EDITOR’S NOTE (Nick Stamatakis). One more report on young American men converting to Orthodoxy – verifying the same reasoning as the previous ones: looking for originality, authenticity and, yes, masculinity!! Parishes in some areas are tripling in size within a couple of years – at the same time as GOARCH and Elpidophoros continue their self-destructive course towards “wokism” and “LGBTQ ministries”!!!
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Young, single men are leaving traditional churches. They found a more ‘masculine’ alternative
New parishes are planned across US to accommodate ‘tsunami’ of male worshippers who have converted since pandemic
Young, single men are flocking to the Orthodox church after discovering the “masculine” Christian religion through online influencers.
Some converts said they felt disillusioned with the “feminisation” of the Protestant church and were attracted to the “authenticity” of Orthodoxy, which they claim pushes them physically and mentally.
Priests are now planning to open new parishes to accommodate the “tsunami” of young men who have converted since the pandemic.
They say that most of the new converts found the Orthodox church by watching YouTube videos or listening to podcasts.
Matthew Ryan, a former atheist, found Orthodoxy after he saw a comment about good and evil on YouTube after “hitting rock bottom”.
The science teacher, 41, who had moved to Salt Lake City in 2022 to escape New York’s “draconian” Covid rules, began researching the Bible.
This eventually led him to a one-hour YouTube video in which a Protestant visits an Orthodox church and speaks to a priest.
“I watched that, and I was like, OK, this makes a lot of sense,” Mr Ryan said.
“What really drew me to Orthodoxy… was the structure, the guidance, the authenticity and the historicity”, he said.
Mr Ryan, who was baptised into the Orthodox church in September, is among scores of men who have joined the strict church since the pandemic.
PHOTO: Matthew Ryan, a former atheist, was attracted to the Orthodox church by ‘the structure, the guidance, the authenticity and the historicity’
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.
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.”
Searching for something he felt “embodied the teachings and practices of the early Christians”, in 2018 he found St Ignatius Orthodox Christian Church near his home in Mesa, Arizona.
PHOTO: Emmanuel Castillo began reading the Bible while he was guarding al-Qaeda prisoners in Guantanamo Bay Credit: Instagram
The father of two, who has since left the military, was baptised the following year.
His Instagram page is filled with images showing off his muscular physique alongside quotes from Bible verses.
Mr Castillo is open about his faith with his thousands of online followers and receives scores of messages from young men interested in the Orthodox church.
He believes part of the surge in men converting to the Orthodox church is a rejection of the “feminisation” of other denominations.
“It’s unfortunate that feminism has kind of sunk its teeth into all of our organisations to include Christianity,” he said.
He said that at Protestant churches, the majority of the leaders “aren’t good, strong men”, whereas the Orthodox church leaders are more like “father figures”.
He said: “They look like men. They look like fathers, they’re strong, spiritually, mentally, physically… I think young men right now are yearning to follow a good father.”
Jesus Christ, he thinks, is the “perfect example of masculinity”, someone capable “of calling down all of Heaven’s armies to destroy his enemies” but who instead chose to serve others.
“I’m very comfortable with physicality and because of my Orthodox faith, I’m also very comfortable at just, you know, being soft and kind… but being capable also of violence towards, you know, those who would do harm to those I love… I think young men, too, they want that.”
PHOTO: Mr Castillo, right, thinks part of the surge in men converting to the Orthodox church is a rejection of the ‘feminisation’ of other denominations Credit: Instagram
Father Paul Truebenbach agrees that part of what is drawing young men to the Orthodox church is because they “naturally want to be masculine, in the most positive sense of the word”.
Fr Truebenbach, who was the priest Mr Ryan watched on YouTube video when he was looking into Orthodoxy, has seen the number of converts in his congregation triple since the pandemic. Most of these are single, young men in their 20s.
“It’s a tougher form of Christianity… I think a lot of men have embraced that and realised this is a form of self-denial with real results that actually brings peace and joy to the heart like nothing else”, said Fr Truebenbach, of Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in Salt Lake City.
He said that men in his parish have started taking cold plunges, as well as making their fasts more extreme to push themselves.
Father Timothy Pavlatos, who leads St Katherine Greek Orthodox Church in Chandler, Arizona, agrees that the “challenge” of the Orthodox church appeals to many young men.
