This article talks about men are flocking to the Orthodox Church due it be more masculine than their feminist Protestant churches. I am Greek Orthodox who attends an Antichion Church and noticed more single men joining our church.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/01/04/the-young-men-leaving-traditional-churches-for-orthodox/

1. Paywall
2. Politics?
3. This is the masculine example?

Byzantine Catholic Church

OP has never heard of Cowboy Church?

I'm not paying to read the article, OP, so can you give us the reasons why?

Quick thoughts…

This is not terribly new. It has a ton of young single males coming in since I joined.

I think there are a few factors. I think young men tend to be searching for what makes sense in today's world.

I think there are a lot of young men who "think about Rome" (if you are aware of that viral meme) and come to discover the Church via way of history.

The Church is solid, true and rooted deeply in history.

Protestantism is often led by pastor couples cuddled up on billboards, modern and divisive and logically hard to swallow.

Picard said:

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OP has never heard of Cowboy Church?

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Boy... not man

CrackerJackAg said:

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Quick thoughts…

This is not terribly new. It has a ton of young single males coming in since I joined.

I think there are a few factors. I think young men tend to be searching for what makes sense in today's world.

I think there are a lot of young men who "think about Rome" (if you are aware of that viral meme) and come to discover the Church via way of history.

The Church is solid, true and rooted deeply in history.

Protestantism is often led by pastor couples cuddled up on billboards, modern and divisive and logically hard to swallow.

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Sounds like they want to be a part of a church that is more about God than they want to be a part of the self serving Joel Osteens, and every one of the thousands of wannabes.

If that is the case, I can very much respect that, because I see way too many friends and family who are members of a protestant church who ever time they go to church post a pic of themselves at the church. No different than when they're at a circus or Disney World.

CrackerJackAg said:

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Quick thoughts…

This is not terribly new. It has a ton of young single males coming in since I joined.

I think there are a few factors. I think young men tend to be searching for what makes sense in today's world.

I think there are a lot of young men who "think about Rome" (if you are aware of that viral meme) and come to discover the Church via way of history.

The Church is solid, true and rooted deeply in history.

Protestantism is often led by pastor couples cuddled up on billboards, modern and divisive and logically hard to swallow.

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That is a small segment of hip megachurches. Protestant churches are not generally led that way. Of course each denomination is going to assume they are the properly led and organized, otherwise they'd join a different one that had it "right".

I'm pretty sure all churches that didn't bow to the culture and overly feminize are seeing people respond positively to that.

Phatbob said:

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CrackerJackAg said:

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Quick thoughts…

This is not terribly new. It has a ton of young single males coming in since I joined.

I think there are a few factors. I think young men tend to be searching for what makes sense in today's world.

I think there are a lot of young men who "think about Rome" (if you are aware of that viral meme) and come to discover the Church via way of history.

The Church is solid, true and rooted deeply in history.

Protestantism is often led by pastor couples cuddled up on billboards, modern and divisive and logically hard to swallow.

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That is a small segment of hip megachurches. Protestant churches are not generally led that way. Of course each denomination is going to assume they are the properly led and organized, otherwise they'd join a different one that had it "right".

I'm pretty sure all churches that didn't bow to the culture and overly feminize are seeing people respond positively to that.

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It may be small now but it is no doubt growing and will require all others to stand firm.

I think young people also see the divisiveness of Protestantism. I think people see the extreme fragmentation of The Church after Roman Catholicism in the west and I think most logically come to the opinion that they are all a mess and wrong. They all get lumped together regardless of your opinion of particular sect.

I think it's simply judge a tree by its fruit and I do not believe Protestantism has born positive fruit. I think in an honest moment most people (not just the Protestants in it) would agree there was probably a better solution than insane division and turmoil

I think Protestantism held up much better in the past before people had access to endless & unlimited information.

I AM NOT SAYING THAT THERE ARE NOT VALID CHRISTIAN'S FOUND IN PROTESTANT MEETING PLACES.

Aggie97 said:

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This article talks about men are flocking to the Orthodox Church due it be more masculine than their feminist Protestant churches. I am Greek Orthodox who attends an Antichion Church and noticed more single men joining our church.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/01/04/the-young-men-leaving-traditional-churches-for-orthodox/

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I am a protestant, but a deeply conservative and liturgical protestant. I am in the CREC... same denomination as Doug Wilson and Pete Hegseth.

