gurneyhalleck1
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- Oct 15, 2008
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There is a set theology for Orthodoxy. There is no official position about some things like birth control or the status of other Christian communities and their 'validity,' but overall there is definitely a strong ethos and theological foundation in Orthodoxy.
Getting back to your OP, Orthodoxy does feel weird for a while. Honestly, for me, it STILL feels weird. While I like the people at my parish, I still after a few years feel like an outsider at times and once in a while ask myself if I'm not crazy being around Russians, Serbs, and participating in slavas and other things that are NOT part of my heritage. I am sad that Western Rite Orthodoxy has been shunned so much. I think that is something I could've grabbed onto easier. To this day, I still feel odd being grafted on to Serbians and a religious way of life utterly foreign to my family, friends, coworkers, and my culture at large. Other people I know have had ZERO problems acclimating to it. I hear all these saints like Xenia, Demetrios, Nektarios, Herman of Alaska, on and on and it still feels foreign to me despite my chrismation. Occasionally I feel like "these aren't my saints. St. Francis and the gang are my saints!" then I have to remember, "oh yeah, I'm Orthodox, uh, yeah, they're my saints now!" LOL....it's weird.
It's a journey, and it's weird. I desperately wish Orthodoxy had opened itself to the West better and with more enthusiasm decades ago, and could've done more to evangelize and play a part in Western culture, but it didn't, and it is what it is as they say.
It might not be easy for you when you convert. It hasn't been easy to me. Still isn't at this very moment. I wish you well and God's peace on this tough journey!
Getting back to your OP, Orthodoxy does feel weird for a while. Honestly, for me, it STILL feels weird. While I like the people at my parish, I still after a few years feel like an outsider at times and once in a while ask myself if I'm not crazy being around Russians, Serbs, and participating in slavas and other things that are NOT part of my heritage. I am sad that Western Rite Orthodoxy has been shunned so much. I think that is something I could've grabbed onto easier. To this day, I still feel odd being grafted on to Serbians and a religious way of life utterly foreign to my family, friends, coworkers, and my culture at large. Other people I know have had ZERO problems acclimating to it. I hear all these saints like Xenia, Demetrios, Nektarios, Herman of Alaska, on and on and it still feels foreign to me despite my chrismation. Occasionally I feel like "these aren't my saints. St. Francis and the gang are my saints!" then I have to remember, "oh yeah, I'm Orthodox, uh, yeah, they're my saints now!" LOL....it's weird.
It's a journey, and it's weird. I desperately wish Orthodoxy had opened itself to the West better and with more enthusiasm decades ago, and could've done more to evangelize and play a part in Western culture, but it didn't, and it is what it is as they say.
It might not be easy for you when you convert. It hasn't been easy to me. Still isn't at this very moment. I wish you well and God's peace on this tough journey!
Arrgghh what? Now I'm confused. Is there a set theology for EO's? I thought there was.
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