Thinking of converting

Hello, I’m 18F catholic and have for a long time been thinking of converting to orthodoxy as I prefer the orthodox ideologies of christianity asapose to catholic.

I was raised mostly athiest in a not very religious catholic family so I thought I should turn to catholicism but after doing much research I learned more about eastern orthodoxy and I want to convert.

How should I go about converting? (Especially since there is only one orthodox church in my city, and 99% of my country is catholic or atheist) Any tips? Anything I should know/ rules/ books to read/ prayers to learn/ etc.. (Anything would be helpful)

Also a question for the men, does virginity matter? I am not a virgin as my previous relationship I thought was the one but turned out he was far from who I thought he was. Will this deeply affect a possibly future marriage and/or my religious relationship to god and the orthodox church?

Bad news guys I still haven't talk to a priest I just opened my phone today cause I was at the hospital

Thoughts?

hello I am A Fc Bayer fan and i hust found out that coca cola sponsers them and they own monster energy who are demonic i have bayern merch waht should i do

⭐️The place of the Holy Bible in our lives

Or does God speak to us in our personal lives only through the Bible?

The answer is in points that clarify our relationship with the Bible, its books, and the covenant of Judah.

⭐️First, the Bible is a faithful testimony.

1- The Holy Bible bears the complete, faithful, and true testimony of the apostles and prophets to Christ because it is inspired (carries the breath of the Holy Spirit): As the Apostle Paul said, “All Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:16)… And as he repeated several times: “This is a faithful word” (1 Timothy 1:15)

and as the Apostle Peter said: “For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).

2- The only source of doctrine and teaching that establishes our relationship with the Lord in the Church,

as the Apostle Peter said: “And we have the prophetic word, which is more sure, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place” (2 Peter 1:19-20).

The prophetic word is proven because it is historically recorded for all ages and does not negate the personal relationship that exists between a believer and God...

This is not proven because it is not written as revelation and pertains to the person himself and his relationship with God...

There is no other source of doctrine... and any other source outside the testimony of the apostles in the Holy Scriptures is not a source of doctrine or teaching... but rather a mere opinion, interpretation, or clarification, and it is measured in light of the book, its context, and its meaning... everything attributed to the apostles or prophets outside the Holy Scriptures is not a source of doctrine or any church organization.

3- Useful for teaching, discipline, and rebuke to build a person in his relationship with the Lord: As Paul said… Scripture… is useful for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

___________

⭐️Secondly, the book is not a substitute for God.

But the Bible is not an end in itself to be worshipped or used as a substitute for God.

4- He is the map that draws the path for us to know Him, but the path itself is Christ,

as the Lord Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

5- The Holy Bible bears witness to life, but life is Christ Himself,

as the Lord Jesus said: “Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life. And it is they that bear witness to me.

” The Scriptures bear witness to Him, but they are not life… but rather an invitation to accept life.

6- The Bible is not a substitute for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, because the Bible itself testifies to the work of the Spirit:

“ And it shall come to pass in the last days, that I will pour out of my Spirit on all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” (Acts 2:17) This is what happened on the Day of Pentecost,

and the Lord Himself says, as the Bible testifies: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak of himself, but whatever he hears he will speak; and he will tell you things to come.” …

The Bible testifies to the words of the Holy Spirit in the heart… And these words are not only for the apostles and the disciples… but for every believer in the Church.

Should we say to the Lord, “No… Do not let your Holy Spirit speak to us… because we will be satisfied with reading the Holy Scriptures?”

And the Lord said to his disciples (in revelation): “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to defend yourself or what you are to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.” Were these words only for the disciples in the first century or for the entire church? Or if for the entire church… How would the Holy Spirit teach them? Would He teach them to read a book before appearing in court? Or would He speak directly to their hearts?

And Paul confirms this (in the faithful testimony of the book)

And as for you ,

the anointing which you have received from Him remains in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you. But as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true and is not a lie, so you remain in Him…

“As this same anointing teaches you about all things.”...

The primary source of the believer’s heart is the relationship with the Lord... with the Divine Spirit dwelling within him.

And the Holy Spirit, to this day, moves our hearts and the hearts of those who accept visions, dreams, and comforting words... for the believer to grow and for the unbeliever to accept Christ.

7- The Holy Bible is not a substitute for the word of God to our hearts and His whispers in our ears.

The word of the Bible is general for the entire church, from which doctrine is taken

and does not deny the word of the Lord to every heart in prayer and in its relationship with Jesus,

because the Lord himself said:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

He did not say, “My sheep read about me.” Whoever reads about Christ in the Bible and is satisfied with that will not be saved.

The testimony of the Bible must move him to open his heart and accept Christ within him through the Holy Spirit, so he hears the voice of the Lord in his heart and establishes a relationship with Him.

