What's Your Past And Present?

Methodius · Post by **Methodius** » Thu 17 July 2003 4:25 pm

Anastasios,

Your spiritual father, who is Orthodox, tells you to commune and confess at Roman Catholic churches? I only ask to clarify.

Anastasios · Post by **Anastasios** » Thu 17 July 2003 4:30 pm

Methodius,

Yes, my spiritual father, who is Orthodox, tells me that until I can clear up my family situation, I should continue to confess and commune in Catholic Churches.

anastasios

bogoliubtsy · Post by **bogoliubtsy** » Thu 17 July 2003 4:49 pm

Born to an Anglican mother and Roman Catholic father.

Baptised in the Anglican Church after birth.

Grew up mostly with a very wonderful hippy-ish type mother who tried to instill love for neighbor, God/Christ, nature...but didn't have much experience with actual churches. From my father I received a mix of Roman and Orthodox sentiment on things(his father, my grandfather, is Orthodox) but it mostly boiled down to a false kind of piety. Always felt a closeness with Christianity though.

Around 13 started exploring Eastern religions and Islam

By 15 turned atheist.

By 16 back into Eastern religions and became convinced again of the existence of God through literature of the hare krishnas.(eastern religion).

Stayed with the hare krishna philosophy until about the age of 20. During that time though I was reading The Way of a Pilgrim and the Philokalia. The whole time though I felt that the Christianity described in these books had long passed from the Earth, so even though very drawn to Christ I stayed away from what I considered to be watered down, fake Christianity.

By 20 I knew I had to turn to Christ, but wasn't exactly sure how. I had always been most aware cultuarally of my Ukrainian roots(actually, my dad always just called it Russian, but that's not really the case), but was kind of surprised to hear about my uncle and aunt's Orthodox wedding, the Slavonic, the Russian priest there, etc. at about the age of 20. It's soooo sad, but that's how nominally Orthodox that side of my family is...in fact about HALF of my family is so nominally Orthodox(i.e. no real services past baptisms, weddings and the occasional Pascha) that I didn't really know there was a living religion in our family attached to the ethnicity!

Anyway, I felt I needed Christ and ended up looking up monasteries. I found the local Orthodox monastery and a local Orthodox parish at about the same time. Both the monastery and parish were schismatic at the time, now the parish is in the Church.(they had no bishop when i first went there, but were recovering from a truly schismatic one). They were kind of an insular community but were very into ROCOR writings, especially Fr. Seraphim Rose. So ROCOR publications were really what formed my perceptions of Orthodox from the start. This encounter with living Orthodoxy and finally realizing the religion of half of my family all kind of hit me at once and I was overjoyed to have finally found Christ in all his fullness. I converted only a couple of years ago and currently attend an OCA parish.
Since "discovering" Orthodoxy I've really tried to connect on a more spiritual level with Orthodox family members who just don't understand how the Church I attend isn't Russian or Greek...or how services can be in English! ha....I've also been asked "does that Cathedral in NYC still not have pews! I'll also get questions like "So, you go to the major feast days??...good good".

Anyway,

There's so much more to write but this was supposed to be brief I believe.

OrthoDoc · Post by **OrthoDoc** » Thu 17 July 2003 5:54 pm

I'm third generation (second generation American born) and Carpatho Russian (Lemko) on my mothers side. Croation and Polish on my father side. Was baptised in the Orthodox Church.

We lived in a Welsh neighborhood and, because there was no Bible study or Sunday School in my parish at the time, (this was the 50's) I went to bizzie Bee and Sunday School in the Welsh Congregational Church until age seven. At that time we moved into a slavic neighborhood and a Sunday School was started in my parish.

Started to go back to my home parish which was comprised of Russians, Carptho Russians, & Ukrainians at the time. Services all in Slavonic and Church had a very ethnic identity. In spite of the ethnic id. and language orientation I loved the Church and the beauty that surrounded me when I was in Church. Only time I stayed away was Holy Thursday for the reading of the Gospels...all in slavonic! Decided to try and find out what created all that beauty and began to read about Orthodoxy. The more I read the more I came to love the faith I had.