“Orthodoxy is challenging in the physical sense too, and it requires a lot… they live in a world where it’s instant gratification and just take what you want, what you feel you want, what you think you need, Orthodoxy is the opposite of that, it’s denying yourself.”
Whereas before the pandemic a maximum of six people would convert annually, this year he currently has 29 catechumens – people studying the Orthodox faith.
Of these, he said, the majority found the church online.
He had to enlist volunteers to help with the “tsunami of people coming in” and they are looking at starting new Orthodox churches nearby.
PHOTO: Mr Castillo with his family in church Credit: Instagram
Dr Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, an assistant professor of religion and anthropology at Northeastern University, whose research looks at recent Orthodox converts in the US, said that she started seeing an increase in people seeking out Orthodoxy from 2016.
She said this increased “dramatically” during the pandemic, to what she refers to in her upcoming book as the “Covid conversion period”.
Dr Riccardi-Swart said: “We were at home for a lot of 2020 and even some of 2021, people had time to create content and find content online, and we saw in that period the rise of young males and males in general, who were Orthodox or interested in becoming Orthodox, creating content for people to find Orthodox.”
She said part of the appeal to young men is there is a phenomenon called “muscular Christianity” and the desire for “a sort of strong-man religion”, which she said is not unique to Orthodoxy.
“You have people finding Orthodoxy and saying, ‘Hey, this is sort of masculine, this is militarised, this is really hard on my body, it’s aesthetically challenging”, she said.
But she added that alongside the language of strictness and militarisation, she has noticed “problematic ideological issues”, such as misogyny, voiced by some converts online.
It is hard to get an accurate picture of how many Orthodox Christians there are in the US because of a lack of data.
The most up-to-date figures are from 2010, when the Pew Research Center found that 0.5 per cent of the US population was Orthodox.
Seraphim Holland, a priest at the St Nicholas Orthodox Church in McKinney, Texas, has also witnessed the surge of converts in recent years.
His congregation has tripled in size since the pandemic, and the main temple cannot accommodate the 200 people who attend the church on Sundays, so there are now two services.
PHOTO: The congregation has tripled in size since the pandemic at St Nicholas Orthodox Church in McKinney, Texas Credit: James Breeden/Breeden Media LLC
Most of the new converts found the church online and around 60 per cent are unmarried men.
Mr Holland said that one aspect that appeals to newcomers is that while other churches are being drawn into rows about cultural issues, such as debates around the LGBTQ community, the Orthodox church does not shift.
“I think there’s a lot with those sorts of things… society kind of goes to the new thing, and people feel pressured to believe the new thing, to talk about the new thing, to accept the new thing. We don’t feel that pressure”, he said.
He added: “We are not anti-LGBTQ… we are pro-Christian morality.”
PHOTO: There are now two services on Sundays to accommodate the 200 people who attend St Nicholas Orthodox Church Credit: James Breeden/Breeden Media LLC
One of the recent converts at Mr Holland’s parish is Longin, 23, who found his Protestant church started to feel “empty” to him.
The small-engine mechanic, who had been studying theology at the time, became interested in the Orthodox church when he began hearing about the “martyrs” who had been persecuted.
This, combined with the world “shutting down” during the pandemic, prompted him “to look for something that gave me that same drive, which I guess the evangelical church didn’t really have”, he said.
PHOTO: Longin, 23, a recent convert at St Nicholas Orthodox Church who found his Protestant church started to feel ‘empty’ to him Credit: James Breeden/Breeden Media LLC
“You have the worship, you know, the guitars and the drums and stuff, and then you sit down for a sermon, and then that’s kind of it, you know,” he said.
This was in stark contrast to the Orthodox church in McKinney, Texas, where he found worshippers standing for lengthy services.
“I just went to go see and I haven’t really looked back since,” he said.
This year we had a dozen of converts at our church. I was asked and gladly became the Godmother of one of the ladies. 10 men and 2 women. All age groups, 20’s to 80’s. The question is: How many orthodox are dying (we’ve had quite a few deaths) and not being replaced by a new generation and how many are leaving the Church? Also, will the children continue the tradition when there is so much woke agendas in schools and many lose their faith when they go to college?
