceptable ⏰YEAR OF THE LORD⏰ and THE DAY OF 🚨VENGEANCE🚨
Lk 21: 20. And WHEN YE SHALL SEE ⚠️JERUSALEM COMPASSED⚠️ WITH ARMIES, THEN KNOW THAT THE ⚠️DESOLATION⚠️ THEREOF IS NIGH .... 22. THESE BE THE DAYS OF 🚨VENGEANCE,🚨 that ALL THINGS WHICH ARE WRITTEN MAY BE 💪FULLFILLED💪... 28 ....for your 🎯REDEMPTION🎯 DRAWETH NIGH
They thought Messiah was going to kill everyone who was not a Biological jew in Israel, but Gods "humor" was to destroy all biological jews & START ANEW WITH JUST JESUS "THE SEED" (💥 Rembember God wanted to start over with just moses at Mt Sini But Moses pleaded with God.💥)
⛔DANIEL 9) CONFIRMATION CONSUMATION & LAW CHANGED⛔
👉(💥A💥).. ⚠️DESTROY⚠️... CITY . SANCTUARY... THE END THEREOF SHALL BE WITH A 💦FLOOD💦 💥 (Mat 24 :39 ..until the 💦FLOOD💦 CAME ...so shall.. coming of..Son of man)
Nahum 1: 2... LORD REVENGETH; ....WILL TAKE 🚨VENGEANCE🚨...5. 🔥🌏THE MOUNTAINS QUAKE ...THE HILLS MELT, AND THE EARTH IS BURNED.. THE WORLD, AND ALL THAT DWELL THEREIN🔥🌏...7..IN 🚨THE DAYOF TROUBLE;🚨 ...8...AN OVERRUNNING 💦FLOOD💦... MAKE AN UTTER ⚠️END OF THE PLACE⚠️...10 ...THEY.. DEVOURED AS STUBBLE FULLY DRY...15... THE FEET OF HIM THAT BRINGETH 😇GOOD TIDINGS, THAT PUBLISHETH PEACE!😇
1 Peter 4:7...🔥🌏END OF ALL THINGS IS ST HAND🔥🌏....17 TIME IS COME that JUDGMENT must BEGIN (not end)
👉1 Corinthians 10:7 Neither be ye 👹IDOLATERS👹,.. 11...they are written for our admonition, upon whom 🔥🌏THE ENDS OF THE WORLD ARE COME🔥🌏20 ... the Gentiles sacrifice, they 👹SACRIFICE to DEVILS👹
👉(💥B💥) …UNTO THE END OF THE WAR ⚠️DESOLATIONS⚠️ ARE DETERMINED. 27.. shall ✝️🎶CONFIRM THE COVENANT🎶✝️ WITH MANY FOR ONE WEEK:
1) Rev 1:7.. cometh with clouds.👁👁EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM.. THEY ALSO WHICH PIERCED HIM👁👁... (Acts 2:5) THE EARTH SHALL 💧WAIL💧 BECAUSE OF HIM.
Zech 12:1.. ⚠️WHEN THEY SHALL BE IN THE SIEGE⚠️.. 6. IN THAT DAY....👁👁THEYSHALL LOOK UPON ME WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED👁👁, THEY SHALL 💧MOURN💧 ..11. A GREAT MOURNING IN JERUSALEM...INTHE VALLEY OF ☢☠MEGIDDON*☠☢
Rev 16:14 For they are the 👹SPIRITS OF DEVILS👹 working miracles, ... to☢☠GATHER THEM TO BATTLE☠☢of ⏰THAT GREAT DAY⏰ Almighty. 15. I COME AS A THIEF. .. 16. And HE GATHERED THEM....☢☠ARMAGEDDON☠☢
Zech 14:1. THE ⏰DAY OF THE LORD⏰ COMETH, .. 2.... GATHER ALL NATIONS....⚠️THE CITY SHALL BE TAKEN⚠️
👉(💥A💥) …IN THE MIDST OF THE WEEK (AD 70)... CAUSE THE 🎶SACRIFICE🎶 AND.. ⛔🎶OBLATION TO CEASE🎶⛔
Heb 7 :12..the PRIESTHOOD being ⛔CHANGED,⛔ there is made of necessity a ⛔CHANGE⛔ also of the LAW...
