Excellent! I was a lifelong protestant and have been Orthodox for 7 Years and what a blessing this life is. God is so GOOD! May this ministry and Fr. Freeman be blessed beyond measure.
The Cappadocian Fathers + Lossky was exactly the same path to Orthodoxy from The RCC. As a Traditional Irish Catholic I went East, and came home. The Church in Rome is no longer the Church of Rome.
A very interesting video. I was a very active member of an Anglican Church (Reformed Episcopal), until the parish had to close, because of dwindling members. I was looking for a new church and had a conversation with my former priest. Through him telling me that the Orthodox Church was where I needed to be, I contacted the local Greek Orthodox Church and began meeting with the priest and attending the Divine Liturgy. After a short time of intense study, I was Chrismated. The road to Orthodoxy has been rewarding, beyond my comprehension.
I related to Father Freeman’s gradual adoption of Orthodoxy and Orthodox thought. As I have been learning about Orthodoxy lately, I have been picking up little things here and there and feeling like they are bringing me closer to Christ. God be praised 🙂
Everyones journey to the God is different, but the more you pray and seek the truth, the more God will put the right persons in your life or give you the experiences needed to get you closer. God sees your heart and will guide you accordingly and attentively like a Father that He is. Orthodoxy is a way of life more than anything else, is to let go of the old man (self=ego, passions) and rebuild yourself in the image of Christ. The journey is not always easy, but is necessary. God bless from an Romanian Orthodox.
Blessings from a Greek-Australian Orthodox Christian. Born into the faith and have never looked back. It has remained true to its original doctrines, teachings and practices. God bless all! 🙏🏻 🇦🇺
There is really only one right answer to this question, and it is the same for all of us. It isn't our searching that brought us in, it is the 'drawing' Christ referred to when he said, "No one comes to Me unless the Father draws him". Now I know this verse has been heavily misused in the West to refer to predestination, and even a particularly dark form of it, but the Orthodox understanding is different. It has little or nothing to do with predestination and everything to do coming to the Church itself being the generosity of the Father. His generosity even triumphs over our own wills.
It is truly astonishing and deeply moving reading comments of people who convert to Orthodoxy. Θαυμάζω την αγνότητα στην όψη και στον λόγο του Πατέρα Στεφάνου Συγχαρητήρια για την εξαιρετική δουλειά,συνεχίστε έτσι!!
Fr. Stephen was obviously "struck" by His right hand and thank God he conveys this wholehearted hombleness and submission and spreading love. Thank you very much. I was really moved. Christ is risen! Greetings from Thessaloniki, Greece.
Formally Im a Traditional Catholic, but deep inside Im a Orthodox. Many thinking and soul searching Catholics are. Even Rome knows that Constantinople is the centre of God.
@jimeas popoloiv After what Constantinople did in Ukraine, Moscow would not agree that "Constantinople is the center of God"! More and more Orthodox Sees around the world are speaking out against what Constantinople did, too. He (the EC) really did give a lot of aid and comfort to schismatics who are still every bit as far away from Orthodoxy as any other schismatics.
@@SpectatorAlius i think he means that Constantinopole is the center of orthodoxy in the aspect of the ancient church that is still alive in our liturgies. Bartholomaios is not the boss of eastern cristianity. He made the biggest mistake ever!! But the church is us and we do not agree with his policies.
@@despinasarra3101 First of all, that is pretty far from his actual words. But more importantly, it still doesn't make much sense. Jerusalem was already contributing to our Orthodox Liturgies long before Constantinople.
Orthodoxy teaches us the following: God is Invisible Incomprehensible Ineffable Inconceivable yet The Every Existing And Essentially The SAME!!! And yes you can know God in as much as a human can understand it!!! Yet you are still going to be surprised every now & then as to The Way God May choose to do things! But one thing for sure is that those who are closer to HIM, although they may not understand completely as to what God is doing initially, you LEARN to COMPLETELY TRUST HIM!!! And in due time, and sometimes after the fact we learn more as to why God worked in the way HE did!!!
