Read about the “Into Orthodoxy” series here.
By Amir Azarvan
I am Orthodox because:
Read about the “Into Orthodoxy” series here.
By Mary Evelyn Smith
I became Orthodox because my parents said so. My parents converted to Orthodoxy when I was a toddler. Up until 4th grade, I just assumed everyone was Orthodox like me. They were taken to midnight Easter services and feasted upon soy-dogs during Lent. That was the age when church seemed like a serious kind of magic. Jesus was real, and it was exciting.
For me, the real question is, Why did you stay Orthodox? Continue reading
Read about the “Into Orthodoxy” series here.
By Fr. Lawrence Farley
Fr. Lawrence Farley
In my journey home to Orthodoxy, I took the long way around. I was born into suburban respectability in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and therefore attended Protestant Sunday School like all the other respectable kids my age. Since Christian Faith in my home was more nominal than real, when Sunday School became boring (the ultimate indictment), I stopped attending and soon sunk into agnostic adolescent mediocrity. I didn’t give ultimate questions much thought; I was more interested in girls. (Sadly, they were little interested in me.) But around midway through my teenage years I thought that life must consist of something more than a meaningless dance of atoms, and so I went back to my United Church looking for answers. There I encountered a few people my age who introduced me to the Jesus Movement (it was 1970), and in the Jesus Movement I encountered the Lord Jesus. It was a very high-voltage part of the Jesus Movement, replete with speaking in tongues, prophesying, and effervescent evangelism, characterized by a direct experience of the overwhelming love of God and the power of the Spirit. Continue reading
By Karissa Knox Sorrell
Photo by Maria Mayo
“We grew up with the Jesus story, until we outgrew it,” Frederica Mathewes-Green says in her book At the Corner of East and Now. What a perfect description for how I felt when as an adult I became disenchanted with the church I’d grown up in. Jesus had always been enough for me. I’d grown up as a Nazarene preacher’s kid and missionary’s kid. I attended church three times a week, read the Bible and prayed every day, memorized hundreds of verses, and evangelized all my friends.
But toward the end of my college career, I began feeling a disconnect between my faith and my “real life.” I remember spending an hour at chapel three days a week, fervently singing, lifting my hands, and praying. Afterwards, when I walked out of the church doors, I completely forgot about God for the rest of the day. Worship, while emotionally touching, seemed momentary. I knew I had to find a way to bridge the chasm that had become apparent in my own life. The Jesus story was simply not enough for me anymore. Continue reading
By Kevin Allen
I became Eastern Orthodox because of ‘The Jesus Prayer’. Let me explain.
Krishna and Radha via Wikimedia Commons
When I was sixteen and seventeen, I spent summers at a Hindu ashram on the majestic border of Canada and New York in what is called the Thousand Islands area. The ashram was and is dedicated to the famous Hindu saint Swami Vivekananda who introduced Vedic Indian spirituality to the West in the late 19th century, long before the famous gurus Maharishi Mahesh and Swami Bhaktivedanta of the Hare Krishnas. I spent two summers in the ‘60s serving my guru, reading, soaking in the natural beauty, and meditating. In the afternoons we met as a community for “Puja” where we worshipped the deity of this Hindu sect. Hinduism saved me from a meaningless life of materialism, and nihilism and opened the door to a life of the spirit. Continue reading
Via Wikimedia Commons
“I became Orthodox because…”
How would you finish that thought? That is the challenge of this new blog series titled, “Into Orthodoxy.” Many come to the Orthodox Church from other traditions. This series asks, “Why?” Several guest authors have agreed to answer that question in about 500 words. Authors include poets and priests, scientists and broadcasters. Some have been Orthodox for many years; others are just beginning their journey. So starting April 1, look for posts from guest authors, including…
There are more names coming, so keep checking this page to see who is next.
Why 500 words? Because truth reveals itself in brevity. The greater the word-count, the greater potential to obfuscate, not necessarily to others, but (most importantly) to ourselves. Lent is a time of self-reflection. It demands we take a long, hard look at ourselves, and that we be compassionate towards others. That means we have to listen to each other and learn from each other. We need to tell stories and hear stories, and we need to embrace each other in our differences, especially during Lent. Listening becomes a means of grace, a path toward theosis, because God is love. So when we embrace others in love, we embrace God.
The following concludes a series I had intended to end last week, but my laptop needed to be repaired. Rather than delay any longer, I have decided to go ahead and conclude this series so that I can move on to a new series of lenten posts I am very excited about (mostly because I get to read a bunch of great guest posts). I am typing this on my iPad, so I apologize in advance for any formatting issues. WordPress for the iPad is great, but not as good as it is on my laptop.
There are some “perks” to public theology. Warm fuzzies from online readers really strokes the ego. My heart is strangely warmed whenever I get a new Twitter follower. But if I let who I am and why I do this get mixed up with what other people say about me, then I’ve got a problem, because a lot of what people say about me is not very nice. There are other benefits to doing this. I do make a difference: Continue reading