THE SONG OF THE LAMB
Psalms 40:3...he hath put ✝️🎶A NEW SONG✝️🎶 in my mouth,..6 ⛔Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; .. burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.⛔ 7....Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
👉(💥B💥) …MAKE IT ⚠️DESOLATE⚠️, EVEN UNTIL THE 🎯CONSUMMATION🎯
👉1 Cor 13:8 PROPHECIES.. FAIL.. TONGUES,.. CEASE....10 🎯WHEN THAT WHICH IS PERFECT IS COME🎯, then that which is in part shall be done away
FURTHER, IF HEAVEN & EARTH HAS NOT PASSED AWAY THEN THE LAW OF MOSES IS STILL REQUIRED & IN EFFECT NOW!?!
Mat 5:18.....🔥🌏Till HEVEAN AND EARTH PASS🔥🌏 one jot...shall in no wise pass from the law, 💪TILL ALL BE FULLFILLED💪
The earth that burned up & pass away was a people-> Israel NOT a planet!! Man is made of EARTH..... Its not UR world or world of the Maya that was to burn up melt & pass away with a great noise... Popular ideas of Jesus return & "the last day" is from theological Nimrods.
There is exactly 666yrs between Nebecarnezars 1st year over Isreal 596BC and it's final total complete destruction in AD70....
Daniel 9:11 ....therefore THE CURSE IS POURED UPON US, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. .....24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city,..........
This fact is also irrespective of peoples ideas of the AD/BC date line which ironically is also proven to be correct..
PERIOD OF THE CURSE LASTED 666Yrs IT. BEGAN WITH A 70 YEAR PERIOD UNDER BABYLON & ENDED WITH "THE LAST DAYS" = A 70 YEAR PERIOD UNDER ROME
596BC.....................70AD
[...........666yrs...........]
[70yr)---------(70yrs]
The mark his name, the number of his name is TRANSGRESSION, OR BLASPHEMY OR SIN
THE LAST DAYS" = 70 yrs from birth of Christ to AD 70.
This, and priests like Mar Mari Emmanuel, and the teachings of, like you said, the Philokalia, St Palamas and such, and the sheer beauty of places like Mt Athos, and the Greek Orthodox and Egyptian Coptic services I have attended, is what makes me consider converting to Orthodoxy maybe, one day. I also see the very judgy, hypocritical and pharisean behavior of many Tradcats as a serious issue. Their intellectualist arrogance is frankly annoying. I never met a neocon or democracy-advocating Tradcat tho, they seem to me to be entirely monarchist, in the dynastic royalist sense, which is the worst type of monarchy tho, imho. But among Americans I guess being a monarchist is just rare.
I really enjoyed this as it reflects my current path but I had to fact check the claims about the Franks:
The part about the Franks "taking over" Catholicism in the attached text (referring to the Frankish Papacy) is not factually correct as presented; it oversimplifies and mischaracterizes historical events with a biased narrative.
Historical Context
The text claims the Franks, as "barbarian" kings like Pepin the Short and Charlemagne, dominated the papacy (756–857 CE), effectively subverting or "owning" the church for political gain, implying this corrupted Catholicism from its Roman/Byzantine roots. This echoes polemics (e.g., from Fr. John Romanides, whom the author later references) portraying the Franks as injecting novel Western errors. In reality, the Frankish Papacy marked a shift from Byzantine imperial oversight (e.g., during the Byzantine Papacy, 537–752 CE, when emperors influenced papal elections) to Frankish alliance, driven by mutual needs: popes sought protection from Lombard invasions, while Franks gained legitimacy via papal coronation.
Key Facts
Alliance, not takeover: Pepin donated lands (Donation of Pepin, 756 CE) creating the Papal States, and Charlemagne was crowned emperor (800 CE) by Pope Leo III after defending him from violence. Popes retained independence; Frankish influence waned by the 9th century amid Carolingian decline.
No doctrinal "subversion": Core Catholic doctrines (e.g., Trinity, sacraments) predated Franks; disputes like Filioque arose earlier in Spain/Visigoths (Toledo Councils, 589–693 CE) and were debated empire-wide. Franks supported orthodoxy against Byzantine iconoclasm (e.g., Libri Carolini, 790s).
Precedents: Secular rulers influenced popes long before (e.g., Roman emperors post-Constantine, Byzantine exarchs). The text ignores this continuity, framing Franks as uniquely corrupting.
Accuracy Issues
The portrayal ignores popes' agency (e.g., Stephen II initiating Frankish ties) and evidence of papal resistance (e.g., Nicholas I vs. Lothair II on divorce). It anachronistically projects modern Orthodox critiques onto history, treating Frankish aid as "control" while downplaying Byzantine emperor vetoes on elections. Scholarly consensus (e.g., in Jeffrey Richards' The Popes and the Papacy) views this as pragmatic geopolitics, not a barbarian conquest of faith.
