Conversions to Orthodoxy

[Vasya Davidovich]

Can't wait to hear the next installment, Lotar!

 

[Lotar]

(or "How I Learned to Stopped Worrying and Love the Church")
​

One Quick Step Forward,
Ten Gradual Steps Back

Installment II

By the end of my Junior year of high school, my parents had decided upon Harvest Christian Fellowship, the local mega-church with the famous Greg Laurie. This led to an alienation with our friends at our old church, most of whom shunned us and talked behind our backs. My grandfather was also none-to-pleased with my parents' choice, which strained the family relations for some time.

To tell the truth, I didn't like it much at all and that scared my parents, as that meant that I didn't have a much of a "personal relationship" with Jesus. To set me on the right path, my parents sent me on the high school retreat, and the results could not have pleased them more. Their son was finally the "on fire" Christian that they had been praying for.

You see, while on this trip I, for the first time (and for the last, as a matter of fact), experienced the emotionalism of the evangelical movement. Still, the majority of the reason for my change came from the desire to please a certain cute young girl I met while on the trip. After it became clear that my feelings towards her were not mutual, the flame of faith in my heart proved false and began to fade. I went from reading the Bible twice a day, to once a day and eventually my Bible began to collect dust between Sundays. As things at school picked up, and all the cares of my Senior year grew, my involvement in the church trickled to a minimum. My parents no longer talked of the great change in their son.

Soon I had graduated, and was on my way to college. Another cute young Christian girl crossed my path, and again I tried to reform my ways, but to no avail. It was getting harder and harder to sit through those all sermons that somehow interpreted every Bible verse to mean, "you need to ask Jesus into your heart." Slowly the Jesus tee-shirts wore out, and the bumper stickers were peeled off.

I remember sitting there many a Sunday morning thinking, "this week I'll start reading the Bible again," "this week I'll start going to Campus Crusade again," etc. Of course I didn't, at least not more than once. I tried, but I couldn't make myself care, things were getting old and my faith was dying. Still, it would not end, my mother would continually try to push the towards a "personal relationship" and my father would push me along as if there was no problem.

It was around this time that I came home to visit one Saturday and my dad, sitting on the sofa with his guitar, announced to me that we were going to be rebaptized together as a family. It was an interesting thing as I wasn't asked, I was told. For a good 3 years I had resisted every attempt to get me in the pool (I was baptized as an infant, why should I do it again?). Finally, it was that weekend that I gave in for the worst of all reasons, for the sake of keeping the peace. Though now I would never call it a baptism, as all it entailed was me reciting back to the pastor that it meant absolutely nothing, and then being dunked once; no Trinity was invoked.

The Holy Trinity was never invoked, the Virgin Mary was not the Mother of God, Baptism and Communion were symbols that meant nothing. I was 21, and I knew not the Church.
​

 

[Fotina]

John

Please continue your story asap! I'm on the edge of my seat..lol

 

[Vasya Davidovich]

John

Please continue your story asap! I'm on the edge of my seat..lol

Ditto!

He's a masterful storyteller, our John.

 

[Kolya]

John

Please continue your story asap! I'm on the edge of my seat..lol

I can't wait either.
My own story is gathering cyber dust on my hard drive. It's not that I can't tell it; I come from such an unusual "Christian Background" that I'm afraid it will go over most reader's heads and the point will be lost in the telling. I'd only post it if someone asked.

Anyway, more soon please Lotar!!

 

[psalm94:17]

(And I'm sure nobody even knew I was here or left in the 1st place lol)

Elizabeth in CT here, Orthodox for two years now, but haven't been to church since last Pascha....long story but it boils down to: I'm Irish by ancestry, Anglican by upbringing, drawn to Orthodoxy as my "perfect fit". Closest church to me was the Greek Orthodox church I was working for.....alas, was made to feel very unwelcome - they just didn't know what to make of me: I wasn't Greek by birth or marriage, no one in my family was Greek OR Orthodox, so they couldn't figure out why on earth I would want to go to "THEIR" church.

I was not spoken to, my presence every Sunday greeted with hard stares if at all, nor was I given help on the order of worship or the Orthodox/Greek customs, and my boss, the Priest there was called on the carpet to defend his having chrismated me!

Needles to say, I found this all to be disheatening and discouraging but after a year I threw in the towel - after all, I had no other real world Orthodox to fellowship with or ask questions of...I decided to go back to my Anglican church....sigh...then the roof fell in with all the fallout over THE bishop and I knew I wasn't "at home" there any more..I was, in my heart and soul, Orthodox.

So....here I am back in the forums again...I have started talking with a Priest from an Antiochian Orthodox church about 30 min away and he was recommended by a Western Rite Priest I've been talking to (there isn't a WR church in my state of CT) and I may be going back very soon.

Anyhow that's the short version of it lol Thanks for listening, and it's good to be back!

 

[Prawnik]

Glad to have you back, Elizabeth! If it makes you feel better, unfortunately, many converts on TAW have reported similar experiences when attending Greek parishes. Some Greek parishes, not all.

The Antiochian Church, as a whole, and most Antiochian parishes, are generally considered to be convert-friendly.

