r/OrthodoxChristianity

this might be a dumb question but i’m curious..

i often see that orthodox christians and catholics treat each other with so much love, getting along better than other branches of christianity. idk if im making myself easy to understand 😭

is it a history thing? or is it that we share more practices in common? or neither?

Hello y'all!

I'm an orthodox catechumen and have been wondering about wearing a veil. I'm coming out of a church group/denomination/low level cult where my mother was very insistent that all women should be wearing a head covering even though it's not a salvational issue. I was pressured very deeply and told that if I did end up starting to wear one but then stopped it would be very very bad, worse than not choosing to.

So, along with talking to different women in my parish, I would like to know why you wear one or not?

please, asking very nicely and gently, I ask for no one to preach at me. I have a very competent husband and a wonderful Priest I can go to for that. Thank you!

Does anyone else here struggle with Emetophobia?

I am newly baptized, and so happy to be home ☦️. But I must admit I struggle very much with the idea of the shared spoon.

Now, before I continue, let me clarify a couple things because I know people will ask or suggest this: yes, I have talked to my priest, and yes, I understand the body and blood of Christ will not make you sick. I understand this on a spiritual level. But my flesh is still afraid.

My phobias hold me back very much from living my life. But, it’s as I told my priest, I wouldn’t be taking the Eucharist if I didn’t believe in it. I believe. I take it with shaking hands and a racing heart, while trying to silence my fears.

I guess my question is, does anyone else have this struggle? Has anyone gotten sick and known it came from the shared spoon? Any practical advice? My priest has allowed me to not close my mouth around the spoon, so this helps, and I’m grateful for his compassion.

Thank you. Please be kind.

I am afraid to sleep cause i might die and go to hell. I am so stupid and prideful. I wish i ciuld turn back time before having a hardened heart

Hello everyone, I know there are likely a good number of these posts on this subreddit but we could really use some advice for this situation. TLDR at the bottom. Thank you all for your help!

My partner and I attend a very reverent Roman Catholic parish run by a traditional, albeit new, holy order. We sing in Latin, have an organ, receive the Eucharist on the tongue at a communion rail, begin and end each Mass with silent prayer, attend confession 1-2 times a month, etc. We were both raised Roman Catholic, but we were away from the faith for a few years, during which we got civilly married. We returned when we realized we wanted to raise our children as Christians, so now we are preparing to be married in the Catholic Church. As part of our marriage preparations we are required to attend a weekend marriage retreat led by the Archdiocese. This retreat has shaken our faith beyond measure.

Most of the retreat was listening to very tear-filled Protestant-y “Jesus loves you” testimonies from lay people (this is fine I suppose, we can’t expect every parishioner to act exactly like us right?). It was very surface level, lacked any real theology, and didn’t really involve any clergy, but it was more annoying and boring than problematic. There was one instance during a very short Adoration session where a Priest felt the need to joke about sex and giving people the middle finger while in the presence of the Eucharist, but at least it didn’t last long and we could somewhat ignore it. However, the weekend concluded with a Mass that has us questioning the faith entirely.

The Mass was extremely lacking in reverence. There was a band playing very Protestant-y songs (yes, I am aware that the majority of the hymns the Catholic Church uses were written by Protestants - our parish usually dresses them up a bit). The announcements were given at the beginning of the Mass, and we can only assume that is because everyone left immediately after the conclusion of the service. After the procession the priest joked and spoke candidly from the altar to the congregation (not even about the retreat, it was addressed to the normal attendees so I have to imagine this is a common occurrence). This all culminated in an extremely loud drum solo during the consecration of the Holy Sacrament, during which I almost left the service altogether from disgust. We were the only people to kneel and pray following the conclusion of the service - the rest of the congregation clapped as they rushed the doors to leave. Afterwards we overheard fellow retreat attendees talking about how beautiful the Mass was.

The thing is, this is what our Archdiocese decided we NEEDED to witness before our marriage. This was an expensive retreat with a big budget - it could have been a life changing experience for us, filled with reverence and attendance from clergy. Instead we got a retreat indistinguishable from any non-denominational Sunday afternoon - and they’re proud of it! Is this really all there is to Catholicism? As laypeople, it seems like the way we interact with the religion is only sixty years old - we attend a service designed (with input from Protestants) in the 1960s, singing songs written by Protestants from the 1960s. I knew these problems ran rampant immediately following Vatican II, but I was told the situation was improving - instead the Archdiocese held our eyes open and made us learn in horror that these problems still persist and are even encouraged. And we are expected to accept this as normal?