Thank you for this video Father Stephen it inspired me. I converted to Orthodoxy in 1987 coming from a Protest church. The beginning was very difficult the Sunday services was in the Greek language, I carried on and I start reading books of the Fathers of the Church. Then a later stage we had a book of Divine Liturgy in English then I felt I belong here. I found my happiness in reading books over the years Glory to God. For a couple of years know I'm listening to Orthodox speeches on the Internet and last year 2019 I found the Speeches of Father Stephen and I'm so, so happy. May Father Stephen continue with the great teachings of Orthodoxy .
Christ is risen!!! I am thankful for your videos, as a Protestant starting to convert I devour almost all things Orthodoxy, so I thank you for your time and effort into educating a humble believer of the TRUE church!!! Kyrie Eleison!!!
@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr"That's not how the Force works" From a galaxy far far away. Humour aside , that's not the case. Only God knows our hearts, knows the truth as a whole and can decide. We simply cannot because of the limitations of our logical interpretations.
Othodoxy simply put is a window through which you can get a glimpse of the Divine. And it is for the illiterate as well as the educated. Orthodoxy places faith above human logic and human education.
Tyxikos Gatopoulos I am just a struggling sinner. Through your humble prayers I may grow in my faith. Thank you my friend. God bless you and your family.
I am reading this in January 2022. Fr. Stephen was my priest in his first Episcopal Church. I am now attending Nativity of the Holy Virgin OCA church with Fr Bill Mills, a priest Fr. Stephen introduced me to twenty years ago. I just retired myself as an Episcopal priest and am listening to God's leading. Thank you for your interiews.
Thank you Herman Middleton for making so many incredible videos for those of us thirsting for more Orthodox understanding! God bless you for what you are doing.
Fr Stephen Freeman's podcast for AFR was of great assistance to me as I moved from being a rather dispirited Roman Catholic to being chrismated into Orthodox Christianity 11 years ago. I often repeat the prayerful exclamation "Glory to God for all things"!
So Appreciative and thankful for your channel! My husband & I Were received into the church June 5, 2022. Two of our 3 grown children introduced us to Orthodoxy & were received in 2021. Rejoice with us as we also ask for 🙏for other daughter & her beloved to join us!
Thanks be to God for Fr Stephen! He acts on his beliefs...to guide a big family down a totally different path in life is incredibly a hard challenge to do unless Christ is guiding and helping you.Orthodoxy is definitely a journey! Thank you for your hard work in producing these interviews.
Great! I receive Fr Stephen’s blog, and it was really good and encouraging to learn about his background (which in some ways is similar to mine). Fr David Gilchrist, deacon in Kent, England (having been an Anglican priest for 32 years).
I have to mention something about miracles in our Orthodox Church. You got to love our Saviour with all your heart. Accept responsibility of his suffering on the tree. Be nice to each other. Then if you don’t feel very well ask his help, you will be amazed. It’s something that the papers don’t report, because it’s good, they report all the bad. Every day thousands of miracles take place in holy Orthodoxy. At the moment, an icon of Virgin Mary is constantly streaming blood, in the military cathedral of Moscow,our Mother is upset about the silly wars. Great Redeemer have mercy on me the sinner,and on all of as.❤❤❤ George, Crete 🇬🇷✝️🇷🇺🇬🇧
Growing up as a Protestant, not really studying too much about other religions, besides Jehovah Witness, Mormon, and Catholic being a false Doctrine. I'm starting to realize that the enemy has hid the orthodox church. because it is the truth Church. The more the devil can keep the church in the east . If we dont study online we wont see the truth. I been on a journey. I feel that the holy spirit is leading me towards the eastern orthodox church. I'm from Indiana I would love to learn more about this church. May God bless u
Interesting to hear his story. One thing I did note is that he was not baptized into the church. I wonder what his perspective is on that now that he is more experienced and studied. Admittedly my knowledge about Orthodoxy is quite limited, From everything I’ve heard from church fathers as well as more contemporary saints, you need to be baptized if you’re coming from a heterodox group.