We received mainly protestant, Catholics, and also a few with no prior faith. It would be interesting to see some stats of conversion by Church or by diocese.
These “converts” at the end they will convert Orthodoxy to Protestantism. I have met many and very few have the patience and passion to get to know Orthodoxy. Most are Protestants who are coming to Orthodoxy so they can attack the Pope from another angle or because they see other opportunities there. They struggle at the conversion seminars to understand and accept the orthodox faith and they always “protest.” One may wonder why do they believe in God to begin with. The situation can be compared to the barbarians of the western Europe, who were baptized Christians 10 or 15 centuries ago, and all they knew and care to do is cross themselves when taking a break from pillaging. We need to be very careful lest the Orthodox Church turn to be another protestant sect /NGO. Most priests, after all, look more like pastors -many are converts- with no beard and no cassock. As for the Greek language that is abandoned long time ago.
Unfortunately, those who are responsible to protect Orthodoxy, mainly Pat. Bartholomew, are corrupt to the core and degenerate globalists. And I have to wonder why you do not mention them at the same time as you attack protestantism. Let’s not pretend that “Bartholomew is a true believer in Orthodoxy”, the time he is doing everything possible to demolish it either causing the Schism or uniting with the Pope.
You are right mr. Stamatakis. The “converts” are mostly Episcopalians, that were disgusted by the LGBTQ approach of their church. I think the close ties and often meetings of Elpidoforos with the Episcopalians are very much related with the flow of the “converts”… And from the attitude of some of them I met, I think Seriatos Varonetos is right, they came to our church to “convert” us!
How well the converts will be doing depends on ALL of us, including the Priests and BishOps. It is true that there is something off about some of the converts and converted priests. But then again, there is something off about some clergy and hierarchs too, to the point that they have completely heretical ideas, most notably Barto and Elpi. If I would not know who they are and they would be dressed in regular clothing, giving some of their “most memorable speeches”, I would think there is no way they are orthodox.
So far the converts I have met, about a dozen, are doing well for about a year. THey actually come to church more often that most of those that grew up Orthodox and they are very receptive to the faith and thirsty for knowledge.
Everyone has things they are struggling with when they come into the Church. Orthodoxy has survived 2000 years because of the promise of Jesus Christ, I think it will survive some wayward sectarians who came to us looking for the Truth and bless their journey into Holy Orthodoxy. The Church doesn’t belong to you or your ethnic group, it belongs to God.
You are wrong about that mr. Illuminated. The Greek Orthodox Church of America was created by the Greek immigrants for their religious needs. That’s why the liturgy initially was only in Greek. As the decades passed the English language was added in the liturgy and the church started accepting non Greek visitors. There was not any problem, because the Greek people we are known for our hospitality.
The church in general belongs to God, but you have to understand that when you say that the Greek Orthodox Church of America doesn’t belong to the Greeks is insulting! It is like visiting somebody’s house that he built it brick by brick and you are telling them it is not theirs!
And that stands for every ethnic Orthodox Church in America, Russian, Romanian, Ethiopian, etc. The visitors or the “converts” cannot enforce their terms. You cannnot turn an ethnic Orthodox Church to a Babel tower…
So, regarding the Greek Orthodox church, the liturgy is in Greek and English, take it or leave it!
Mr Varonetos, I detect a little too much “the lady doth protest too much” in your critique.
You are somewhat correct: some will leave. However, how many of us born into the faith have left? The GOA had more communicants in 1930 then they do now. I don’t know the figures for the other jurisdictions.
Sarah Riccardi-Swartz is a VILE human being and a liar and betrayer of Orthodoxy! She’s a feminist, liberal, modernist, ecumenist, misandrist who actually went “undercover” at Holy Cross Monastery and took the words of those she interviewed and twisted them into vile lies, portraying the monks and local parishioners as misogynists and Russian spies! She has written numerous articles against traditional Orthodoxy, all the while claiming to be Orthodox!!!
I am convinced that conversions into Orthodoxy are exxagerated. When they say that the number of worshipers has doubled, they are talking about a small congregation to begin with. Let’s not think that we’ll see Orthodox churches turn into meg churches. What attracted those converts, such as thee long service, some as long as 5 hours, or the strict fasting, is what turns most people away. How many of us, cradle Orthodox actually strict fast for the 40 days to Christmas and Pascha? How many every Wednesday and Friday? How many stand for 5 hours? How many confess every week and receive communion?
