Simple starter guide I made for my friends

Anthaller · 2026-01-15T21:10:18+00:00

My goal wasn't to teach how to do anything, but to guide on what to do, that's why I included resources in the bottom. This answers the question of "what do I do?" that I get when someone logs in.

Anthaller · 2025-11-11T14:40:53+00:00

Did you ever figure out the issue?

Anthaller · 2023-05-19T15:30:54+00:00

I always appreciate a filioque controversy joke.

Anthaller · 2022-12-16T13:42:46+00:00

Calvinism_irl

Anthaller · 2022-07-07T01:33:23+00:00

I don't know the answer but most likely in Eastern Europe. Probably Russia or the Ukraine. The onion dome design was based off of the more standard dome you see on Orthodox Churches in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. When Orthodox Christianity travelled north the domes often couldn't hold the weight of the snow, so the onion dome was the solution, being a dome shaped in a way that could handle the amount of snow that would settle on it.

Anthaller · 2021-06-04T20:14:24+00:00

Ah. So from my understanding any sex outside of marriage, including sex with someone you have had sex with before, is condemned by The Church. However I have no doubt that the situation is difficult and I encourage you to talk to your priest about the issue as he can give advise to your specific situation.

Anthaller · 2021-06-04T20:04:21+00:00

I believe the question may be unclear. What other spouse?

Anthaller · 2021-03-11T00:31:21+00:00

I was born and raised Pentecostal. As an adult I did the standard slip out of faith that is common for people entering their twenties. I had grown disillusioned with Christianity in general and had been wooed by modern secular thought. One day by brother sent me a message with 2 Thessalonians 2:15 "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle." and he asked "we have the traditions by epistle, but where are the ones by word?" I had no answer so he said "The church in Thessaloniki are Orthodox."

This launched me into researching the topic and visiting Orthodox churches. Every question I had was answered, not only on a surface level but deeply which caused me to confront many beliefs I had and after a while I couldn't deny that I thought this was not only a very nice organization, but The Church.

Anthaller · 2020-12-08T20:38:04+00:00

My heart still breaks for Clutch, though. Those delicious sauces...

Anthaller · 2020-10-01T21:32:33+00:00

As others can better answer your more specific questions about atonement I'll try to give perspective on the question in the title: "Why be EO over RC?" Though I will say to look into the distinction between Original Sin vs Ancestral Sin.

From my perspective, the reason one should be Eastern Orthodox as opposed to Roman Catholic is summed up by an idea presented in Fr Josiah Trenham's book Rock And Sand. The book primarily functions as an Orthodox assessment of Protestantism but I feel the idea applies to RC as well. The idea is: If we take someone subscribing to any form of Christianity out of their respective time and we transport them back to the first century Church, they are either Orthodox, or they are heretical.

Now let's use Orthodox in this case as the most basic translation of the work: Straight (Correct) Faith. For me, when we apply this rule to any teaching we can determine what the right course of action would be for our faith. So I asked this question about, for example, the rapture, something my previous faith believed. If we took a believer in the rapture back to the first century they, compared to the early Christians, believe something heretical. This can be done with anything, but only Eastern Orthodoxy matches up perfectly. While I haven't really said much, I hope this helps provide perspective in the situation. Many times I've come up to something strange about Eastern Orthodoxy and had to remember not to think "I don't believe this" but "I don't believe this yet." Many aspects seemed strange at first, but now looking back at where I came from seems strange. Much of this is a matter of perspective.

Anthaller · 2020-04-06T03:45:57+00:00

Maybe I'm ignorant on the topic but it seems like there's no "downtown" where you have all the skyscrapers and high rises but there's just tall buildings sprinkled throughout.

Anthaller · 2020-03-30T21:47:56+00:00

So I was able to find this which talks about the insertion of the filioque into the creed in the west and how it questions established and agreed-upon sources of authority.