Really insightful thanks! I'm currently on a similar path but I feel so much at home within the Catholic church and so alienated to Orthodox church that Im very hesitant to convert. I also live in Franconia, Germany where there are few Orthodox churches. Time will tell.
As an evangelical, non-denominational church attending Christian who is currently looking into Orthodox Christianity, I truly appreciate the depth and breadth of this article. I’ve read a few books and listened to a lot of orthodox videos and feel very much stuck in the middle and not sure where to land or if a major change has to be made.
As a former Roman Catholic now Orthodox, I really appreciated this reflection. Definitely could sympathize with a lot of what you felt. Thank you.
Even though my journey is very different from yours, many elements ring true and relatable to me as well. Glory to the Lord! May the Lord lead Asia to Orthodoxy!
Hey Tao, I really enjoyed the columns that you've written and noticed that you haven't published anything in 8 months. I hope that all is well with you.
Hi Mike, hope you're doing well also. I'm still around and glad to hear you enjoyed my essays! Always open to taking new article ideas if people have them.
God bless your journey! Since the last time you posted, I have made the jump from orthodox inquiring to catechumenate. Glory be to God!
Can you elaborate more on the bit about how the Philokalia goes against the medieval western practice of "proactively imagining visual images in one’s mind during prayers in order to ecstatically embody the pains and joys of the saints"? I am formerly a Protestant Christian, and this is a practice that I have inadvertently been doing for years
Glory to God! Thank you and God bless, I hope that your catechumenate will be fruitful indeed!
Here is a very good article that summarizes everything about mental visualization in prayer. https://www.pravmir.com/article_545.html
Some short quotes:
When doing your task [of prayer], you see light or fire outside [yourself] or in, or a face—of Christ, for example, or an Angel, or someone else’s—do not accept it, in order not to suffer damage. And yourself do not make images; and those that come on their own—do not accept them, and do not allow your mind to keep them. (Philokalia 5:233)
[N]ever accept if you see anything physical or spiritual, inside yourself or out, even if it is an image of Christ, or an Angel, or some Saint, or a light appears to you and shows in your mind. The mind itself has a natural power of imagination and can easily create a phantom image of a thing, which it desires… In the same way, a recollection of good or bad things usually shows their images in the mind and leads the mind to imagination… (Philokalia 5:224)
In my own words:
I was taught that in prayer, we try to concentrate on the words of the prayers and unite our minds with it. I read that we should not allow our minds to be distracted, wandering on other things including random thoughts and imaginings.
I see i see; this is pretty radical news to me; Lord have mercy
Thanks!
Make sure to ask your priest, he can give you deeper advice for your personal situation!
You've very different experiences with Orthodox Catholics, cradle and western convert alike, than I.
Thanks for sharing; a few questions if you have time. How did you know that your preference for Orthodoxy wasn’t merely a personal or aesthetic preference and that it was a recognition of a greater truth? Did the ROCOR priest who baptized you explain the baptism as a conditional baptism? How did you get comfortable picking the Russian side over the Greek side in the current schism?
Thank you for reading.
(1) I am not the type of person who would stake my life and soul on core ideologies due to what I'd consider at the time arbitrary preferences. Since "Byzantine Catholicism" already exists, you can already kind of get Greco-Russian style religion in Roman Catholicism already. For me it was more about learning about the history of the Papacy, comparing it with the modern Roman Catholic Papal dogmas, and checking out whether that really held up to scrutiny.
(2) Unfortunately, I do not think that it is obvious that the Roman Catholics have a sacramentally valid baptism. I was taught in the past that some leniency was given to heterodox groups that possessed the proper form (manner of doing things) of baptism, but the modern Roman Catholics have mostly lost that too and do not baptize physically in the apostolic manner. (And I know this personally to be true about my own Roman Catholic initiation, which was not done in the way the Early Church would have done it.)
Relatedly, the Council of Florence clearly dogmatized a version of the Filioque that is unambiguously in contradiction with the teachings of Church Fathers like St. John of Damascus. To me (this is my own opinion) when Roman Catholics baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they do not do so with the same understanding as was held by the Ancient Church.
There are very talented people who have discussed this topic in great detail who are better than I, like Fr. Peter Heers, who has written about this question extensively for those who are interested in learning more.