And this “masculinity” stuff, it is totally wrong. If they’re looking to escape the “woke” culture, whatever that means, they’re in the wrong church. Christ would be considered “woke” today. He stood up for justice, the poor and the “illegal” immigrants. He cured the sick with no compensation and fed the hungry. He forgave the adulteress, where others wanted to stone her. He never spoke against abortion or homosexuality, even though both were practiced at the time in the open. He was no nationalist.
If you believe everything that you are writing about Christ, you are probably not orthodox or you are reading a different bible. There are versions of the bible that are not recognized. Make sure you get a good one and you will see there is nothing woke about Christ. Homosexuality is incompatible with Orthodoxy. Read the holy fathers, do not start interpreting the bible like the protestants. Otherwise, you are in your own church of one.
Mr Karp, in some ways you are correct. Jesus in many ways would have been considered a liberal for not following the law , though I would not consider Him woke. However, you statements about abortion and homosexuality are made without considering the entirety of Scripture. Clearly, St Paul condemns homosexuality in Romans 1 and several other places. Abortion is not addressed by Jesus but the O.T. and the canos of the church condemn it. Please remember that all Scripture is inspired by God , not just the Gospels
A significant detail to add (which Bob clearly missed):
“Και εσκιρτησε το βρεφος εν τη κοιλια αυτης” is the Scriptural phrase that is used to refer to St. John the Baptist “jumping with joy” in his mother’s womb. He is clearly referred to as a living βρεφος (infant), and not a “negligible fetus”. As such, it is not necessary for Scripture to spell out the obvious, that “Thou shalt not kill” also applies to an “infant in its mother’s womb”…
This is also the excerpt from Scripture that underscores why St. John the Baptist was referred to as “greater than all men born of a woman”…According to Patristic interpretation, this is simply because he is the only person who ever prophesied before he was even born, by “jumping with joy” at that moment of his mother’s encounter with the Theotokos.
There is an oblique reference to abortion, or miscarriage, made by Christ (Matthew 26:24):
“woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
While this in no way justifies the killing of the unborn, which is obviously a sin, it does point out that the state of the unborn is better (good) than those who would be born and then later betray Christ.
Let me put it even more succinctly:
Antichrist: Should he be aborted? Yes or no?
Well said Joseph.. and it is not very complicated like Hellensicope says. who does not hide who he is in “communion” with in his Anti -Greek Orthodox and Catholic Church 24/7 which blame these churches for all crimes committed by the Heretic Evangelical Protestant Christian and Jewish Zionist Temples and ruling Republican Christian Zionist party now led by Evangelical Zionist Christian Donald Trump representing a Union of the most Heretical Christian and Jewish religious order in History ! These guys don’t even worship the Theotokos or feature Christ on their crosses or Menorahs! Helleniscope is as supporter and apparently card carrying follower of this Christian Zionist Cult ..who the Presybyterian Christian Church of America has voted to reject this Christian Zionist Cult
The denomination, which had 8,704 churches and 1.14 million members as of May 2023, voted to “reject Christian Zionism in all its forms” and to issue a report about the “dangers of Christian Zionism” and how “mainline Christians and those of other faiths are complicit, though unaware of connections with Christian Zionism.”“Israel has occupied Palestinian territory since 1967;
Joseph well said , and now you know why Protestants are coverting, because the churches are no longer Christian.. and the only reason it is complicated ..is because Helleniscope chooses to delete these dirty little secrets as to who the Anti Christ team is really , and ruling the world… Delete ,Delete and Delete!
No, abortion is never justified. Antichrist is anyone who persecutes Christ. There are many antichrists in the history. In fact the holy fathers say that every generation has at least a potential antichrist. Pegan rulers were types of antichrists. Should we then kill them all, before they are born? But how do you know who they will become and which one will be the “final” Antichrist? Should Apostle Paul and Saint Longhin and Saint Constantine etc all should have been killed in the womb because they “deserve it” due to their early life?
There is also a story about a nun in England that was raped. She gave birth to the child in terrible pain. I think his name is Saint Daniel if I remember correctly. Should she have killed her baby in the womb and prevent a saint from being born because she was raped? We don’t know God’s providence so lets not find some excuses to kill the unborn.