I think a lot of critics of Protestantism paint us all with a broad brush.

I have learned to not paint all Catholics and Orthodox with one either.

Those who call upon the name of the triune God, repent of sin, and seek to follow Christ are my brothers and sisters.

May God grow your Church and may God unite all of Christendom together in future years.

10andBOUNCE said:

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Phatbob said:

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CrackerJackAg said:

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Quick thoughts…

This is not terribly new. It has a ton of young single males coming in since I joined.

I think there are a few factors. I think young men tend to be searching for what makes sense in today's world.

I think there are a lot of young men who "think about Rome" (if you are aware of that viral meme) and come to discover the Church via way of history.

The Church is solid, true and rooted deeply in history.

Protestantism is often led by pastor couples cuddled up on billboards, modern and divisive and logically hard to swallow.

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That is a small segment of hip megachurches. Protestant churches are not generally led that way. Of course each denomination is going to assume they are the properly led and organized, otherwise they'd join a different one that had it "right".

I'm pretty sure all churches that didn't bow to the culture and overly feminize are seeing people respond positively to that.

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It may be small now but it is no doubt growing and will require all others to stand firm.

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That has never changed. World culture has and will always be counter to the life of a Christian, and no denomination or sect is immune to the pressure it puts on them.

No Spin Ag said:

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I'm not paying to read the article, OP, so can you give us the reasons why?

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From the article:

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A 2023 survey by the Orthodox Studies Institute of Orthodox clergy in 20 parishes across 15 states found there had been a 80 per cent increase in the number of converts to the Orthodox church in 2022, compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Of these, 60 per cent were men, compared with 54 per cent in 2019.

Many of them had been drawn to the "masculine" nature of church, which puts emphasis on denial and pushing yourself physically.

Worshippers must stand for long services, which can last upwards of five hours. They must fast, too, sometimes for up to 40 days.

This, some felt, was in stark contrast to other religious denominations where they felt the church had been "feminised".

Emmanuel Castillo, 32, converted to the Orthodox church in 2019, a journey that started when he began reading the Bible while he was guarding al-Qaeda prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.

The former wrestler belonged to a Protestant church, but felt his services were not too different to his Saturday night in a bar.

They had the "same kind of lighting, same kind of music, same kind of the same feeling, and after reading the gospels and the book of Acts, you know, I knew that's not how they worshipped 2000 years ago, I kind of knew, hey, I'm, I don't think I'm in the right church."

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CrackerJackAg said:

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I think young people also see the divisiveness of Protestantism. I think people see the extreme fragmentation of The Church after Roman Catholicism in the west and I think most logically come to the opinion that they are all a mess and wrong. They all get lumped together regardless of your opinion of particular sect.

I think it's simply judge a tree by its fruit and I do not believe Protestantism has born positive fruit. I think in an honest moment most people (not just the Protestants in it) would agree there was probably a better solution than insane division and turmoil

I think Protestantism held up much better in the past before people had access to endless & unlimited information.

I AM NOT SAYING THAT THERE ARE NOT VALID CHRISTIAN'S FOUND IN PROTESTANT MEETING PLACES.

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LOL, as a Protestant, I hear much the same about Catholics. We all see those in our particular group as being mostly correct but wrong on minor points while the "others" are mostly wrong on major points, even though we point at each others "minorly off points" as being what is majorly wrong with the other. It's more human nature and tribal tendencies that is in play. I have been called to love my neighbor as well as my brothers and sisters in Christ. There are those that are in every denomination, and there are those in every denomination, including my own, that are not. TheEternalOptimist said it well.

People are flocking to Orthodoxy and Catholicism again because they see the thin veneer of the concert style church with pushes emotional response to the show fog, bright lights, dancing around on stage, etc......

As a Protestant, the main issues I see with broader Protestantism are:

1) Too many churches have embrace female pastoral leadership - egalitarianism.
2) Too many churches have abandoned a sense of sacredness in the worship - a worship gathering should NOT resemble a modern concert.
3) Too many churches have abandoned the rhythm of life that the liturgical calendar and seasons bring the church - Luther and Calvin practiced high church liturgy.
4) Non-Denominational churches, especially, have NO ecclesiastical authority outside of themselves to correct error.
5) Most Protestant churches are NOT practicing weekly communion/eucharist.

