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Madaglan
Guest
What does your family think of Eastern Christianity? And of you being Eastern Christian? Are they supportive? Do they wonder? Is it something with which the whole family grew up?
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bpbasilphx
Guest
Since I’m the only one in my family who has ever been active in anybody’s church, it doesn’t matter to them.
A
Addai
Guest
My dad was really negative for a while. I first noticed it when I started fasting during advent years back. At the time, I thought it was his Lutheranism against “legalism”. But I learned later, when I got engaged in the Coptic Orthodox Church before we did the ceremony, we had some time before the service, so I showed my mom a brochure that explained the history and theology of the Coptic church. She warmed up recognizing the name Athanasius since they use the Athanasian Creed. She smile and said it was very helpful and she was relieved that we “believe in the Trinity” etc. Which I smiled and told her that doctrine came from our Church so of course we believe it! She took the brochure home and later showed my father.
Then a few months later I learned the real reason behind the original cold shoulder. It turned out so many years back, in a Lutheran Bible study they covered “the Coptic” (Gnostic) Gospels. My dad recognized the name, and thought our Church taught from them!
Anyway ever since then they have been positive. They believe that faith is integral to marriage so they want to support my faith because it supports my marriage and they really love the women I married (She speaks German which is one of our native languages from my fathers Czechoslavakia, she was an overseas missionary prior to meeting me and going Oriental Orthodox etc.).
I am serious considering going Eastern Catholic in the future and may avoid telling my folks since my dad can be really anti-Catholic even though he admits to admiring the faith of my uncle/ his baby brother, (who converted to the Latin Church from Lutheranism at marriage), who has been very exemplary.
M
Madaglan
Guest
Very interesting.
My grandfather was born in Czechoslovakia (Slovakia now) and is Lutheran. He isn’t too anti-Catholic. In fact, when I go to his house, he sometimes puts on EWTN and points out the Pope.
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samcarter14
Guest
I am estranged from my own parents, and I doubt they would interested at all in Eastern Catholicism. It’s not what they are familiar with, and they would be confused by it.
My mother in law is just delirious with joy that we are back in communion with the Catholic Church.
And my father in law is happy for her sake, as well as ours.
My mother in law is just delirious with joy that we are back in communion with the Catholic Church.
And my father in law is happy for her sake, as well as ours.
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Addai
Guest
ThanksVery interesting.
My grandfather was born in Czechoslovakia (Slovakia now) and is Lutheran. He isn’t too anti-Catholic. In fact, when I go to his house, he sometimes puts on EWTN and points out the Pope.
I will have to add prior to affiliating with the Copts they were very supportive of being an Eastern Seeker. Before that I was a nondenominational charismatic… and well Orthodoxy to them was so much more respectable then that! (They like the fact its liturgical and traditional etc.)
My dad also is a big Opera fan and he loved it when played him “selections of the Divine Liturgy” CD from Ss. Peter and Paul Ben Lomond. That was the first Orthodox Church I attended (which was only months before the big Schism happened there). Ben Lomond is only a few miles from my dad’s house in Santa Cruz country, California.
light-n-life.com/shopping/order_product.asp?ProductNum=SELE152
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Madaglan
Guest
Oh wow, Ben Lomond is close! I’ve heard about the conflict there. Don’t know a whole lot about it. I have several books published by Conciliar Press. I think they are with them.
Before “going Eastern” I was involved in a charismatic group. What do you think of the transition between charismatic worship and Orthodox worship?
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kitkatty
Guest
No problems here, I come from an Eastern catholic family on my Dad`s side.
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Addai
Guest
I actually believed my Charismatic experience helped me with it which is true for a few Orthodox convert testimonies I’ve read.
This guy is a good example
philthompson.net/pages/becoming/ancientpaths.html
His expanded testimony that was published in Again magazine was much better (He details how multiple members of his church had a “Word of knowledge” all in the same week to “seek the ancient paths” which led them to pray that corporately which seems to have been the starting point of them looking into the Early Church etc.)
Anyway for me the Charismatic movement made me very conscience of trying to discern God’s will for my life (Like the various times God tries to give you a nudge as far as leading you).
When I first was an Orthodox seeker I was actually a part time seminary student at Fuller Theological Seminaries extension campus. (Most of which incidentally is based out of St. Patrick’s Catholic Seminary in Menlo Park.)
Anyway I was going through a bit of an identity crisis as it were. I was going to a church that I knew would be horrible for my pastoral internship. (At that place did a year internship kind of like you might do in another profession like being a social worker or psychologist).
But my church that I went to was one of those ones that was really in to the so called “Apostolic and Prophetic” movement. (They believed God was restoring apostles and prophets to the Church which were lost to the Church after it slid into corruption after Constantine).
While I like the Church to start with and hoped I was at the center of “What God was doing in the Earth”. I gradually became disenchanted. For one thing, all the apostles and prophets seemed better at grandstanding then living up what their supposed “Ministry Gifts” were suppose to do.
Anyway It just dawned on me that was the wrong place for me. It was all show biz. (It had some of the big personalities that are featured in Charisma magazine).
So I eventually left… I however did not know where to go. No place “felt right”.
I did however run acrossed a cute Orthodox co-worker who was very friendly. I went to Ben Lomond church because I wanted to “Check it out” to see if if was something “I could stomach”. But my interests were really only in getting a girl friend and passing the time until I figure out what to do next.