@@ProtectingVeil I a.m. Russian, living in Dominican Republic. Here there a lots of honest good people, but unfortunately they are 80% sectants (Baptists, protestants - "New Age", Catholics). It would be GREAT/BRILLIANT/FANTASTIC if you make Spanish subtitles to your videos so entire Latin America could have a chance to learn about Orthodoxy, coz most of them do not understand English. That would be prefect to share your videos among Spanish-speaking world (that is I am planning to do over Facebook, UA-cam, Instagram & etc. And I hope & guess many other enthusiasts like me would do the same with great pleasure !). My email in case: cristy_761@yahoo. Also if it's possible to translate books, spiritual literatura in Spanish to share it over internet. Spasi Gospody.
Christ is alive in the People of God, ancient Christianity was always communal, Christ had disciples, 72 ++ men and women and crowds followed him everywhere. He chose the 12 from a much larger number. The Faith is the entirety of the Christian community's efforts to show God's love in all we do and the Holy Spirit moving among us. You cannot know Christ without his people and his historic communities, it is arrogant and anti-Christian to reject 2,000 years of practicing Christianity.
I don’t know how close you are to an Orthodox Church regardless if it’s GO, OCA, ROCOR, or Antiochian, but you need a guide. I have known the monastics at three of Elder Ephraims monasteries for decades and for me, there’s no one better. Here’s the website. There are two monasteries in NC and you don’t have to become a Nun. Maybe they can refer you as well. www.stanthonysmonastery.org/map.php
@GKCostalas That's easy to answer! Orthodox! While you remain Catholic, you have *no* idea how much harm you experience because of the evil twin dogmas of Papal Supremacy (often dishonestly called "Papal Primacy", and the Filioque. The only way to escape them is to become Orthodox.
I live for the day that the new luminated Orthodox brothers in america start having real life experience of orthodoxy and not just theological and theoritical revelations. Aka when the first saints will sprout like infant flowers.
If you are serious - yes. God has forgiven far worse than you can imagine. Pray to God and ask him the same question and ask to know him. Find an Orthodox priest and confide in him - he will help you; more so God will help you.
Talk to an orthodox monk or priest and take it from there. Your journey is yours and is unique and it will take all the twist and turns necessary to get you where God needs you to be. There is nothing more beautiful to God than a sinner who repeats and comes back to his Father. If you look through the life of Saints, there are many who sinned greatly before coming back to God. Saul was a murderer of Christians before he become Paul. Just repent with a sincere heart and after you get the Holy Baptism, do a thorough confession and then let go of the old you and rebuild yourself in Christ. And to answer your question simply: Yes, God will forgive you no matter what, if you are come to Him sincerely with your repentance. God bless you!
Dennis- God always forgives. He knows and loves you, fully and unconditionally. Pray: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” And then, in obedience and out of love, join the Church, be baptized, and stay in the healing graces that God continually pours out on his people. If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord (God and Savior) you will be saved. I will pray for you too. Don’t despair. Just give Him your heart. Like a little child, just let it all out, openly, honestly. He only wants to heal you.