(3) As an Orthodox Christian in ROCOR, I was taught that the relationship with the Greeks is a fracture of brotherly relations, not a full blown schism like the East-West Schism. I was also taught that these types of controversies were not uncommon in the First Millennium Church, such as with the Meletian schism. In the Russian tradition we have quite a few people, including myself, who visit and attend services at Greek churches from time to time.
Regarding the issue itself, when I think about contemporary problems, I don't pick a side immediately but, if I am interested in knowing, I look at the material facts closely and see what is happening in history. For example, rather than looking at legal documents and abstract theories, I prefer to read about issues like churches being confiscated, or the number of bishops who approved versus disapproved, and what people say with their boots on the ground. To me, that kind of investigation is more productive.
Best wishes to you.
Thanks again for this thoughtful reply!
I asked this already on X and I will ask it again - why does St John of Damascus, who ERRONEOUSLY claims that we do not say that the Holy Spirit is from the Son, trump numerous other Saints and councils, who DO SAY that the Holy Spirit is from the Son??
Is St John of Damascus somehow more authoritative than Sts Hilary, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Leo the Great, Gregory the Great, Athanasius, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Epiphanius, and several others who DID SAY that the Holy Spirit is from the Son?
And while St John of Damascus was in material error regarding this question, he was not in a formal error, because in other places he plainly says that the Son has a role in the production of the Holy Spirit, which if not in words, at least in substance means the same as the filioque, and which teaching is contradicted by the eastern "orthodox" council of Blachernae, which contrary to the unanimous consent of the Fathers dogmatized for the "orthodox" church that the Spirit is produced by the Father ALONE, without any mediation of the Son.
ISLAM-JW & TRINITARIANS= 2- OPOSITE SIDES OF SAME EXACT HERESY!?!
GOD IS A MODALIST -JESUS IS PART OF GOD WHICH GOD MANIFESTED OF HIMSELF IN HUMAN FLESH NOT A 2ND OR DIFFERENT PERSON.
The garden…God said you will die…Satan comes along and states no you will be more WISE……today God said He is one; Satan’s children come along & say no "three in one" is more WISE & humble in the face of God’s grandeur in “a mystery”
THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTAINT THEOLOGICAL ISSUE & COMMANDMENT UNDER THE LAW & CHRIST CAME TO FULLFILL IS 👇👇👇
Mark 12:29 Jesus answered, "The 💥MOST IMPORTANT💥 is, 'Hear, O Israel: THE LORD OUR GOD, the Lord IS ONE.
If you cannot grasp the simple concept of "ONE" then the rest of all of theology (good or bad) is moot. There is a big difference between modalisim - one person who is God manifested in three different ways verse three different persons with diffiferent minds, amounts of Knowledge, power & authority over each other.
Rom 1:20. For THE INVISIBLE THINGS OF HIM from the creation of the world are CLEARLY SEEN, being understood by the things that are made, EVEN his eternal power AND GODHEAD; so that THEY ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE;…
Man is made in the image of God (the image that he uses primarily when described in scripture)
First: “CLEARLY SEEN” …”EVEN HIS GODHEAD”…Can’t appeal to “beyond the limited human mind to comprehend” …..Can’t appeal to “Incomprehensible”:
There is a big difference between MODALISIM - one person who is God manifested in three different ways verse TRINITY= three different persons with diffiferent minds, amounts of Knowledge, power & authority over each other.
1) THESON=
Jesus is only a son by vertue of the fact that the human flesh that the SINGULAR GOD occupied belonged to God personaly there was no other spirit in Jesus to lay claim to the male human flesh/son of marry/"SON OF MAN" ...erogo "son OF GOD" bleonging to God (as a possesion) not a second or different person!!
Psalms 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, THOU ART MY SON THIS DAY HAVE I BEGOTTEN THEE; The spirit of God has always existed but the union of human flesh animated by the spirit of GOD himself did not exist till the human flesh was conceived, & born. Different conditions do NOT = different persons.
🔥2) GOD ALMIGHTY CLAIMS HE IS GOING TO SEND HIMSELF, AND NOT ANOTHER PERSON!!
God uses "modalisim" to explain who God would send.. So, why doesn't everyone??
Your right arm, sits at your right hand & is WITH YOU & IT IS YOU, it can only know & comunicate what your head gives it, even differntly as your mouth moves simoultaniously & yet is is equal to you and not a different person!?!) God using a modalistic explanation of himself is the truth.