So I attended the local service but was determined to hang in the back. Because I was concerned about “legalism” and idolatry as far the icon veneration so I wanted to be able to escape at a moments notice. But when I went through the door I had an experience like St. Vladamir’s emissaries. I had more experience “Of God” then I did with all the Charismatic conferences I attended.
So that immediately got me to reading about Orthodoxy on the internet and buying books from the Conciliar Press bookstore.
I however never did hit it off with the Orthodox lady…
I do recognize the assumptions of that end of Charismatic movement are antithetical to Orthodox and Catholicism because they assume things like Liturgy is “Dead religion”, various spiritual disciplines are “legalism” etc. (unless its done to achieve a “prayer breakthrough” that is etc.)
M
Madaglan
Guest
Thanks for the link to the testimony. The “Apostolic and Prophetic” movement sounds similar to what some Mormon missionaries told me about new Apostles being chosen to this day.I actually believed my Charismatic experience helped me with it which is true for a few Orthodox convert testimonies I’ve read.
This guy is a good example
philthompson.net/pages/becoming/ancientpaths.html
His expanded testimony that was published in Again magazine was much better (He details how multiple members of his church had a “Word of knowledge” all in the same week to “seek the ancient paths” which led them to pray that corporately which seems to have been the starting point of them looking into the Early Church etc.)
Anyway for me the Charismatic movement made me very conscience of trying to discern God’s will for my life (Like the various times God tries to give you a nudge as far as leading you).
When I first was an Orthodox seeker I was actually a part time seminary student at Fuller Theological Seminaries extension campus. (Most of which incidentally is based out of St. Patrick’s Catholic Seminary in Menlo Park.)
Anyway I was going through a bit of an identity crisis as it were. I was going to a church that I knew would be horrible for my pastoral internship. (At that place did a year internship kind of like you might do in another profession like being a social worker or psychologist).
But my church that I went to was one of those ones that was really in to the so called “Apostolic and Prophetic” movement. (They believed God was restoring apostles and prophets to the Church which were lost to the Church after it slid into corruption after Constantine).
While I like the Church to start with and hoped I was at the center of “What God was doing in the Earth”. I gradually became disenchanted. For one thing, all the apostles and prophets seemed better at grandstanding then living up what their supposed “Ministry Gifts” were suppose to do.
Anyway It just dawned on me that was the wrong place for me. It was all show biz. (It had some of the big personalities that are featured in Charisma magazine).
So I eventually left… I however did not know where to go. No place “felt right”.
I did however run acrossed a cute Orthodox co-worker who was very friendly. I went to Ben Lomond church because I wanted to “Check it out” to see if if was something “I could stomach”. But my interests were really only in getting a girl friend and passing the time until I figure out what to do next.
So I attended the local service but was determined to hang in the back. Because I was concerned about “legalism” and idolatry as far the icon veneration so I wanted to be able to escape at a moments notice. But when I went through the door I had an experience like St. Vladamir’s emissaries. I had more experience “Of God” then I did with all the Charismatic conferences I attended.
So that immediately got me to reading about Orthodoxy on the internet and buying books from the Conciliar Press bookstore.
I however never did hit it off with the Orthodox lady…
I do recognize the assumptions of that end of Charismatic movement are antithetical to Orthodox and Catholicism because they assume things like Liturgy is “Dead religion”, various spiritual disciplines are “legalism” etc. (unless its done to achieve a “prayer breakthrough” that is etc.)
A
Aramis
Guest
Dad tried to convince mom to make the switch to the UGCC in the late 1960’s. Mom doesn’t do well with incense, tho’. Dad later became a RC Deacon, and has been for more than 25 years now.
Dad’s supportive, and has considered seeking biritual faculties for the Ruthenian.
Mom’s not objecting, but prefers not to go to DL with us, due to not tolerating the rose-based incense used. (Ironically, while I don’t tolerate Roses well, the Rose incenses don’t bother me.)
The wife was raised Lutheran, and was for years practicing paganism; she was hostile at first to the Byzantine expression, but is coming around. Slowly. Pray for her reconversion, please.
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Artemus86
Guest
My family are Catholic…
My father said to my other siblings: “Whoever join other Churches or convert to Islam is not my children anymore”
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maryprayforme
Guest
You got it Aramis!
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maryprayforme
Guest
We use to attend a Byzantine church regularly that was 45 minutes from our home. We haven’t for a couple years because of a very difficult and stubborn toddler, and then gas prices, and . . .
My mother thought Greek Orthodox immediately and was immovable to believe otherwise. She lamented to her parish priest who happened to baptize our stubborn baby (I keep questioning him if he indeed used holy water and not from the tap. He is a close family friend and has a keen sense of humor.) Anyway, he approached us about it and I explained to him that it was a BC church and that my poor mother thinks we have left the Church. I think she is ok now that he went back and explained it to her.
My mother thought Greek Orthodox immediately and was immovable to believe otherwise. She lamented to her parish priest who happened to baptize our stubborn baby (I keep questioning him if he indeed used holy water and not from the tap. He is a close family friend and has a keen sense of humor.) Anyway, he approached us about it and I explained to him that it was a BC church and that my poor mother thinks we have left the Church. I think she is ok now that he went back and explained it to her.
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bpbasilphx
Guest
That was the first Orthodox Church I attended (which was only months before the big Schism happened there).
A priest from there is now in the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
A priest from there is now in the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
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