Ortho Lounge

[Samseau]

Not everyone is like you, there would be no doubts triggered by the actions and words of an apostate.
You are a loser and you leave the One True Church defeated by the devil's arguments in your head. This is definitely not God's providence, it's the will of the devil for you. Go ahead, be an apostate. You can become "a leader" in a Roman Catholic parish all you want, it won't save you.

Don't use the word "loser," which is just a pointless insult. Just call him faithless, which is exactly what Christ would have done.

 

[TrainedLogosmotion]

Not everyone is like you, there would be no doubts triggered by the actions and words of an apostate.
You are a loser and you leave the One True Church defeated by the devil's arguments in your head. This is definitely not God's providence, it's the will of the devil for you. Go ahead, be an apostate. You can become "a leader" in a Roman Catholic parish all you want, it won't save you.

Man, you are so hateful. You have no idea what you're assuming about a stranger on the internet.

Congrats on becoming the first member I'll be ignoring.

 

[WoodArch4033]

I'm considering converting back to Catholicism.

Fr. Moses' message is to not convert just to a singular parish or canonical jurisdiction, but to follow Christ until the death no matter how narrow the truth gets, with the presupposition that Orthodox Christianity is the truth.

Today is the Sunday of the Samaritan woman, and Christ says in the Gospel "salvation is of the Jews" - the Church is the new Israel, and St. Paul warns the Romans that they could be cut off of the "tree" if they become arrogant, so make of that what you will.

One major difference between post schism Latins and the Orthodox is the view on grace. Fr. Seraphim Rose (he was an atheist until he began to continually seek the truth as a monastic, no money, no wife, but lots of grace and a brilliant mind) says in God's Revelation to The Human Heart that the focus on completion of obligations and externals in Latin theology is a replacement of the Holy Spirit - in other words the Bishops lost the grace of the Holy Spirit when they schismed and lied against Constantinople with lies and an actual forgery called the Donation of Constantine. Latins don't believe you experience God, they believe you experience "created grace" and Fr. Seraphim's anaylsis of this is that Rome is a religion of the mind only now, though God in His providence either draws back His lost sheep into the Orthodox fold, or as Fr. Seraphim says, gives them grace in spite of being outside the Church, and we leave judgement to the merciful God. Yes, we recognize that the world is horrible and the schism was horrifying, but it happened over centuries, and the laity of the west more or less let it happen to their own selves... this is the point Fr. Moses is getting at. And another put it perfectly with scripture "The kingdom of heaven is taken with force by those who are violent" that is, those who don't stop seeking, even when they feel like an atheist - And I believe you that you've tried very hard and yet feel like one. The worst thing we, who are mortal, can do on the paths to our deaths is give up, and even worse, notice that we are becoming prideful, but not ask God continually to save us from the foot of pride.

Martin Luther knew of Orthodoxy, yet he chose himself because of prelest, also, he was a big sinner but that's a different case. The Lutherans have "confession" but in a similar way, they eerily as a "church" recognize the total lack of grace by not doing any absolution, even though Christ promised His one Church that the apostolic ministers had power to bind and loose and be a conduit for the Holy Spirit to heal us. Christ is willing and even able to save all as the scriptures say, if only we don't give up, that's the caveat, and Judges 7:2, that's why many perish. I think that even the righteous praying for the dead is God's providence, He knew who would pray, wouldn't He? God knows our paths, and even if someone pulled a gun on you, God could jam the trigger if He knew He could save you, wouldn't He? But that doesn't mean all will be saved at all, despite Him desiring very much so.

I wish I knew your name, but I'm saying Lord have mercy for you regardless, because I know how hard it can get. We ALL need divine grace. I can't do anything on my own, brother. I know my memory is bad because I'm going through a very harsh time, and I know Orthodoxy is true, so even when I feel the closest I've ever been to feeling atheist, I know God is real, I just know I've tasted His beloved grace - and He is not the God of confusion. Furthermore, if He is real, He has a plan for us all, so who am I to step aside? But maybe, if He sees He can redeem evil to good, He lets us become lost for a little while. But the tomb is empty, brother, no doubt about it, and the world is against us, no doubt about it, but what mortal can stand against Christ and His love for us? None. Please, whatever you do, don't give up. And take a hike every so often, know thyself.