Psalms 118:16 💪THE RIGHT HAND💪of the LORD is ✝️EXALTED✝️
(”lifted up” John 12:32 And I, if I be ✝️lifted up✝️ from the earth... 33... signifying what death he should die....
John 17:1.., Father, the hour is come; ✝️GLORIFY thy Son,✝️ that thy Son also may glorify thee:):
....... THE 💪RIGHT HAND💪 of the LORD DOETH VALIANTLY.....
Psalms 98:1...: 💪HIS RIGHT HAND,💪 and 💪HIS HOLY ARM,💪 HATH GOTTEN HIM THE VICTORY......2. The Lord hath MADE KNOWN 💢HIS SALVATION💢
Isaiah 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and MY SERVANT whom I have chosen: that ye may KNOW and BELIEVE me, and UNDERSTAND that ✝️I AM HE✝️....11 I, even I, am the LORD; and 💢BESIDE ME THERE IS NO SAVIOR💢. 43:13 Yea, BEFORE THE DAY was✝️I AM HE✝️;
(John 8:58 Jesus said.....BEFORE Abraham was, ✝️I AM ✝️. 59 Then took they up stones to cast at him:...) 👈THIS IS A SPECIFIC TIME JESUS SPECIFICALY CLAIMS TO BE GOD & THEY UNDERSTOOD HIM PERFECTLY!!
Isaiah 53: 1. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is 💪THE ARM OF THE LORD💪
REVEALED?
ISAIAH 52:6.. MY PEOPLE SHALL 🎯KNOW MY NAME🎯 therefore THEY SHALL KNOW IN THAT DAY that ✝️I AM HE✝️ that doth speak: behold✝️,IT IS I✝️ .. ..,… 10. THE LORD HATH MADE BARE 💪HIS HOLY ARM💪..
John 8:24....IF YE BELIEVE NOT that ✝️I AM HE✝️, ye shall DIE IN YOUR SINS…. 28. ... LIFTED UP the Son of man, THEN shall ye KNOW that ✝️I AM HE✝️
You cant claim to believe that "I am HE" if you believe Jesus is a different person then God Father because to you Jesus is not HE but "some other different person sent by Him"!?!
"WHO" it was (what person) that came "IN THE FLESH", IS THE DETERMINING FACTOR IN WHAT IT MEANS TO BE “ANT-CHRIST”! To deny the father is to deny the son because they are one and the same person!!
3) THE FATHER=
Isaiah9:6. For unto us a child is born, unto us A SON IS GIVEN: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and HIS NAME SHALL BE CALLED Wonderful, COUNSELLER, (Holy Spirit) THE MIGHTY GOD, THE EVERLASTING FATHER,…
1Cor 6:1.......; and I will receive you. 18. And WILL BE A FATHER UNTO YOU, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith THE LORD ALMIGHTY.
Jeremiah 3:…18. IN THOSE DAYS and shalt not turn away from me 19. ..and I said, THOU SHALT CALL ME, MY FATHER;
( Eph 4:6. One God AND Father of all)
Malachi 2:10 Have we not all ONE FATHER? (Jn 41:8/ Heb 12:9) hath not ONE GOD
H) John 14: 8....Lord, SHEW US THE FATHER,.. 9. Jesus saith unto him, HAVE I BEEN SO LONG TIME WITH YOU, AND YET HAST THOU NOT KNOWN ME, Philip? he that hath SEEN ME HATH SEEN THE FATHER; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
The "oneness" between Christ and the father is not comparable to a man and his wife, for only a fool would say "When you have seen me you have seen my wife, how sayest thou then, Shew us your wife?" Notice they asked to see THE FATHER and the response was Jn 14:9 ..“HAVE I BEEN SO LONG time with you, and yet hast THOU NOT KNOW ME, Philip..... The whole point to Christ statements is that he is the SAME person as the father.
20pg clifts notes version
https://www.scribd.com/document/844419833/20-Page-Summary-PDF-1
Full book
https://www.scribd.com/doc/305367608/The-Trinity-Heresy
https://www.academia.edu/23463667/THE_TRINITY_HERESY
They did not kill Jesus becsuse he preached good deeds or "you are sinners".
THE POPE & ALL modern day VICARS ,prophets et al SDA, LDS-Mormons, JW EVEN muslims all fraud waiting for the 2nd comming
Anyone claiming to be a biological jew & or of biological Israel is either a fraud & liar, delusional or seriously mentaly ill.