If nothing else, you are welcome here.

 

[psalm94:17]

Thanks, Prawnik! Glad to be here!

 

[Orthosdoxa]

I'm glad you're back, too, Elizabeth! Once you've tasted of Orthodoxy, no other form of Christianity will ever feel quite right again, because you know you've seen the Truth. I hope you can make it to that Antiochian church. I myself have had nothing but great experiences in Greek churches, but yours is not the first story I've ever heard of, of the Greeks treating non-Greeks like trash! In fact, we have another non-Greek member in CT who has been having a real struggle with her faith, and the unfriendly Greek parish has played a part in that too. (made me wonder if it's the same one!!) How sick, and how sad. Very unOrthodox to make Christ's Church into an ethnic social club, but maybe someday they'll learn.

Anyway, stick around TAW, we're glad you're here!

LK

 

[psalm94:17]

Thanks, LK! The Church in question was Holy Trinity GOC in Waterbury...there is also a OCA Church here in Waterbury, which would be much more convenient than the Antiochian 30 min. away + it's an absolutely GORGEOUS Church, but I am aprehensive that it may be the same way there, too - can you tell I was badly scorched?

Anyhow, thanks for the warm welcome!

 

[Matrona]

(And I'm sure nobody even knew I was here or left in the 1st place lol)

Actually, I do remember you! You were here when I first signed up!

I was not spoken to, my presence every Sunday greeted with hard stares if at all, nor was I given help on the order of worship or the Orthodox/Greek customs, and my boss, the Priest there was called on the carpet to defend his having chrismated me!

Yikes! What a horrible parish! :o

I probably would have been run off from Orthodoxy by that kind of treatment, too. There are xenophyletists in every jurisdiction, but they are far less common among the OCA and Antiochians. My parish is nearly all converts, and the younger Greeks and Russians don't have the same attitude as their parents and grandparents. So I think this sorry kind of treatment will die off in a generation, especially once we have one united jurisdiction in this country.

 

[Orthosdoxa]

Yeah, I can tell.

And as a general rule, OCA and Antiochian are the most friendly to converts, as they tend to have the most of them. I generally tend not to send seekers to Greek churches, though, because even though 90% of them are great, you never know which ones are going to be ethnic enclaves full of more Greek than Orthodox folks. I really don't think you'd get scorched there in the OCA - please give it a try.

 

[psalm94:17]

Yeah, I can tell.

And as a general rule, OCA and Antiochian are the most friendly to converts, as they tend to have the most of them. I generally tend not to send seekers to Greek churches, though, because even though 90% of them are great, you never know which ones are going to be ethnic enclaves full of more Greek than Orthodox folks. I really don't think you'd get scorched there in the OCA - please give it a try.

Thanks, Anonykat, I will call Father Matthew and speak to him at the OCA church here in Waterbury- he should remember me from when I was the secretary at the Greek church - he visited the priest there often and he was a really friendly & funny guy...one question: is the OCA liturgy usually in english? Thanks!

 

[psalm94:17]

Actually, I do remember you! You were here when I first signed up!

Wow! Nice to be remembered - hope it was a good memory!

Yikes! What a horrible parish! :o

I probably would have been run off from Orthodoxy by that kind of treatment, too. There are xenophyletists in every jurisdiction, but they are far less common among the OCA and Antiochians. My parish is nearly all converts, and the younger Greeks and Russians don't have the same attitude as their parents and grandparents. So I think this sorry kind of treatment will die off in a generation, especially once we have one united jurisdiction in this country.

I have heard this a lot in the past few days as I've shared my experiences, both here and with the Antiochian & Western Rite priests - who both praised my fortitude & my desire to return
I am calling the local OCA priest tomorrow and we'll see how that goes - thanks again for the kindness!

 

[Grand_Duchess-Elizaveta]

...one question: is the OCA liturgy usually in english? Thanks!

Yep!

 

[Rilian]

psalm94:17,

In the Ladder of Divine Ascent, St. John Climacus tells us that when we meet with instant success it is a sign that it may not be because of God's favor but because of the adversary. He says that we me meet with trouble, toil and difficulty, it may be a very good sign that we are going in the right direction.

I think it is wise counsel.

 

[psalm94:17]

psalm94:17,

In the Ladder of Divine Ascent, St. John Climacus tells us that when we meet with instant success it is a sign that it may not be because of God's favor but because of the adversary. He says that we me meet with trouble, toil and difficulty, it may be a very good sign that we are going in the right direction.

I think it is wise counsel.

Thanks Rilian

 

[psalm94:17]

Yep!

Good to know - makes settling in a bit easier

 

[Rilian]

Thanks Rilian

No problem. I hope I didn't give the impression that I was trivializing your experience, because I think it was truly awful how you were treated and I can well imagine that one would be tempted to give up.

Let us know how your visits go.

 

[psalm94:17]

No problem. I hope I didn't give the impression that I was trivializing your experience, because I think it was truly awful how you were treated and I can well imagine that one would be tempted to give up.

Let us know how your visits go.

Oh no I didn't feel you were doing that at all! I am calling the OCA later today and I will surely keep everyone posted!