Beverly Harward “The Place of Rome in the Apostolic Church Significantly, most Roman Catholic historians recognize that the Popes did not have universal jurisdiction during the first centuries of Christian history. Instead, they recognize that the Papacy, as it exists today, was the result of centuries of growth and evolution. For example, the Pope did not achieve complete authority over Roman Catholic doctrine until the declaration of papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council in 1870. One Roman Catholic historian wrote, “The primacy of the Church of Rome naturally did not appear all at once and in its full external development. It developed organically and as need required.” 308 As the bishop of the largest and most influential city in the world, the Bishop of Rome naturally occupied a position of great prestige. Most Christians looked to the Church of Rome for leadership from the very beginning of church history. Anyone with a cause would have had a stronger case with Roman support. For this reason, both heretics and Orthodox theologians tried to win the favor of the Bishop of Rome for their cause. In 343 or 344, the Council of Sardica, one of the local councils recognized by the Council in Trullo, granted deposed bishops the right to request that the Bishop of Rome appoint local bishops to hear their appeal. However, the canon did not give the Pope the authority to resolve the matter himself. 309 The Bishop of Rome as “First Among Equals” in the Apostolic Church There was no question that the Pope held a primacy of honor as “first among equals,” during the first 1,000 years of Christian history. For example, St. Ignatius addresses the Church of Rome in very flowerily words, “worthy of honour, worthy of the highest happiness, worthy of praise, worthy of credit worthy of being deemed holy, and which presides over love…” 310 However, this honorary status did not give the Pope universal jurisdiction. In the same letter, St. Ignatius is also careful to limit the actual authority of the Bishop of Rome to “the region of the Romans.” 311 During his disagreement with Pope St. Stephen over Baptism, St. Cyprian specifically rejected the idea that Rome had authority over the other bishops. He wrote, “Certainly the rest of the apostles were exactly what Peter was; they were endowed with an equal share of office and power…. The episcopate is a single whole, in which each bishop’s share gives him a right to, and a responsibility for the whole.” 312 Although Roman Bishops began to claim authority over other bishops fairly early, it took centuries before they were strong enough to enforce these claims. Because the early Church used the administrative divisions already used by the Roman Empire, the Bishop of Rome only exercised jurisdiction over the ten provinces governed by the prefect of Rome during the first five centuries of Church history. For example, at the close of the first century, St. Clement, the Bishop of Rome, had the authority to advise the Church of Corinth in his Epistle to the Church in Corinth because the city was one of those ruled directly by Rome. For this reason, the Corinthian Church was under the authority of the Bishop of the imperial city. Outside of the areas ruled directly from Rome, the Western Church followed the same practice of the East, where local metropolitans and synods administered the Church. For example, Milan operated as an independent or autocephalous Church under the leadership of its own bishop rather than that of the Bishop of Rome. 313 The Bishop of Rome was only able to extend his authority over the other bishops of the West after centuries of effort. Rome was never able to persuade the Eastern Bishops to accept papal authority. Unfortunately, the Eastern bishops were not fully aware of the growing Roman claims until it was too late to avoid conflict with Rome. 314 Thus, Rome did not exercise universal jurisdiction during the era of the Ecumenical Councils. Nor was Rome above the authority of a general council as later Popes would claim. Instead, the Bishops of Rome were subject to the decisions of ecumenical councils just like any other bishop. For example, the Sixth Ecumenical Council, Constantinople III, did not hesitate to claim authority over the Pope when it condemned Pope Honorius I in 680.”-Historian & Archpriest John W. Morris References: 308: Karl Bihlmeyer, Hermann Tuchle, Church History (Westminster: The Newman Press, 1968) vol. I, p. 114 309: Sardica. A.D. 343 or 344, “Canons III, IV, and V,” in Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. XIV, pp. 416-419 310: Ignatius, “The Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans,” in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. I, p. 73 311 Ibid. 312: Cyprian, “Unity of the Catholic Church,” pp. 126-127 313: Meyendorff, Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions, p. 64 314: John Meyendorff, “St. Peter in Byzantine Theology,” in John Meyendorff, ed. The Primacy of Peter (Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1992), p. 69
4:11 "It was Absurd to have any notion of any unmediated knowledge of God" We do what we are supposed to do. but it doesn't take much to know God without For example you know that the earth is round and so if it was written flat at some point that means it is corrupted. To know God is to know his un-corrupted message - For example - To find out about something in Science that Co-relates to Ancient books. Which Islam Precedes very much even to the point of geometry. The Quasi-Crystal in 4D is like Islamic Tiles and the Baseline of Islamic pattern drawing. That's Quantum physics meeting religion. and then you ask, how to know God ? There's a whole Tone of evidences on this planet including the Megaliths ... Coz we cannot say they were not ours. There's only us occupying this land planet called Earth. Indeed it is a very big planet. It has all it's secrets hidden and away from people and impossible to be replaced nor destroyed nor even rebuilt nor change location.