I would be lying if I said I did not see the beauty in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. As a former Southern Baptist, I used to think the iconography and all the depictions of Mary, Peter, etc... were borderline idolic. I no longer have this view. What is being communicated is the history of the Church, the Holy Scriptures, the present Church, and the future. I find nothing but beauty in the stations of the cross or a crucifix now.

The great number of billboard ministers are actually not associated with any protestant denomination. Yes, they can properly be described as Protestant…..but not part of any denomination with a formal structure outside the pastor's congregation.

It's easy to point to how the others go "too far" in a certain direction while ignoring the pitfalls of our own methodology. Each individual has different things that get in the way of their relationship with God. Some of it is cultural, some of it is methodology, some of it is internal, and none of it is specific to a denomination. Each person has to be critical of themselves to make sure they aren't allowing their "spiritual heritage" be their saving grace.

HarleySpoon said:

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The great number of billboard ministers are actually not associated with any protestant denomination. Yes, they can properly be described as Protestant…..but not part of any denomination with a formal structure outside the pastor's congregation.

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Yep - lack of ecclesiastical authority.

This is PART of the problem with the Southern Baptists and Independent Fundamentalist Baptists. They take the concept of the 'local New Testament Church' to an extreme. A lack of ecclesiastical authority is how Southern Baptists ended up dealing with the rank heresy and liberalism that has crept into their churches today.

Phatbob said:

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It's easy to point to how the others go "too far" in a certain direction while ignoring the pitfalls of our own methodology. Each individual has different things that get in the way of their relationship with God. Some of it is cultural, some of it is methodology, some of it is internal, and none of it is specific to a denomination. Each person has to be self-critical of themselves to make sure they aren't allowing their "spiritual heritage" be their saving grace.

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Spiritual Heritage is dead and useless unless one has been born again. No amount of pomp and circumstance, ceremony, or religiosity can save you of your own accord. One must bow the knee in true repentance and worship to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

TheEternalOptimist said:

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HarleySpoon said:

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The great number of billboard ministers are actually not associated with any protestant denomination. Yes, they can properly be described as Protestant…..but not part of any denomination with a formal structure outside the pastor's congregation.

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Yep - lack of ecclesiastical authority.

This is PART of the problem with the Southern Baptists and Independent Fundamentalist Baptists. They take the concept of the 'local New Testament Church' to an extreme. A lack of ecclesiastical authority is how Southern Baptists ended up dealing with the rank heresy and liberalism that has crept into their churches today.

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It could be argued that it keeps heresy from being made as part of the whole church, though. There is no issue, for instance, with a liberal Pope driving the whole Church doctrine to apostasy. Like I said, no matter what denomination you are part of, it is up to each person to check what they are being taught against Scripture.

Phil 2:12

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Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

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Phatbob said:

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TheEternalOptimist said:

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HarleySpoon said:

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The great number of billboard ministers are actually not associated with any protestant denomination. Yes, they can properly be described as Protestant…..but not part of any denomination with a formal structure outside the pastor's congregation.

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Yep - lack of ecclesiastical authority.

This is PART of the problem with the Southern Baptists and Independent Fundamentalist Baptists. They take the concept of the 'local New Testament Church' to an extreme. A lack of ecclesiastical authority is how Southern Baptists ended up dealing with the rank heresy and liberalism that has crept into their churches today.

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It could be argued that it keeps heresy from being made as part of the whole church, though. There is no issue, for instance, with a liberal Pope driving the whole Church doctrine to apostasy. Like I said, no matter what denomination you are part of, it is up to each person to check what they are being taught against Scripture.

Phil 2:12

Quote:

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Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

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Fair enough. The issue with the RCC is that there are NOT enough failsafes of methods of removal of the pontiff. This is because of their incorrect doctrine on ex-cathedra and him being the vicar of Christ.

But not all Popes have been bad. Some, like Pope Urban, truly sought unity in Christ and attempted to steer the church towards..... I know this is shocking...... Sola Scriptura.

All Christians should agree that:

1. Egalitarianism is anti-Christian
2. Abortion is evil in all circumstances and is an inverted sacrament of the enemies of Christ.
3. Homosexuality should have NO QUARTER in the Church at all. Homosexuals must repent and turn away from that sin. Marriage can NEVER be accepted as anything other than one man to one woman.

Anyone who calls themself a Christian and embraces abortion or homosexuality is deceiving themselves and everyone around them.

