Being a Protestant, I of course did not fish outside the Protestant pool. I became an Anglican, and thereafter, an Anglican priest.
Japanese Woman Follows Her Heart to Orthodoxy
March 28, 2013 By 2 Comments
How far is Tokyo from Larissa? By kilometers the distance is undoubtedly very great. For a young woman, who had the longing to follow the path of her heart to satisfy a great desire of hers, the distance was like an excursion in a blooming spring garden. It is like the excursion the then 29 [...]
A Pilgrim’s Podvig: Part Ten
March 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Transition by Fr. John Whiteford As my doubts about Protestantism increased, I found myself in a very unpleasant situation. As an associate pastor, I had certain responsibilities, which included leading a small group on Sunday nights, and also occasionally preaching on Sunday morning. I continued to fulfill these duties, but was increasingly less convinced about [...]
A Pilgrim’s Podvig: Part One
February 18, 2013 By 1 Comment
by Fr. John Whiteford One of the more ironic moments of my life occurred on May 20th, 2007. I was standing in front of the Kremlin in Moscow. I was by then a priest, and so was attired accordingly in the typical black riassa, pectoral cross, and skufia of a Russian Priest. A family from [...]
No Cheap Grace
December 10, 2012 By 3 Comments
by Brigid Gavin Cheap Grace is the message of my “cradle” church, the one I grew up in, the Evangelical Christian Church. Back then it only took one prayer. One little “sinner’s” prayer and I was assured I was going to heaven. I was told, and I believed, that I was, “once saved always saved.” [...]
Circling the Airport
December 3, 2012 By 1 Comment
by Dylan and Margaret Jenkins 1996-1997: Unwitting Passengers Our journey to Orthodox Christianity began just prior to our marriage in June 1996 upon meeting Meg’s sister’s new boyfriend, John Oliver. John had a transformative experience at the Valaam Monastery two years earlier (documented in his book Touching Heaven) and had recently converted to Orthodoxy. John [...]
Sweet Home, Orthodoxy
November 27, 2012 By 1 Comment
by Seminarian Jesse Dominick I was raised as a non-denominational Evangelical Protestant in southern Pennsylvania. We were pretty conservative morally, and theologically in some ways — we believed firmly in the Trinity, the Virgin birth, that Christ is God, that Christ is sinless, etc — but we did not believe in liturgical worship, the sacraments, [...]
Why Do We Do What We Do?
November 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
by Doug Loss I was born into a religious family. Many of my relatives were active in the Evangelical United Brethren (EUB) church, as ministers and as laity. Albert Einstein once said, “What does a fish know about the water in which he swims all his life?” That’s pretty much how I viewed religion in [...]
From Russia With Love
November 19, 2012 By 3 Comments
by Gary Summers I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 My journey to Orthodoxy began about 12 years ago in St Petersburg, Russia. My wife and I were there in the process of adopting two children when I toured the ancient Orthodox cathedral of St [...]
Illuminated By Orthodoxy: From The Asian East to the Christian East
May 18, 2012 By 10 Comments
by Nektarios In the Name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God. Growing up I was raised no particular religion and like most modern American families, religion or spirituality in general never played a role in my life up to this particular point in my young life. My father [...]
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