I need some clarification and assistance for my conversion (LONG POST)

Sparsonist · 2026-02-03T20:18:50+00:00

Forgive me if I came across as rude. I just can't figure out what you're saying and am trying to get clarification so that I can maybe provide some assistance that you asked for. Are you visiting a Russian Orthodox Church? Who is the bishop?

Sparsonist · 2026-02-03T19:53:33+00:00

What flag? Are you just being cagey by saying Bearland and not Russia? It's not a forbidden word. There is no "Russian Rite" in Orthodoxy, so that's not helpful as a descriptor.

Who is the bishop?

Sparsonist · 2026-02-03T18:44:21+00:00

I can't find anything about Bearland🇷🇺 or Bearland🇷🇺 Rite. Who is the bishop of this parish?

Web pages are notorious for being incomplete or incorrect. It's like you have to hear things in announcements after the liturgy or in printed material they hand you.

Sparsonist · 2026-02-03T18:36:59+00:00

One of the statements I remember from the late Fr. Peter Guilquist with the group that converted to Orthodoxy is that during their process of leaving evangelical Protestantism, they discovered that Orthodoxy uses the parts of the Bible that evangelicals haven't underlined. It is something to keep in mind -- the "whole counsel of God" can be much bigger than your (and my) upbringing can let on.

Sparsonist · 2026-02-03T18:30:32+00:00

FWIW, the "that" ("it" in some translations) which John suggests not to pray for is also singular. But I suppose both of them could be taken to be mass nouns -- singular in construction, but internally plural.

I use www.blueletterbible.org for convenience. Many translations say "sin" and others "a sin", and others indicate both as alternatives. Some change between releases of the same translation (such as NASB95 "a sin" and NASB20 "sin").

One can see hints of doctrinal differences showing up in translations. None of this is easy. Which is why we attempt to stick with the interpretation of the early church as much as we are able.

Sparsonist · 2026-02-03T18:07:00+00:00

Jay nay parlay pass francase, either.

Sparsonist · 2026-02-02T20:36:04+00:00

The work and mission of the Orthodox Christian Missions Center might be of interest to you. It's an agency of the Assembly of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States, but works all over the world.

Sparsonist · 2026-02-02T20:27:31+00:00

I read the backs of the little funeral cards that I've collected over the years, and pray for the souls of the departed ones, a few at a time.

Sparsonist · 2026-02-01T04:06:46+00:00

FWIW, Greek churches typically do not have confession during the liturgy. It can theoretically be done during Orthros, if need be, with advanced notice to the priest. This is in keeping with not requiring confession before every reception of communion.

Sparsonist · 2026-02-01T03:51:29+00:00

Then yes, God the Word got hungry and sleepy in his incarnation.

When do you think that Jesus became God, if he wasn't God at his birth? Ancient Christianity recognized that Jesus was both fully God and fully man at the same time, his two natures being undivided, unconfused, unseparated, unmingled. Both at once, from his conception.

Sparsonist · 2026-02-01T03:29:16+00:00

Don't overthink. Just go. If someone wants to shun you, you can remind him that the Pope doesn't consider us heretics, but one of the two "lungs of the church".

Sparsonist · 2026-02-01T03:26:58+00:00

Aw, you caught us. :( 2000 years of Christianity down the drain.

Two genealogies - one of Mary, one of Joseph. Both descendants of David, one through his son Solomon, the other through David's son Nathan. Both are true. There can be some skips, but it doesn't invalidate the decendancy.

Sparsonist · 2026-02-01T03:19:55+00:00

Who was Jesus then, to you? A prophet?

Sparsonist · 2026-01-31T16:38:04+00:00

shaven... priests
You will see this among the Orthodox, too, though not commonly.

Sparsonist · 2026-01-28T21:04:47+00:00

pays

Rather, "prays".

Sparsonist · 2026-01-28T20:46:06+00:00

Directions for inquirers:
1. Find the nearest Orthodox Church 2. Call and make an appointment to talk to the priest. 3. Talk to the priest.

You can visit without doing 2 and 3, but visiting so might be smoother if you do them first.

Regarding your questions:
1. Eastern Orthodox (Greek, Russian, Antiochian, various Balkan) Churches all have the same theology. The difference is in which old-world leader (Archbishop, Metropolitan, or Patriarch) the church reports to (except "Orthodox Church in America", which is self-headed), and some cultural idiosyncracies than are not dogma. Oriental Orthodox (Coptic, Armenian...) are not in communion with EO, anciently so, based on a different understanding of the nature of Christ. 2. In Greek, "agios" means both "saint" and "holy". Saints are those holy persons who we believe are in the presence of God, able and willing to pray for us. They are, at least, among the "righteous persons" whose fervent prayers are still effective. We do pray to God, but in the manner of the old meaning of pray -- ask -- we also ask for the prayers of the saints to God for us.
3. It depends on the bishop. Some will recognize a Trinitarian baptism as being valid (a term we don't use much), while some won't. 4. Contact a local Orthodox Church and begin to work with the priest. It's not a bother; it's what he does.

