by Michael Fiocca The Way We Are Meant to Be “The person who loves God values knowledge of God more than anything created by God, and pursues such knowledge ardently and ceaselessly.” -Saint Maximos the Confessor When we speak of something as being generic, it often stirs up thoughts of a product being “mediocre” or “less reliable.” I admit that I find my generic paper-towels to be less easy to rip, my generic bread crumbs to require some more spices, and my generic phone charger to burn out too quickly. In the same way, I found my generic form of faith and spirituality to be quickly running dry and barren. Like a brand name, it did … [Read more...]
I was a Catholic Priest: The Story of Fr. John Tanveer
March 7, 2018 By 4 Comments
by Fr. John Tanveer I was a Catholic priest. I was waiting for the opportunity to convert to Orthodoxy for fifteen years, and the opportunity to become an Orthodox priest - three more years. The Lord felt my desire. I belonged to the Catholic community and entered the seminary in 1974, and four years later I continued my studies at another institute, studied Holy Scripture, church and civil law, church history and ethics for six more years. I remember how I prayed: "Lord, you are my Father, if I am worthy to be a priest, Your servant, please grant me the courage to serve You and Your people." My journey to Orthodoxy began in 1990. … [Read more...]
Student of Pope Benedict XVI Converts to Orthodoxy, Starts Monastery in Swiss Alps
November 1, 2017 By 2 Comments
Enjoy this video and interview about Fr. Gabriel Bunge, patristics scholar and convert from the Roman Catholicism to the Orthodox Church. Fr. Gabriel Bunge was born in 1940 in Cologne, Germany, to a Lutheran father and a Catholic mother. At the age of twenty-two he entered the Benedictine Order in France; he was ordained to the priesthood in 1972. He has dedicated many years to the study of the works of Evagrius Ponticus. Since 1980 he has lived in the Skete of the Holy Cross in the Swiss canton of Ticino, where he follows the ancient Rule of St. Benedict. He was received into the Orthodox Church in 2010. His books in English translation … [Read more...]
The Long Journey of a Swiss Catholic to Orthodoxy
July 13, 2017 By 1 Comment
Pierre Haab, a Swiss former Catholic who was disappointed with his religion and was carried away by Buddhism, Hinduism and other screamingly “fashionable” Eastern teachings and who is now a subdeacon of the Orthodox Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross in Geneva, speaks about his conversion to Orthodoxy. by Aviv Saliu-Diallo —Can you tell us a few words about your family, education and the story of your conversion to the Orthodox faith? I was born in an under-developed, impoverished, hungry country where the sky is permanently overcast with dark clouds—of course, in the spiritual sense. I am speaking of Switzerland, and especially of … [Read more...]