Evolution is a Zionist lie. Academia is controlled by the enemy. I know it sounds prepostrous but it's true. You are not a heretic, you just need more time to adapt.
Why? My father was Jewish and orthodoxy reminded me of a Jewish service. I’ve since realized Orthodoxy has an adversarial relationship with Judaism and since Oct 7 have witnessed rampant antisemitism in Orthodoxy
God works beyond religions. Only a fool would deny that and to believe Meister Eckhart, John of the Cross, Krishnamurti, Huang Po, Ramana Maharshi, Rumi, Evelyn Underhill, Adyashanti and many more were/are not at very advanced stages of theosis and God realization is only fear and ignorance talking. Bishops, priests, pastors etc are not even in the same division. There is a world of difference between religious suggestive mysticism and higher mysticism. (needless to say, I am nowhere near higher mysticism).
The written Word is not enough to really know God, to walk by faith and not by sight (icons), in the Spirit and not in the flesh (chants, candles, rituals)? no issue of how to be justified before God, but to dwell on jobs, incomes, and other earthly things? shaky faith.
He’s talking about the personal journey, which I’m sure included Biblical study, but it’s more about the questions and thoughts he had that led him to the Orthodox Church. He’s also talking about the practical challenge of making such a huge change in his family’s life. Before you mock tradition too much and try to divorce that from the true faith and the Bible, maybe you should consider that St Paul praised the Corinthians for tempering the traditions he passed down to them (1 Cor. 11:2). Do you really think that he and other disciples spent all that time in places like Corinth, Ephesus and Antioch and all they taught and established is contained in the epistles? The epistles were often times very focused on a particular subject or group of people, though you certainly get doctrine from them. You do realize that the Bible as we have it today was not something the early churches had right? Their faith was not simply based on reading a book. In fact many people were illiterate and books and scrolls were costly and time consuming to reproduce.
📙 FREE eBOOK on the wisdom of modern Orthodox Christian elders:
social.protectingveil.com/freebook1
Excellent! I was a lifelong protestant and have been Orthodox for 7 Years and what a blessing this life is. God is so GOOD! May this ministry and Fr. Freeman be blessed beyond measure.
The Cappadocian Fathers + Lossky was exactly the same path to Orthodoxy from The RCC.
As a Traditional Irish Catholic I went East, and came home.
The Church in Rome is no longer the Church of Rome.
Welcome home then!
Welcome home, indeed! Have you discovered my Irish Saints music project yet? newhagiography.com/ireland/
Kinda cringe
Orthodox Church believer from India
You are welcome to Serbia,we have beautiful ortodox middle ages Monastery and Church))
A very interesting video.
I was a very active member of an Anglican Church (Reformed Episcopal), until the parish had to close, because of dwindling members. I was looking for a new church and had a conversation with my former priest. Through him telling me that the Orthodox Church was where I needed to be, I contacted the local Greek Orthodox Church and began meeting with the priest and attending the Divine Liturgy.
After a short time of intense study, I was Chrismated. The road to Orthodoxy has been rewarding, beyond my comprehension.
Welcome home.
Similar situation
What were you rewarded with, did anything specific happen or is it just vague "i feel better" stuff
Beautiful. Good video...I came from a Wiccan'Pagan/Jewish background and the Orthodoxy hauled me out of all of that.
I related to Father Freeman’s gradual adoption of Orthodoxy and Orthodox thought. As I have been learning about Orthodoxy lately, I have been picking up little things here and there and feeling like they are bringing me closer to Christ. God be praised 🙂
Everyones journey to the God is different, but the more you pray and seek the truth, the more God will put the right persons in your life or give you the experiences needed to get you closer. God sees your heart and will guide you accordingly and attentively like a Father that He is. Orthodoxy is a way of life more than anything else, is to let go of the old man (self=ego, passions) and rebuild yourself in the image of Christ. The journey is not always easy, but is necessary. God bless from an Romanian Orthodox.