The real problem is that people have absolutly no real idea what the gospel is.....dont belive it?
THE GOSPEL JESUS PREACHED WAS NOT DEATH BURIAL & RESURECTION ...HE HARDLY EVER MENTIONED IT!🤣🤡🌏🤣
Many point to verse such as 1 Cor 15:1-4. The first mention of the term "THE GOSPEL" is way back in CH 1!👈💥& Ch 15 itself is about the return of Christ & the resurection of the dead!! 🤣
💥1 Cor 1:6. Even as THE TESTIMONY OF CHRIST WAS CONFIRMED IN YOU: 7. … WAITING FOR ⚡⚡THE COMING OF OUR LORD⚡⚡ Jesus Christ:
💥2 Thess 2:1....WE BESEECH YOU, brethren, 💥BY💥 ⚡⚡THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST AND BY OUR GATHERING TOGETHER UNTO HIM⚡⚡, … 14. Whereunto he called you ⚡⚡BY OUR GOSPEL⚡⚡ .
💥2Thess 3:5. And the Lord DIRECT YOUR HEARTS into the love of God, AND INTO THE PATIENT ⚡⚡WAITING FOR CHRIST.⚡
Rev 1:2 Who bare record of (1) THE WORD of God, and of (2) THE TESTIMONY of Jesus Christ, and of (3) all THINGS THAT HE SAW. (Rev 19:9..These are THE TRUE SAYINGS of God. .10…for the TESTIMONY of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.)
THE OLD SONG OF MOSES v THE NEW SONG OF THD LAMB......"GET IT" YET?!?
SONG OF MOSES:
Deut 4:26 ye shall soon UTTERLY PERISH ... but shall UTTERLY be ⚠️DESTROYED⚠️...30 When thou art in 🚨TRIBULATION🚨 and ALL THESE THINGS COME UPON THEE, even in ⏰THE LATTER DAYS⏰...
Deut 30:1.....WHEN ALL THESE THINGS ARE COME.. THE 🎯BLESSING🎯 and THE 🚨CURSE🚨,....19. Now therefore WRITE YE 🎶THIS SONG🎶... .20. ....and break my covenant. 21.when many evils and 🚨TROUBLES🚨 ...🎶THIS SONG🎶 SHALL TESTIFY AGAINST THEM AS A WITNESS; ...: 22. MOSES THEREFORE WROTE 🎶THIS SONG🎶 the same day.
Deut 31 :29..EVIL .⏰THE LATTER DAYS⏰
Deut 32:17. They 👹SACRIFICED UNTO DEVILS👹, (PS 106:35-37 & Rev 9:20) ..43. REJOICE, O ye nations,.. for HE WILL AVENGE THE BLOOD OF HIS SERVANTS, and will RENDER 🚨VENGEANCE🚨(Luke 21:22)..... 44..Moses.. spake 🎶ALL THE WORDS OF THIS SONG🎶
THIS IS WHY THEY PERSECUTED JESUS. THEY DID NOT PERSECUTE JESUS BECAUSE HE PREACHED "DO GOOD DEEDS"
WHAT DID CHRIST PREACH? 👇
Luke 4:18/ Isaiah 61:1… The spirit of the Lord is upon me ......TO PROCLAIM acceptable ⏰YEAR OF THE LORD⏰ and THE DAY OF 🚨VENGEANCE🚨
Lk 21: 20. And WHEN YE SHALL SEE ⚠️JERUSALEM COMPASSED⚠️ WITH ARMIES, THEN KNOW THAT THE ⚠️DESOLATION⚠️ THEREOF IS NIGH .... 22. THESE BE THE DAYS OF 🚨VENGEANCE,🚨 that ALL THINGS WHICH ARE WRITTEN MAY BE 💪FULLFILLED💪... 28 ....for your 🎯REDEMPTION🎯 DRAWETH NIGH
They thought Messiah was going to kill everyone who was not a Biological jew in Israel, but Gods "humor" was to destroy all biological jews & START ANEW WITH JUST JESUS "THE SEED" (💥 Rembember God wanted to start over with just moses at Mt Sini But Moses pleaded with God.💥)
⛔DANIEL 9) CONFIRMATION CONSUMATION & LAW CHANGED⛔
👉(💥A💥).. ⚠️DESTROY⚠️... CITY . SANCTUARY... THE END THEREOF SHALL BE WITH A 💦FLOOD💦 💥 (Mat 24 :39 ..until the 💦FLOOD💦 CAME ...so shall.. coming of..Son of man)