Now I won’t lie, I am aware of the doctrinal differences between Catholicism and Orthodoxy. I know about issues like the Filioque, Papacy, and Papal Infallibility. I tend to agree with the Orthodox takes on these issues, as does my wife (from our admittedly limited knowledge). I, perhaps foolishly, chose to ignore them for the sake of comfort - we love our individual parish after all, and it’s so comfortable. But that’s what makes this so difficult - we have attended a Divine Liturgy and it feels so foreign. It’s scary and we don’t know what’s going on. We don’t understand anything. The thought of having to convert is also terrifying, as we’d love to start our family soon. But can we really bury our heads in the sand and return to our old Catholic parish, pretending everything is fine?

Any advice here would be greatly appreciated. We are scared and confused, but we are determined to find the truth. Thank you.

TLDR: Partner and I attended a mandatory Catholic retreat and endured a weekend totally lacking in reverence. We doubt the Catholic Church and its ability to safeguard the truth, however we are terrified of leaving and joining the extremely foreign Orthodox Church. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I got anxious about some problems I'm having in life it's no excuse but I started shoplifting because of it and I got caught I'm terrified and panicking please pray nothing comes of it I know it's a strange thing to ask but I'm genuinely sorry and I made a vow to God that I would never do it again

Where I live, there are not many options within the Church (to be honest, there have been no options at all for a long time). I'm considering being open to finding someone outside of the Church and seeing how it goes. I know that the Church says that finding an Orthodox spouse is preferable. I could just wait and see what happens, but in my experience, this wait can take years, and after some time you will see your friends marrying and having children while you are alone waiting for the right person.

I no longer listen to Ruslan, Driscoll, Allen Parr, and company.

I didn’t realize how trend heavy nondenom Christianity was until I stepped out. All these pastors and speakers within that movement look like they should be working at a sneaker store in soho New York.

The nondenom leadership world is very trendy and hip. It is almost as if they try to accommodate the American dream with their faith.

I never realized this until I stepped out. I also didn’t realize how much emphasis is put on the pastor and his “vision”. This is one reason I think so many of them get burned out. Now that I’m no longer nondenom, I see things I never saw before.

Here is a natural English translation of your question:

“‘The first man Adam became a living being,’ and ‘the last Adam became a life-giving spirit’ (1 Corinthians 15:45).

Also, in Romans 5:14, Adam is described as a pattern of the one to come.

Since Adam is the ancestor of all humanity, why is there no title such as ‘the God of Adam’ in the Bible?

Christ is Risen!

Sorry to bother you all again, but I'd like to ask for your prayers. I have a bone infection in my jaw (plus some other dental issues) which will necessitate surgery and lots of money. It will be a long process. I tend to fixate on things that make me anxious, when all I need to do is pray and trust that God will take care of me, but that's still hard for me. I would appreciate any prayers you feel led to make on my behalf.

Thank you!

I am a born and raised Protestant, primarily Baptist in my adult life. But I’ve been reading and learning about Orthodoxy, and took the advice of everything I’ve read. Last Sunday my family and I attended our first Divine Liturgy.

It was a great experience. I was prepared for what would be different, yet it still held many surprises. It was a beautiful experience. If anything was surprising, it was that the priest asked everyone to sit from time to time (though I suppose that is not unusual for the Greek Orthodox).

Perhaps the biggest surprise was just how much my oldest son enjoyed it. He seemed really touched. And was the most eager to do the sign of the cross whenever he noticed others doing the same. My youngest is not on the spectrum—but gosh, he’s as close as one could get otherwise. And he was restless and a bit fussy. But everyone was super kind, welcoming, and friendly in the best of ways.

At the end, we were invited to have lunch with them. The priest and his wife joined us, as did some other members of the church. The priest also gave me some books I have not read, which I thought was super kind and I appreciate it very much. I am partly through the first of these already.

All in all, I hope this might encourage others curious about the orthodox faith to attend their first Divine Liturgy. It truly was beautiful, and not all manipulative or “foreign.” The priest read scripture (in both English and Greek), and everything was focused on Jesus—just as service at my home church would be. But the reverence and depth took on new life, and that was something that really resonates with me.

10/10. Would recommend. And I look forward to learning more about Orthodoxy and becoming even more familiar with regular attendance at Divine Liturgy.

I'm so happy to be orthodox now, me and +6 cathecumens in my parish in Curitiba received the sacraments yesterday by the hands of Bishop Damaskinos and Bishop Mussa, both from São Paulo.

https://reddit.com/link/1sqrly7/video/qrhiqkqczcwg1/player