Eastern Orthodox , thank you 🙂
@@kevinrworthy You are welcome!
Amen...thanks to God...thanks for stopping by, Kevin!
Blessings from a Greek-Australian Orthodox Christian. Born into the faith and have never looked back. It has remained true to its original doctrines, teachings and practices. God bless all! 🙏🏻 🇦🇺
Thank you. This has been encouraging as someone who started as an evangelical and is moving towards Orthodoxy by way of Anglicanism
There is really only one right answer to this question, and it is the same for all of us. It isn't our searching that brought us in, it is the 'drawing' Christ referred to when he said, "No one comes to Me unless the Father draws him".
Now I know this verse has been heavily misused in the West to refer to predestination, and even a particularly dark form of it, but the Orthodox understanding is different. It has little or nothing to do with predestination and everything to do coming to the Church itself being the generosity of the Father. His generosity even triumphs over our own wills.
It is truly astonishing and deeply moving reading comments of people who convert to Orthodoxy. Θαυμάζω την αγνότητα στην όψη και στον λόγο του Πατέρα Στεφάνου
Συγχαρητήρια για την εξαιρετική δουλειά,συνεχίστε έτσι!!
Fr. Stephen was obviously "struck" by His right hand and thank God he conveys this wholehearted hombleness and submission and spreading love. Thank you very much. I was really moved. Christ is risen! Greetings from Thessaloniki, Greece.
Thanks to God! Christos Anesti!
Formally Im a Traditional Catholic, but deep inside Im a Orthodox. Many thinking and soul searching Catholics are. Even Rome knows that Constantinople is the centre of God.
@jimeas popoloiv After what Constantinople did in Ukraine, Moscow would not agree that "Constantinople is the center of God"! More and more Orthodox Sees around the world are speaking out against what Constantinople did, too. He (the EC) really did give a lot of aid and comfort to schismatics who are still every bit as far away from Orthodoxy as any other schismatics.
@@SpectatorAlius i think he means that Constantinopole is the center of orthodoxy in the aspect of the ancient church that is still alive in our liturgies. Bartholomaios is not the boss of eastern cristianity. He made the biggest mistake ever!! But the church is us and we do not agree with his policies.
@@despinasarra3101 First of all, that is pretty far from his actual words. But more importantly, it still doesn't make much sense. Jerusalem was already contributing to our Orthodox Liturgies long before Constantinople.
jimeas popoloiv I love aspects of Orthodox faith- truly our brethren 🙏🏽 A family that prays together stays together🙏🏽
@@bronwynstirkul3549 You are a victim of FSB propaganda.
Orthodoxy teaches us the following:
God is Invisible Incomprehensible Ineffable Inconceivable yet The Every Existing And Essentially The SAME!!!
And yes you can know God in as much as a human can understand it!!! Yet you are still going to be surprised every now & then as to The Way God May choose to do things!
But one thing for sure is that those who are closer to HIM, although they may not understand completely as to what God is doing initially, you LEARN to COMPLETELY TRUST HIM!!! And in due time, and sometimes after the fact we learn more as to why God worked in the way HE did!!!
Thank you for this video Father Stephen it inspired me. I converted to Orthodoxy in 1987 coming from a Protest church. The beginning was very difficult the Sunday services was in the Greek language, I carried on and I start reading books of the Fathers of the Church. Then a later stage we had a book of Divine Liturgy in English then I felt I belong here. I found my happiness in reading books over the years Glory to God. For a couple of years know I'm listening to Orthodox speeches on the Internet and last year 2019 I found the Speeches of Father Stephen and I'm so, so happy. May Father Stephen continue with the great teachings of Orthodoxy .
Christ is risen!!! I am thankful for your videos, as a Protestant starting to convert I devour almost all things Orthodoxy, so I thank you for your time and effort into educating a humble believer of the TRUE church!!! Kyrie Eleison!!!
Welcome brother.
🙏🏻
Will non Orthodox believers go to hell in your opinion if you are the true church?