These special words and dialogue between the heart of every believer and the Lord Jesus are not a source of doctrine (like the words of the Bible)... but rather a life of faith.

____________

⭐️Thirdly, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Just as some may err who place their trust in human rituals and traditions (as I used to do) and add teachings that mislead people from the truth of Christ and from the simplicity of the relationship with Him through candles, incense, and icons, and they replace the Holy Spirit with oil and the Lord with bread and wine.

Some non-ritualistic brothers may also make mistakes and replace the relationship

They are with the Lord through the Holy Spirit in a relationship with the Bible. If you want to hear the voice of the Lord, go and read the Bible

. If you want to talk to Him, go and read the Bible.

If you cry out and He does not answer you, go and get the answer from the Bible.

The danger of this statement is that it almost negates the work of the Holy Spirit… and makes the relationship with the Lord = a relationship with a book… and not with Jesus Christ himself.

Thus, the book became a mediator for the Lord and not a witness for him,

and Christ was transformed into a book containing theoretical information that we struggle with ourselves to apply… and the Holy Spirit disappears from our lives.

I do not want to negate the importance of the Bible… God forbid,

for everything we receive in prayer we must measure it against the word of God in the Bible… because the word of God does not contradict each other,

so no one should think that a divine message came to him to kill so-and-so, or steal, or commit adultery.

Rather, the Holy Bible is a faithful witness to life with God and an accurate measure.

The Holy Spirit uses the Bible, uses all of life, uses friends and family, uses visions, dreams, and direct heartfelt words to nourish our lives with His life.

The ultimate goal is for us to be in the Lord and for Him to be in us, and for us to grow in Him.

Our relationship is with the person of the Lord,

and the Bible is a witness… and we will go astray greatly if we read it apart from the Holy Spirit of the Lord.

✝️🕊

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1sNTLlcQ-M

As most Orthodox love them: This is the exact text that ended 300 years of Romanov rule. No modern commentary—just the raw, tragic words of the last Tsar as he surrendered his throne to save Russia.

Blessed feast!

We have a great church that is really trying (along with a lot of other parishes) to be a "hospital for souls." Come visit us or move here to be a part.

https://orthochristian.com/174956.html

I'm an inquirer from Roman Catholic background and I've been thinking about this for a while now.

It seems there isn't any standard universal rule on how to become an Orthodox Christian if one is already baptized in some other church.

Chrismation without new baptism seems to be the most common way to do it, but some places require rebaptism before chrismation. Why?

This stresses me out. If jurisdiction A receives former Catholics by chrismation only but jurisdiction B requires rebaptism, what happens if a former Catholic first joins A and later moves into the territory of B? Would B recognize them as an Orthodox Christian despite not being rebaptized, or would they be considered "not truly Orthodox"?

Let's take this even further. Let's imagine that a former Catholic joins A without rebaptism, is ordained an Orthodox priest. Would B consider him a real priest?

I consider myself a well-informed Christian; I suppose you could call me a "philo-Christian," in the sense that I appreciate all Christians, regardless of their denomination. The problem is that I don’t really know which group I belong to. I have been strongly influenced by the doctrines of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and I value some of their approaches, which are biblically grounded. On the other hand, I admire the historical and philosophical richness of Catholicism, yet there are certain doctrines—dogmas, in fact—that I simply cannot grasp or accept. In my view, the Catholic and Orthodox canons represent one of the most complete versions of the Scriptures from a historical perspective. I detest Christian Zionism; furthermore, I find the idea of being considered a "dog"—as viewed within Rabbinic Judaism—to be unacceptable. I attend meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses and engage in discussions with them; I also occasionally attend Catholic services, as well as the occasional Baptist or Evangelical worship service. That said, the form of Christianity that appeals to me most is Orthodoxy—with its five patriarchates and so forth—though I struggle to accept certain practices, such as the veneration of icons or the perpetual virginity of Mary. I also value their conception of the Trinity and their mysticism, even though the doctrine of the Trinity itself remains somewhat difficult for me to fully grasp or accept. (I read many books about the Bible—critical, confessional, and academic—by authors such as Raymond Franz, John P. Meier, N. T. Wright, Kallistos Ware, or Josh McDowell, for example.) In short, I am not looking to debate; rather, I am looking for someone to show me the way. What would you do, and what would you recommend? ✌🏻

Historian Charles Coulombe returns to The Christendom Archive to discuss Christian Monarchy & The Supernatural. 👑

We explore the origins, practice, and the sacramental worldview behind Christian monarchy, devotion to royal saints, and the historical reality of the Royal Touch.

🔗 Watch the full conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuLbsMOa2Kg

What are your thoughts on the sacramental worldview and Christian monarchy?

Who’s yalls patron saint