Nahum 1: 2... LORD REVENGETH; ....WILL TAKE 🚨VENGEANCE🚨...5. 🔥🌏THE MOUNTAINS QUAKE ...THE HILLS MELT, AND THE EARTH IS BURNED.. THE WORLD, AND ALL THAT DWELL THEREIN🔥🌏...7..IN 🚨THE DAYOF TROUBLE;🚨 ...8...AN OVERRUNNING 💦FLOOD💦... MAKE AN UTTER ⚠️END OF THE PLACE⚠️...10 ...THEY.. DEVOURED AS STUBBLE FULLY DRY...15... THE FEET OF HIM THAT BRINGETH 😇GOOD TIDINGS, THAT PUBLISHETH PEACE!😇
1 Peter 4:7...🔥🌏END OF ALL THINGS IS ST HAND🔥🌏....17 TIME IS COME that JUDGMENT must BEGIN (not end)
👉1 Corinthians 10:7 Neither be ye 👹IDOLATERS👹,.. 11...they are written for our admonition, upon whom 🔥🌏THE ENDS OF THE WORLD ARE COME🔥🌏20 ... the Gentiles sacrifice, they 👹SACRIFICE to DEVILS👹
👉(💥B💥) …UNTO THE END OF THE WAR ⚠️DESOLATIONS⚠️ ARE DETERMINED. 27.. shall ✝️🎶CONFIRM THE COVENANT🎶✝️ WITH MANY FOR ONE WEEK:
1) Rev 1:7.. cometh with clouds.👁👁EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM.. THEY ALSO WHICH PIERCED HIM👁👁... (Acts 2:5) THE EARTH SHALL 💧WAIL💧 BECAUSE OF HIM.
Zech 12:1.. ⚠️WHEN THEY SHALL BE IN THE SIEGE⚠️.. 6. IN THAT DAY....👁👁THEYSHALL LOOK UPON ME WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED👁👁, THEY SHALL 💧MOURN💧 ..11. A GREAT MOURNING IN JERUSALEM...INTHE VALLEY OF ☢☠MEGIDDON*☠☢
Rev 16:14 For they are the 👹SPIRITS OF DEVILS👹 working miracles, ... to☢☠GATHER THEM TO BATTLE☠☢of ⏰THAT GREAT DAY⏰ Almighty. 15. I COME AS A THIEF. .. 16. And HE GATHERED THEM....☢☠ARMAGEDDON☠☢
Zech 14:1. THE ⏰DAY OF THE LORD⏰ COMETH, .. 2.... GATHER ALL NATIONS....⚠️THE CITY SHALL BE TAKEN⚠️
👉(💥A💥) …IN THE MIDST OF THE WEEK (AD 70)... CAUSE THE 🎶SACRIFICE🎶 AND.. ⛔🎶OBLATION TO CEASE🎶⛔
Heb 7 :12..the PRIESTHOOD being ⛔CHANGED,⛔ there is made of necessity a ⛔CHANGE⛔ also of the LAW...
THE SONG OF THE LAMB
Psalms 40:3...he hath put ✝️🎶A NEW SONG✝️🎶 in my mouth,..6 ⛔Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; .. burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.⛔ 7....Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
👉(💥B💥) …MAKE IT ⚠️DESOLATE⚠️, EVEN UNTIL THE 🎯CONSUMMATION🎯
👉1 Cor 13:8 PROPHECIES.. FAIL.. TONGUES,.. CEASE....10 🎯WHEN THAT WHICH IS PERFECT IS COME🎯, then that which is in part shall be done away
FURTHER, IF HEAVEN & EARTH HAS NOT PASSED AWAY THEN THE LAW OF MOSES IS STILL REQUIRED & IN EFFECT NOW!?!
Mat 5:18.....🔥🌏Till HEVEAN AND EARTH PASS🔥🌏 one jot...shall in no wise pass from the law, 💪TILL ALL BE FULLFILLED💪
The earth that burned up & pass away was a people-> Israel NOT a planet!! Man is made of EARTH..... Its not UR world or world of the Maya that was to burn up melt & pass away with a great noise... Popular ideas of Jesus return & "the last day" is from theological Nimrods.
There is exactly 666yrs between Nebecarnezars 1st year over Isreal 596BC and it's final total complete destruction in AD70....
Daniel 9:11 ....therefore THE CURSE IS POURED UPON US, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. .....24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city,..........