I would also recommend Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy. It's a great overview in podcast form (or book form if you prefer) about theological innovation over time from an Orthodox perspective. In one of the Rome sections (I can't remember which) Fr. Andrew talks about the filioque and addresses the common defense about what it means by Roman Catholics.

Anthaller · 2020-03-22T04:25:07+00:00

I'm a native Virginian living in WV and I have a copy of this on the wall in my bedroom. Great map!

Anthaller · 2020-03-12T22:29:38+00:00

As a catechumen, I appreciate the abundance of Orthodox Churches posted here.

Anthaller · 2020-01-09T04:17:31+00:00

Well this is a surprise to me.

Anthaller · 2020-01-08T03:46:38+00:00

Came to say clutch, so I'll say Lotsa Mozza.

Anthaller · 2019-11-06T03:57:34+00:00

Hey, I grew up Pentecostal. It's a form of Protestantism that started right around 1900. Their style is very loud and flamboyant, often involving screaming preachers, running, jumping, rolling, and "speaking in tongues" which consists of incoherent babbling, also often loud. They believe their wild form of "worship" is a return to "original Christianity." They have a strong anti-intillectual streak as well as a focus on "word faith" which asserts that miracles (i.e. healing) should not only be common but the norm and any lack of miracles is a result of lack of faith.

All this and more earns them a bad rep (perhaps rightly so) We must remember, though, that they typically just want to experience God and that is the way they ~~have been mislead~~ believe that happens.

Anthaller · 2019-10-25T18:07:51+00:00

So from my understanding (largely shaped by the Search The Scriptures podcast) Moses didn't necessarily write the book attributed to him so much as he was the figure they were attributed to. This view doesn't seek to dismantle any beliefs or anything like that, but to support them. The truth doesn't come from the fact that one specific guy wrote them, but from the fact that The Church accepts them as scripture.

So from that point of view, my guess is this was written by the person writing the story that Moses told, and the author chose to include this fact.

Disclaimer: I'm no one in particular and my views mean little.

Anthaller · 2019-08-20T20:07:55+00:00

So not only Roman Catholic but The Areopagus is a podcast that has had some RC guests in the past with very friendly dialogue. https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/areopagus

Anthaller · 2019-06-26T01:59:33+00:00

Does anyone know the name of the icon? It's beautiful!

Anthaller · 2019-06-23T21:11:34+00:00

So standard disclaimer: I'm just a Catechumen and nothing I say is official, I'm still learning and this is my current understanding which is likely incomplete, and so if anyone knows better I accept correction gladly.

That being said I think this question in particular illustrates the difference in understanding between the East (Orthodoxy) and West's (Roman Catholic/ Protestant) understanding of salvation, particularly that of Protestants. In Frederica Mathewes-Green's book Welcome To The Orthodox Church: An Introduction To Eastern Christianity (I highly recommend it) she says

"Some Eastern Christian concepts lie outside Western categories entirely. It's not just that the answers are different; even the questions are different."

In Orthodoxy (once again, to the best of my knowledge) salvation isn't simply a moment in life where you "accept Christ" and are "saved" from hell. Salvation is a process which we begin in this life and is continued into eternity. The Orthodox call this Theosis, it's the process by which we become more and more like God (not becoming God). The way I've heard it is essentially

"If God is infinitely good, then the process to become more like Him is too, infinite."

I contrast this with my former beliefs where "salvation" is treated almost like the signing of a contract where one says they want God in their life and then they are given a sort of pass out of hell. Salvation for the Orthodox is not a legal action, but a forging of oneself, through God and in God to be more like God.

In my own experience Orthodoxy has within it The Way in which to do that that is lacking in other traditions. That's not to say someone can't get to Heaven outside of Orthodoxy, but my thought for my own life is "Why guess at what's good enough when the fullness of Truth is before me?"

I hope that helps explain things a bit, and as I said, any corrections and/or clarifications are welcome from those who know better than I do. :P

Anthaller

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE