Anybody convert to Orthodox?

1,472 Views | 6 Replies | Last: 6 mo ago by Brandon Witte
kingj3
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Let's hear the story.
Any resources for the curious?
TAMU OCF
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Howdy! I'm the Orthodox Christian campus missionary at Texas A&M.

If you're interested in learning more about the Orthodox Church, I encourage you to visit our local parish for a service (stsilouanbcs.com). Over 75% of the members are converts, and so is our priest. We often have visitors, so people are used to connecting with inquirers and sharing their story (without pressuring you to convert).

I'm also happy to get together sometime and talk in person about any questions you might have. If you're interested, feel free to send me an email at apandazis@ocf.net.

+Alexandros
Zobel
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I was raised Baptist, spent some time in Lutheran churches, and converted to Orthodoxy as an adult. What do you wanna know?
kingj3
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
What drew you most to it?
Which sort/patriarchate (not sure of proper word) do you attend? Why? Does it matter?

AggieRain
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Zobel said:

I was raised Baptist, spent some time in Lutheran churches, and converted to Orthodoxy as an adult. What do you wanna know?


Yeah, but what do you know...
Zobel
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
One of my close friends since grade school is Orthodox, and another close friend from college is as well. There was a kind of overlap of discussions with them, disillusionment with the church I was in, and dissatisfaction with my own spiritual life.

I think I encountered Orthodoxy in a real way the first time reading a book called "Themes in Orthodox Patristic Psychology." From there I read Met. Kallistos Ware's "The Orthodox Church" and I started, as best I could, to live the life of the church, through prayer and fasting. I found a church, and after a couple of years I was baptized there. It started as a purely intellectual exercise - what was the faith and practice of the apostles? - but I encountered Christ, and that is why I am where I am today. Conviction of truth, yes - but the real and immediate experience of the reality of the love of God, of Him as the Lover of Mankind, is something I have.

I worship at an Antiochian church (Arabic / Syrian). It doesn't matter theologically, but it does practically. You don't join THE Orthodox Church.. you join AN Orthodox Church, a parish. Some parishes are more open than others... some parishes are more focused on 'the old country' than others. And, to be honest, some parishes have a kind of ethnic emphasis to a fault.

Coming to Orthodoxy from a southern Baptist background was challenging enough...we didn't want to also have to struggle with language barriers. So, we found a church that did their services completely in English. That's why we're at the parish we're at.
Brandon Witte
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
My wife and I recently moved to a new area and started going to an Ordinariate church. The Church seems to have relations with Orthodoxy practices and traditions as well. Ours in particular has (3) different times to which adjust to preferences, one being half Latin, one very little Latin, and the other only English Spoken.

We didn't feel spiritually fulfilled enough through the other parishes we were trying out until we attended one mass at an Ordinariate.

Chase a church that makes you feel fulfilled spiritually is my advice.
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.