In some rare instances, such as with ectopic pregnancies, abortion has medically saved the lives of mothers. This is completely justified.
Apart from such instances, Christians have no business getting abortions.
Should non-Christians get abortions? No, of course not. Yet, it is only expected that non-Christians will get abortions, whether it is legal or not. The rationale that has often been made for keeping abortion legal is to acknowledge this fact and at very least protect those women from having botched abortions that would medically endanger their lives.
I agree that abortion in almost all cases should be greatly discouraged. There are alternatives. Programs that help single mothers, who are most prone to having abortions, are most important here. The Assembly of Bishops has supported Zoe for Life as such a program.
Joseph,
I didn’t consider medical reason in my statements, so I was speaking in general, where no medical problems occur in the pregnancy, which is the majority of time. Medical reasons are actually quite rare and is a separate issue, of course. But abortion won’t go away since it’s a multi billion dollar industry. As long as someone is making money, from abortions and selling the organs and body parts, it will stay. I am sure the satanists are happy and the devil is trilled. But it is absolutely barbaric and a lack of self respect and self control, especially today when there are so many forms of contraception.
Taking the life of a healthy unborn child is a crime, weather it is legally allowed or not, especially when that child could be adopted. It is a very selfish act.
Sandy, at the same time, the “Pro-Life” movement, as a political machine, has been largely responsible for putting Zionist politicians into office. This goes back to President Ronald Reagan, an actor who defeated President Jimmy Carter by taking on the “Reverend” Jerry Falwell’s three-point political platform: make abortion illegal, make homosexuality illegal, and to give the Israeli government carte blanche. Ever since then, that has been the main political platform that Republicans have used to gain office. Yet it is mainly the topic of abortion (not Zionism) has been at the forefront of American politics since Reagan, and thus the “Pro Life” movement has almost solely become the main political tool and driving force that has allowed Zionism to flourish in the Middle East.
Joseph,
Separate from all politics, abortion is the greatest sin above and behind all others, because those children can’t defend themselves. For me and many others it has nothing to do with Reagan and the Pro Life movement or the Zionists, but more with our conscience and the fact that many of us do believe that God’s wrath will come upon us as a nation that is bathed in innocent blood, partly funded with our tax dollars… We should all tremble…
Sandy, the Palestinians in Gaza have long ago outlawed both abortion and homosexuality. Do you think that God will spare them because of this?
The Israeli government, which by the way has made both abortion and homosexuality legal in Israel, has created a bloodbath in Gaza that is near genocide. This is largely through U.S. support and tax dollars.
Then, there’s also the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the destruction of Syria, the destruction of Libya, and now the aim to also do so in Iran and Lebanon. By the way, all those countries have laws against abortion and homosexuality. So where does the bloodshed begin and end? Yet mainly because Americans insist on focusing their ethics on domestic abortion laws, they are willing to turn a blind eye to the bloodshed perpetrated abroad by their own country.
George W. Bush struggled greatly with gaining support for his invasion of Iraq. So, what did he do? He passed a partial-birth abortion ban in 2003. In signing this bill, he said, “Today, at last, the American people and our government have confronted the violence and come to the defense of the innocent child.” Congratulations, that must have felt great, but in actuality it mainly served to gain support for the bloody U.S. invasion of Iraq. That’s mostly what I call abortion porn.
Joseph:
Who am I to judge all this? There is only one judge. I do not agree with any bloodshed. Not wars, not abortion, not murder of any kind. I think God is fair and will judge all countries justly and we should certainly be worried. The Israelis and Palestinians fought for a long time even before Palestinians were called Palestinians. When David asks God to destroy them at one point He says they will be there forever to fight the Israelis because of the Israelis’ sins and trespasses. God sees wars differently than us so we should not interpret them simplistically.
Wars generally come due to our sins. St. Nikolai Velimirovich explains in “The War and the Bible”, the relationship between sins and wars.
He is an impressive saint and certainly his explanations and interpretations are very different that our interpretation and expectations, but it very much applies to the situation today, when they talk about peace on one hand but they gather record munition on the other.