Went away to college. Was happy to learn that a Greek Orthodox church was only two blocks away. Started to go but found out once they learned I wasn't Greek they ignored me. Only one who talked to me was my Accounting I professor ( a woman). January 7th came I decided to go to the now OCA parish at the other end of the city for Russian Christmas. Told my Prof I wouldn't be in class and why. Next Sunday I was back in the Greek Church. After Liturgy the Prof came up to me and asked me what I was doing there. Being utterly confused as to why she was asking I replied.."I'm going to Church!" To which she replied..."Oh, I thought you found YOUR CHURCH!" That was like a knife in my heart! I replied, "Well up until now I thought I had. But I guess not!" With tears in my eyes I walked away from that Church and the Church in general.

Tried one more time a few years later. This time I took a female co-worker to a ROCOR parish on Good Friday. She was dressed in a very sheek pants suit. Because of that we were asked to leave by an older man and women who spent the whole service walking around, talking out loud, and shaking hands!

Still considered myself devoutly Orthodox but other than Pascha to take the basket to Church you wouldn't see me in Church! At that time I had my fill of the church! Went in the Army and came out very materialistic. Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday night were for drinking and Disco! Stayed that way for 17 years.

Until I realized that all these drinking buddies weren't really my friends and I couldn't depend on them. At the same time I began to have a recurring dream where I was always standing alone on the side walk of my home parish listening to the Liturgy. Began asking myself why I was never 'in the church'. God works in mysterious ways because around the same time I was walking around the area I lived and came across a small Albanian Orthodox Church under the OCA just seven or eight blocks from where I lived but never knew it was there! Decided to give it one more try the following Sunday.

Walked into the vestibule of the Church and was greeted a lady with the friendliest smile I had ever seen! "Good Morning! Welcome to St John's. ARE YOU ORTHODOX OR FAMILIAR WITH THE ORTHODOX LITURGY?" Me: "Yes I'm Orthodox!" Her: "Well welcome. Come in and worship with us!"

It was the first time I heard the entire Liturgy in English. I stood there flabbergasted! Because, I realized all the Baba's were wrong when they said serving in English would take away all the beauty. THE BEAUTY IS NOT IN THE MELODIES, BUT IN THE WORDS AND THEIR MEANING!
After the Liturgy people came up invited me for coffee and then a memorial dinner. Left that Church warm and happy. Couldn't wait until the next Sunday! Three months later I became a member and stayed until I moved and joined my present parish. My mother who tried for 17 years to get me back in the church used to say.."I don't what those Albanians have but they sure got you off your ass and I thnk them for it!"

So, it was a greeting that drove me away from the Church and another greeting that brought me back! Because of those experiences I greet any strangers that come into my parish. Offer them post Communion Prosfora and watch their faces light up in response! I'm known as 'The Godfather' in my parish because I have sponsored NINE converts to the Orthodox faith! And it all starts from that initial greeting. Remember that people! Better close before this becomes a novel.

Orthodoc

P.S. The dreams continued for awhile but this time I was inside the Church and happy. I kid you not, thisis all true!

bogoliubtsy · Post by **bogoliubtsy** » Thu 17 July 2003 6:00 pm

Thanks for sharing that!

OrthodoxyOrDeath · Post by **OrthodoxyOrDeath** » Thu 17 July 2003 6:41 pm

I was originally going to post this just for Peter, but now I am also posting this for Orthodoc...

My family is Greek and as most Greeks, they unfortunatly went to the GOA. I remember when my father started to go to the OCA and my Grandfather found out.

He was so mad! He was almost yelling (imagine the broken English), "you have to go to the Greek church, you are Orthodox!"...

My father: "they are Orthodox, they are just not Greek."

Grandfather: "Well, THEY MUST HAVE CHANGED SOMETHING!"

OrthodoxyOrDeath · Post by **OrthodoxyOrDeath** » Thu 17 July 2003 6:46 pm

I forgot to mention the best part, grandfather was slamming his fist on the coffee table!

Ohhh, the memories. Grandpa has been dead now since '83. A true old timer. Little did he know the GOA were the ones who changed everything! But it was all about being Greek - right Orthodoc?