@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr"That's not how the Force works" From a galaxy far far away. Humour aside , that's not the case. Only God knows our hearts, knows the truth as a whole and can decide. We simply cannot because of the limitations of our logical interpretations.
Fr Bless,
Lord have mercy on me a sinner
ICXC NIKA
Amen...on all of us!
Othodoxy simply put is a window through which you can get a glimpse of the Divine. And it is for the illiterate as well as the educated. Orthodoxy places faith above human logic and human education.
Well said!
AMEN.
That’s how you know it’s the true faith. God made it accessible to everyone. Glory to God!
@@SunshineCarpetCleaning It is clear that you are a spiritual man. May God give you even greater faith and enlightenment.
Tyxikos Gatopoulos I am just a struggling sinner. Through your humble prayers I may grow in my faith. Thank you my friend. God bless you and your family.
Father Freeman is a saint I could listen to him talk for hour after hour after hour is genuine incredibly smart and as he says Touch by God
Thanks to God...stay tuned for more!
@@ProtectingVeil where is Father Freeman located? Where is his Parish?
I am reading this in January 2022. Fr. Stephen was my priest in his first Episcopal Church. I am now attending Nativity of the Holy Virgin OCA church with Fr Bill Mills, a priest Fr. Stephen introduced me to twenty years ago. I just retired myself as an Episcopal priest and am listening to God's leading. Thank you for your interiews.
I'm just discovering these videos and am enjoying them a lot. All of these priests have a calming effect, and come across as humble.
What a fine man! The stamp of truth is writ large upon him
Loved it. Always receive Father Freeman's emails and enjoy them immensely. God Bless.
A man with inner and external beauty...
Thank you Herman Middleton for making so many incredible videos for those of us thirsting for more Orthodox understanding! God bless you for what you are doing.
Fr Stephen Freeman's podcast for AFR was of great assistance to me as I moved from being a rather dispirited Roman Catholic to being chrismated into Orthodox Christianity 11 years ago. I often repeat the prayerful exclamation "Glory to God for all things"!
I have been working my way through all the videos in the library here. It is a great help on the way to becoming Orthodox. 🙏
So Appreciative and thankful for your channel! My husband & I Were received into the church June 5, 2022. Two of our 3 grown children introduced us to Orthodoxy & were received in 2021. Rejoice with us as we also ask for 🙏for other daughter & her beloved to join us!
Thanks be to God for Fr Stephen! He acts on his beliefs...to guide a big family down a totally different path in life is incredibly a hard challenge to do unless Christ is guiding and helping you.Orthodoxy is definitely a journey!
Thank you for your hard work in producing these interviews.
Amen! I recently did another interview with him, too...more to come! Thanks to God...pray for me, brother!
Wow...I’m Anglican but....
So many ex Anglicans. Fr Stephen is incredible.
Glad you found us, Brett...yes...we are many, indeed(!)
Freeman is still stuck in Anglicanism, quite frankly.
I love Fr. Stephen. He is a good example of a servant of all.
His theology is highly problematic.
Thanks. I've watched a few of these videos and look forward to watching more.
Thanks to God...glad you're finding them helpful!
Great! I receive Fr Stephen’s blog, and it was really good and encouraging to learn about his background (which in some ways is similar to mine).
Fr David Gilchrist, deacon in Kent, England (having been an Anglican priest for 32 years).
Keep up the great work. Thanks for these videos!
Thanks to God...by God's grace I will!
Great video! Just started watching them, with Jonathan Pageau’s being the first. Thank you for your good works.
Thankyou for your wisdom, Fr. Freeman.
What an interesting channel. Thanks!
Thanks to God...glad you found us!
Thank you for this video of Fr Stephan and also for this ministry.
Thanks to God! Thanks for your encouragement, Patty!
Thanks be to God ! I’m RC but enjoy your talks. Gods hand ! Yes! Amen brother and sisters in Christ .
Thanks to God...Amen! Thanks for stopping by!
Greatly enjoyed the interview. Thank you for this video.