Bob, I hope we never have “mega-churches”. That has never been part of our phronema. My own mission parish started with less than 20. Now we have 150 on a typical Sunday. As the Venerable Dmitri Royster of blessed memory told us 20 years ago: when you hit that number, start another mission!
May God continue to bless your work! I am sure that it was a lot of hard work, but it paid off!
It would be foolish to expect the GOAA to be picky about its replacement population. “Eh amigo, you buy candle in narthex, si? Okay!”
The question is what we do. Are we leaving cowardly the churches that our ancestors built and watch them passively as they replace us with other ethnicities and denominations?
My opinion is stay there and fight! Show them loudly your disapproval. Make them feel the anger of the faithful Greeks. That’s the only way to take our churches back.
Leaving is like deserting a battle and not a metaphorical one, it’s a real battle! Orthodox tradition against Ecumenism, Faithful against Masons, Good against Evil…
Leaving the churches shows that actually you don’t care and you don’t want to bother and will help the Evil ones to prevail easier…
The only way to fight back is the faithful flock to organize itself and start running for the parishes councils. Our predecessors, our holy fathers kept this church going for thousands of years. It is our turn to bear the cross and defend it today!
It is possible that the Church will go through harsh times. Maybe it is a current that is much needed to refresh the Church and wake up it’s members. Maybe something good will come out of it. Communism devastated the Church. Many of them were closed. Ultimately it was God that allowed Communism to take place and this can always be traced back to sins. Churches were closed. Monks and nuns were forced to leave or were put in prisons. For decades Christians suffered. Christianity seemed to be all forgotten for the most part, but on contrary, those FEW that kept it, watered those seeds for the Church to come back stronger than the semi-lethargic state that it was in before. Communism wasn’t all a lost cause. It gave us a ton of saints and many of those who had almost no faith or some kind of pseudo-semi-faith increased their faith exponentially and learned how to be orthodox. What is God to do with us? To wake us up? I visit 3 churches several times a year and I do see an increase in all of them. No, not double but about 20-25% increase in attendance after Covid plus about 10% new converts.
Ukraine IS the battlefield for the Union. UOC cannot fail. They are already fighting a great battle.
https://spzh.eu/en/news/83887-shevchuk-agreements-between-rcc-and-phanar-should-be-implemented-in-ukraine
Helleniscope .. i again submit moderated Post for your approval …which the Presbyterian Church of U.S and Protestant affiliate unblinds in Gods behalf .. as to who is driving Protestants, Orthodox and Catholic Christians from the Christian churches of America and world !
Michael – I am sorry but do not have to moderate a 3-page comment. Especially because you repeat the same points again and again. If you want your comments published they need to be short and to the point and NOT REPETITIVE.
This is a good one, Patr. Barto changed the calendar in Ukraine, and the schismatics (OCU) celebrated on the new calendar Christmas in December. They swear that whoever celebrated on the old calendar Christmas is with the enemy (Russia). Meanwhile the Russians in Turkey celebrated Christmas with Patr. Barto on the old calendar.
https://spzh.eu/en/news/83915-head-of-phanar-selebrates-old-style-christmas-with-russians-in-istanbul
Which makes Barto, Edrogan and Putin ..now the enemies of the Heretic Jewish and Evangelical Christian Zionist Churches and ruling parties of America, Israel and the Ukraine… who have been making their enemies the enemies of America , Greece, Cyprus and the world..forever!
I have to say in my neck of the woods (Baltimore, Md.) the converts to Orthodoxy are inspirations which as a cradle Greek Orthodox,( if I can use that word) my faith has grown & matured learning from them. They have read, researched the faith before they made their commitment. And they are living icons, exemplary examples of committed Orthodox followers of Christ Jesus.
I agree. I am in touch with about half of them and by answering their questions we end up getting deeper into certain topics as I am always looking for reliable material to back it up. They are certainly taking orthodoxy more seriously that many of the orthodox born people and many of them come to church more often. There are some things off meaning that I could tell pretty quickly they are converts because of the way they speak but let’s not forget they are still learning and they are infants to the faith. Fr. Seraphim Rose was a convert and one of his spiritual sons became a bishop and Fr. Josiah has converted hundreds. There are of course a lot of other examples. Also I noticed that some of the converts are helping the church a lot with volunteering even before they are converted. May God bless them in their journey!