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2) Too many churches have abandoned a sense of sacredness in the worship - a worship gathering should NOT resemble a modern concert.

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AMEN. This is why I left my old church and have gone to a much smaller and sacred one.

TheEternalOptimist said:

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Phatbob said:

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TheEternalOptimist said:

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HarleySpoon said:

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The great number of billboard ministers are actually not associated with any protestant denomination. Yes, they can properly be described as Protestant…..but not part of any denomination with a formal structure outside the pastor's congregation.

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Yep - lack of ecclesiastical authority.

This is PART of the problem with the Southern Baptists and Independent Fundamentalist Baptists. They take the concept of the 'local New Testament Church' to an extreme. A lack of ecclesiastical authority is how Southern Baptists ended up dealing with the rank heresy and liberalism that has crept into their churches today.

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It could be argued that it keeps heresy from being made as part of the whole church, though. There is no issue, for instance, with a liberal Pope driving the whole Church doctrine to apostasy. Like I said, no matter what denomination you are part of, it is up to each person to check what they are being taught against Scripture.

Phil 2:12

Quote:

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Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

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Fair enough. The issue with the RCC is that there are NOT enough failsafes of methods of removal of the pontiff. This is because of their incorrect doctrine on ex-cathedra and him being the vicar of Christ.

But not all Popes have been bad. Some, like Pope Urban, truly sought unity in Christ and attempted to steer the church towards..... I know this is shocking...... Sola Scriptura.

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Just like politics, some people need more freedom to do the right thing personally than need to be... lets call it "directed" to do the right thing (and there are those that won't do it when given that freedom). And sometimes, just like in politics, relying on other people to do that directing takes any personal involvement out of the picture and places it all on a fallible person in charge. There is a danger in both.

TheEternalOptimist said:

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HarleySpoon said:

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The great number of billboard ministers are actually not associated with any protestant denomination. Yes, they can properly be described as Protestant…..but not part of any denomination with a formal structure outside the pastor's congregation.

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Yep - lack of ecclesiastical authority.

This is PART of the problem with the Southern Baptists and Independent Fundamentalist Baptists. They take the concept of the 'local New Testament Church' to an extreme. A lack of ecclesiastical authority is how Southern Baptists ended up dealing with the rank heresy and liberalism that has crept into their churches today.

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The Catholic Church is certainly dealing with its own battles with liberalism; each parish you visit can seem very different depending on locality. You also have a figurehead at the top espousing some of those views. It shares many of the same issues despite any "ecclesiastical authority". The protestant churches I've attended are certainly more conservative in beliefs than some nearby parishes I have also attended.

For the record, one of the reasons I have had a great respect for the Catholic church is its historical conservative social stances, and their activism on the same. However, one of my concerns in general is their shift to the left, and their central authority seemingly playing a part in that.

ETA: FWIW I've agreed with much of what you've posted on this thread, and to tie it back to the OP absolutely understand the attraction to the Orthodox Church considering the state of much of Protestantism.

I look at is as a cycle.

To be frank, I don't know much about the Eastern or Greek orthodox religions.

I do know that the cycle of the church going back to the Jews and this happened many times with them...tends to be-

1) correct teachings that carry weight are delivered by God's mouthpiece which bring people to the fold with sincerity.
2) the mouthpiece sets a foundation for worship and living through the will of God.
3) the mouthpiece dies and the systems for maintaining the purity of the teachings remain good for a period.
4) the systems get coopted by people not of God. This usually happens at the same time that strict adherence to traditional symbolism, and laws, and doctrines become strictly enforced and warped. Usually this happens in conjunction with wealth consolidation of the church and access to the priesthood or highest levels of priesthood becoming a source of wealth/livelihood.
5) fracturing and Descent Into chaos as the corruption of the church is made known.
6) the splinters claim authority because they have "purified" the corruption of the church.
7) the "purification" leads the adherents to reject the rites and liturgurgical rituals of the original church because such rites are identified as being synonymous with corruption.
8) this rejection of the liturgy leads the purified sects to descend into chaos.
9) this prompts a heavy return to the sect with the strict observance of rites and rituals by some married with others completely ignoring even the most basic religious preceptd. Those who are strict often becomes zealots without a firm understanding of the purpose of the rites and rituals and this leads to misinterpretation of their purpose and stagnation of believers up to outright oppression.
10) God sends a new mouthpiece to restore order.