If you ever feel better about it, always remember to set reading the scriptures and gospels, and the lives of saints, every day, as a priority.

 

[Unending Powerhouse Match]

I'm a new convert so I still have a lot of questions. I think my priest is very busy at the moment so I'll ask this one here. What is the correct way to pray for your heterodox family members, both living and deceased? What prayers should I pray for my living heterodox relatives? Is it allowed to pray for deceased heterodox Christians? I think I heard that it's not allowed but you can give alms in their name. I'd highly appreciate some clarification on this, if someone has the time. This might be worth its own thread, I don't know.

 

[Iacobus]

What is the correct way to pray for your heterodox family members, both living and deceased?

With your whole heart!

 

[Lawrence87]

I'm a new convert so I still have a lot of questions. I think my priest is very busy at the moment so I'll ask this one here. What is the correct way to pray for your heterodox family members, both living and deceased? What prayers should I pray for my living heterodox relatives? Is it allowed to pray for deceased heterodox Christians? I think I heard that it's not allowed but you can give alms in their name. I'd highly appreciate some clarification on this, if someone has the time. This might be worth its own thread, I don't know.

You can pray for them in your own prayers and you absolutely should!

The misunderstanding probably comes from the fact that Orthodox churches do not commemorate non Orthodox in the Liturgy. You know the slips of paper that people write names on? You should only write Orthodox names on those. In your private prayers you can pray for anyone however you wish, for example you can say "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on Thy servant [name]" or "Lord Jesus Christ repose Thy servant [name]" for the deceased

 

[Samseau]

I don't consider this big enough to be in the news section, yet I wanted to share this:

Orthodox patriarchate removed from Ukraine statement after Turkey protests

Ukraine and Switzerland release new list of signatories to peace communique after Ankara asked for explanation

www.middleeasteye.net

Orthodox patriarchate removed from Ukraine statement after Turkey protests​

The organisers of the Ukraine peace summit, held earlier this month in Switzerland, have removed the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Eastern Orthodox Church from the list of signatories following protests from Turkey.

Despite Patriarch Bartholomew attending the summit, which took place on 15-16 June, only as an observer, his signature on the communique sparked outrage in Turkey several days after the conclusion of the conference.

Numerous opposition publications labelled the incident as "scandalous", claiming it violated Turkish sovereignty and the Lausanne Treaty, even while Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was in attendance.

As ecumenical patriarch, Bartholomew is considered by many as the head of the Orthodox Church. The patriarchate is based in Istanbul, where it was founded in the fourth century, when the city was known as Constantinople.

However, Ankara does not recognise the patriarchate's "ecumenical" title under the Lausanne Treaty, which recognised the sovereignty and the boundaries of the modern state of Turkey.

Never thought I'd be cheering on Turkey to stand up to the clown puppet Patriarch in Constantinople. This guy spends more time in politics than actually tending to the Church.

 

[analyst_green]

I don't consider this big enough to be in the news section, yet I wanted to share this:

Orthodox patriarchate removed from Ukraine statement after Turkey protests

Ukraine and Switzerland release new list of signatories to peace communique after Ankara asked for explanation

www.middleeasteye.net

Orthodox patriarchate removed from Ukraine statement after Turkey protests​

Never thought I'd be cheering on Turkey to stand up to the clown puppet Patriarch in Constantinople. This guy spends more time in politics than actually tending to the Church.

God certainly works in mysterious ways. When the Jews, who had the Law and the Truth, wanted to kill Christ, God worked through the pagan Pontius Pilate to point out their hypocrisy and iniquity.