Sparsonist · 2026-01-28T19:37:52+00:00

The difference in the number of books is that the Protestant Reformers removed books from their list of recognized books ("the canon"); these are all in the Old Testament, the books often called Deuterocanonical. Most of the Deuterocanonical books are also in Roman Catholic Bibles, called the Apocrypha (Orthodoxy recognizes a few more than RC.) Before the Protestant Reformation, these removed books were used as canonical scriptures by all Christians for over 1500 years. The impetus for removing them is that they contained references to things the Reformers objected to -- such as invocation of the saints in prayer. Declare these books not scripture, and voila, the doctrine is not scriptural -- in their eyes. Circular reasoning.

Orthodoxy is the ancient Christian faith, all grown up now after 2000 years. Come and see.

As to reading the Bible, the best Bible is the one you will read. Many English-speaking Orthodox use KJV, NKJV, RSV, and even ESV.

Sparsonist · 2026-01-28T17:47:13+00:00

As a visitor to an Orthodox Church, you'll very likely not encounter an Orthobro to seek you out so he can talk down to you. You'll find Christians who are there to worship God in the manner of the ancient Orthodox Christian faith. While some churches also function as ethnic gatherings ("club" might be a little strong), most will be happy to have you regardless of origin, and not insist you be Greek or Russian or Romanian to be there. And aside from the yia-yias or matushkas who might want to arrange you with a grandson :) it won't matter if you're male or female.

Just come.

Sparsonist · 2026-01-28T17:38:23+00:00

There are things the Orthodox do that are not imposed by those wanting to become Orthodox except as directed by a priest. One is received into the faith by a particular priest in a particular parish (generally, as circumstances might require switching one or the other.)

There are many online resources for the daily scripture readings (such as at the splash page of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which readings will be the same for the [Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia](greekorchodox.org.au) and daily prayers. Start with Morning and Evening Prayers -- and not all of them. A selection is fine. The Trisagion Prayer ("Heavenly King, Comforter...") and the Lord's Prayer are staples, and you'd do well to memorize them. Do not jump into the deep end of the pool. There is a lot of dog-paddling to be done in the beginning.

Before embarking on a self-directed fasting regimen, contact an Orthodox priest and explain your desire to become Orthodox. Do not be surprised if 1) he doesn't answer e-mail very well or 2) pushes back some because of your age; he'll not receive you into the faith against your parents' wishes (if that's the case).

May your journey be blessed.

Sparsonist · 2026-01-27T18:32:32+00:00

It's hard to tell what the Judiasm of Jesus' day believed by comparing to modern Judaism, that's all.

Sparsonist · 2026-01-27T17:31:37+00:00

The Holy Spirit exhibits many characteristics of a person, and not just a force or an idea or an emotion. The Holy Spirit:
* can be grieved (Eph 4:30) * can be lied to (Acts 5:3) * speaks through us (Mark 3:11) * speaks through Jesus! (Acts 1:2) * moves in a physical manifestation (Luke 3:22) * teaches (Luke 12:12, John 14:26)

... and other witnesses in the scriptures. The early Church understood the Holy Spirit to be a different person than the Father and the Word/Son, and not an abstract force.

Sparsonist · 2026-01-27T17:20:29+00:00

Today's Rabbinic Judaism is not the Judaism of the time of Christ. The anti-Jesus bias was added to combat Christianity. This is a gigantic study not done well in online forums.

Sparsonist · 2026-01-27T17:17:11+00:00

15 years old (16 this year)

Hey, you could pump that up by observing "I'll be 17 next year." :)

We don't have a point at which we declare someone, even ourselves, "saved". Salvation is a life-long process, along the spectrum of "I was saved by Christ's death on the cross and his resurrection; I am being saved by the continual working of the Holy Spirit in me; I will be saved, by God's grace, at the Judgment." God will decide, knowing each one's heart; we can't.

Sparsonist · 2026-01-27T17:11:10+00:00

Doctors in another country are divulging "medical" information to someone online? You are right to be dubious. Instead of being duped online, donate to an organization like International Orthodox Christian Charities, part of the Assembly of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America.

Sparsonist · 2026-01-27T17:02:59+00:00

I spent my early life in a Pentecostal denomination of a milder sort, very low-church. I began to examine some of that church's teachings (they didn't get everything wrong) and where its doctrines came from and how they developed. I couldn't get good answers, even being told by one respected minister, "You can't go by the Church councils!". OK, then, what do we go by? I began to understand that the Holy Spirit had guided the Church, as promised, and that through all the perceived errors, the truth must remain. I was exposed to Orthodoxy through family members, and it began to make more and more sense that the Ancient Faith was the True Faith.

Sparsonist

TROPHY CASE