At the moment I believe we are on the cusp of #9

Unfortunately, this isn't real and it's a pure opinion piece. By numbers alone it isn't true at all. The Orthodox Church is declining like every other church in the US and it's rate of decline is higher than evangelical denominations like the SBC.

I understand the necessity for masculinity in the church and why we need it more than ever, but claims like this should always be backed up by data and this article has a lot of misleading information.

Daddy-O5 said:

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TheEternalOptimist said:

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HarleySpoon said:

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The great number of billboard ministers are actually not associated with any protestant denomination. Yes, they can properly be described as Protestant…..but not part of any denomination with a formal structure outside the pastor's congregation.

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Yep - lack of ecclesiastical authority.

This is PART of the problem with the Southern Baptists and Independent Fundamentalist Baptists. They take the concept of the 'local New Testament Church' to an extreme. A lack of ecclesiastical authority is how Southern Baptists ended up dealing with the rank heresy and liberalism that has crept into their churches today.

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The Catholic Church is certainly dealing with its own battles with liberalism; each parish you visit can seem very different depending on locality. You also have a figurehead at the top espousing some of those views. It shares many of the same issues despite any "ecclesiastical authority". The protestant churches I've attended are certainly more conservative in beliefs than some nearby parishes I have also attended.

For the record, one of the reasons I have had a great respect for the Catholic church is its historical conservative social stances, and their activism on the same. However, one of my concerns in general is their shift to the left, and their central authority seemingly playing a part in that.

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Which ironically since the Orthodox are subject of thread, gives opportunity to revisit precisely the political power aspect of the central authority as perhaps too great. Vatican I has enough dubious elements that a real true massive ecumenical council -- a Vatican III - with full Orthodox participation, is probably due now. We also have enough information to better expose some of the silly political divides between West and East of the Holy Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire at the time that drove a great deal of it and neither side will really admit enough but obvious on examining it.

TheEternalOptimist said:

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People are flocking to Orthodoxy and Catholicism again because they see the thin veneer of the concert style church with pushes emotional response to the show fog, bright lights, dancing around on stage, etc......

As a Protestant, the main issues I see with broader Protestantism are:

1) Too many churches have embrace female pastoral leadership - egalitarianism.
2) Too many churches have abandoned a sense of sacredness in the worship - a worship gathering should NOT resemble a modern concert.
3) Too many churches have abandoned the rhythm of life that the liturgical calendar and seasons bring the church - Luther and Calvin practiced high church liturgy.
4) Non-Denominational churches, especially, have NO ecclesiastical authority outside of themselves to correct error.
5) Most Protestant churches are NOT practicing weekly communion/eucharist.

I would be lying if I said I did not see the beauty in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. As a former Southern Baptist, I used to think the iconography and all the depictions of Mary, Peter, etc... were borderline idolic. I no longer have this view. What is being communicated is the history of the Church, the Holy Scriptures, the present Church, and the future. I find nothing but beauty in the stations of the cross or a crucifix now.

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Dudes jumping from protestant churches to EO is a pretty clear sign those guys had absolutely no semblance of doctrine to begin with, and instead of being drawn away from the chaos by coming into contact with better doctrine, they are being pushed away by secular garbage that would push them away from other secular things in the same manner, so its unfortunate that they think they need to make such a drastic move to get away from the loony stuff. Just because you've realized your local feel-good fog machine church is a joke doesn't mean you have to trade that for mitres and epitrachelions. I would bet very few of them stay there.

Not sure why people think going RCC or EO is going to magically avoid the problems they are experiencing elsewhere. There is a catholic church 2 miles from my house that merrily flies pride flags and an EO church about 5 miles away proudly advertising being led by a woman. I think RCC and EO folks would be quick to say that those "aren't actually RCC or EO churches" ...that's kind of the point.

If folks just did a smidge of research and took the time to visit multiple churches a few times they could get away from wordly-infected gobbledeegoop circuses and into faithful churches fairly easily without going into a completely different universe denominationally. Just start by going online and reading some doctrinal statements and then go and see for yourself. I can give some resources on how to choose a church but they are obviously going to be weighted toward my reformed inclinations.

The lure... of the animal!

Find a small conservative church (the bible is the inerrant inspired word of God) with a man's man as a pastor. Changed my life and the lives of my family for the better.

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EO church about 5 miles away proudly advertising being led by a woman.

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