This fact is also irrespective of peoples ideas of the AD/BC date line which ironically is also proven to be correct..
PERIOD OF THE CURSE LASTED 666Yrs IT. BEGAN WITH A 70 YEAR PERIOD UNDER BABYLON & ENDED WITH "THE LAST DAYS" = A 70 YEAR PERIOD UNDER ROME
596BC.....................70AD
[...........666yrs...........]
[70yr)---------(70yrs]
The mark his name, the number of his name is TRANSGRESSION, OR BLASPHEMY OR SIN
THE LAST DAYS" = 70 yrs from birth of Christ to AD 70.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/305366745/Revelation-the-First-Gospel-of-the-Kingdom
https://www.academia.edu/23464127/REVELATION_THE_FIRST_GOSPEL_OF_THE_KINGDOM
This, and priests like Mar Mari Emmanuel, and the teachings of, like you said, the Philokalia, St Palamas and such, and the sheer beauty of places like Mt Athos, and the Greek Orthodox and Egyptian Coptic services I have attended, is what makes me consider converting to Orthodoxy maybe, one day. I also see the very judgy, hypocritical and pharisean behavior of many Tradcats as a serious issue. Their intellectualist arrogance is frankly annoying. I never met a neocon or democracy-advocating Tradcat tho, they seem to me to be entirely monarchist, in the dynastic royalist sense, which is the worst type of monarchy tho, imho. But among Americans I guess being a monarchist is just rare.
How can I move past the fear of losing salvation by leaving Rome? :(
I really enjoyed this as it reflects my current path but I had to fact check the claims about the Franks:
The part about the Franks "taking over" Catholicism in the attached text (referring to the Frankish Papacy) is not factually correct as presented; it oversimplifies and mischaracterizes historical events with a biased narrative.
Historical Context
The text claims the Franks, as "barbarian" kings like Pepin the Short and Charlemagne, dominated the papacy (756–857 CE), effectively subverting or "owning" the church for political gain, implying this corrupted Catholicism from its Roman/Byzantine roots. This echoes polemics (e.g., from Fr. John Romanides, whom the author later references) portraying the Franks as injecting novel Western errors. In reality, the Frankish Papacy marked a shift from Byzantine imperial oversight (e.g., during the Byzantine Papacy, 537–752 CE, when emperors influenced papal elections) to Frankish alliance, driven by mutual needs: popes sought protection from Lombard invasions, while Franks gained legitimacy via papal coronation.
Key Facts
Alliance, not takeover: Pepin donated lands (Donation of Pepin, 756 CE) creating the Papal States, and Charlemagne was crowned emperor (800 CE) by Pope Leo III after defending him from violence. Popes retained independence; Frankish influence waned by the 9th century amid Carolingian decline.
No doctrinal "subversion": Core Catholic doctrines (e.g., Trinity, sacraments) predated Franks; disputes like Filioque arose earlier in Spain/Visigoths (Toledo Councils, 589–693 CE) and were debated empire-wide. Franks supported orthodoxy against Byzantine iconoclasm (e.g., Libri Carolini, 790s).
Precedents: Secular rulers influenced popes long before (e.g., Roman emperors post-Constantine, Byzantine exarchs). The text ignores this continuity, framing Franks as uniquely corrupting.
Accuracy Issues
The portrayal ignores popes' agency (e.g., Stephen II initiating Frankish ties) and evidence of papal resistance (e.g., Nicholas I vs. Lothair II on divorce). It anachronistically projects modern Orthodox critiques onto history, treating Frankish aid as "control" while downplaying Byzantine emperor vetoes on elections. Scholarly consensus (e.g., in Jeffrey Richards' The Popes and the Papacy) views this as pragmatic geopolitics, not a barbarian conquest of faith.
Really insightful thanks! I'm currently on a similar path but I feel so much at home within the Catholic church and so alienated to Orthodox church that Im very hesitant to convert. I also live in Franconia, Germany where there are few Orthodox churches. Time will tell.
Gonna have to read this one when I get some time…
You lost me at perennially true philosophy.
As an evangelical, non-denominational church attending Christian who is currently looking into Orthodox Christianity, I truly appreciate the depth and breadth of this article. I’ve read a few books and listened to a lot of orthodox videos and feel very much stuck in the middle and not sure where to land or if a major change has to be made.
I was in the same position you are in. I would encourage you to keep pursuing holy orthodoxy. Go to the Liturgy if you haven't already.
Thank you very much for your frank and serious story - your personal experience will be very convincing for others!