I have to mention something about miracles in our Orthodox Church. You got to love our Saviour with all your heart. Accept responsibility of his suffering on the tree. Be nice to each other. Then if you don’t feel very well ask his help, you will be amazed. It’s something that the papers don’t report, because it’s good, they report all the bad. Every day thousands of miracles take place in holy Orthodoxy. At the moment, an icon of Virgin Mary is constantly streaming blood, in the military cathedral of Moscow,our Mother is upset about the silly wars. Great Redeemer have mercy on me the sinner,and on all of as.❤❤❤ George, Crete 🇬🇷✝️🇷🇺🇬🇧
Our Lord said that when you see your brother you see your Lord and God. So how well are we disposed to know our brother?
Very pleasant story. Encouraging.
Thanks!
Очень понравилось, спасибо!
Thanks a lot for your efforts. Touching !
God bless you!
Amen...and all of us...thanks so much!
Growing up as a Protestant, not really studying too much about other religions, besides Jehovah Witness, Mormon, and Catholic being a false Doctrine. I'm starting to realize that the enemy has hid the orthodox church. because it is the truth Church. The more the devil can keep the church in the east . If we dont study online we wont see the truth. I been on a journey. I feel that the holy spirit is leading me towards the eastern orthodox church. I'm from Indiana I would love to learn more about this church. May God bless u
Thank you.
Fascinating!
Great. Thank you! Amen
Thanks to God...thanks for stopping by!
Interesting to hear his story. One thing I did note is that he was not baptized into the church. I wonder what his perspective is on that now that he is more experienced and studied. Admittedly my knowledge about Orthodoxy is quite limited, From everything I’ve heard from church fathers as well as more contemporary saints, you need to be baptized if you’re coming from a heterodox group.
I’m leaving the Roman Catholic Church and going to become Eastern Orthodox
Христос Воскресе оче прото ...
You need to do longer videos. These are too short
Thanks for the comment...I *am* hoping to do some longer videos...not sure of a timeline yet, however(!)
@@ProtectingVeil I a.m. Russian, living in Dominican Republic. Here there a lots of honest good people, but unfortunately they are 80% sectants (Baptists, protestants - "New Age", Catholics). It would be GREAT/BRILLIANT/FANTASTIC if you make Spanish subtitles to your videos so entire Latin America could have a chance to learn about Orthodoxy, coz most of them do not understand English. That would be prefect to share your videos among Spanish-speaking world (that is I am planning to do over Facebook, UA-cam, Instagram & etc. And I hope & guess many other enthusiasts like me would do the same with great pleasure !). My email in case: cristy_761@yahoo.
Also if it's possible to translate books, spiritual literatura in Spanish to share it over internet.
Spasi Gospody.
@@РудольфАстровский-ф7ж 100 %
I really hate referring to things as "my faith". I want to get to know Christ better, not my faith.
Christ is alive in the People of God, ancient Christianity was always communal, Christ had disciples, 72 ++ men and women and crowds followed him everywhere. He chose the 12 from a much larger number. The Faith is the entirety of the Christian community's efforts to show God's love in all we do and the Holy Spirit moving among us. You cannot know Christ without his people and his historic communities, it is arrogant and anti-Christian to reject 2,000 years of practicing Christianity.
Thank you for this video.
I don’t know how close you are to an Orthodox Church regardless if it’s GO, OCA, ROCOR, or Antiochian, but you need a guide. I have known the monastics at three of Elder Ephraims monasteries for decades and for me, there’s no one better. Here’s the website. There are two monasteries in NC and you don’t have to become a Nun. Maybe they can refer you as well.
www.stanthonysmonastery.org/map.php
@GKCostalas That's easy to answer! Orthodox! While you remain Catholic, you have *no* idea how much harm you experience because of the evil twin dogmas of Papal Supremacy (often dishonestly called "Papal Primacy", and the Filioque. The only way to escape them is to become Orthodox.
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I wonder how all this went down with Father Freeman's Episcopal Church bishop.
I live for the day that the new luminated Orthodox brothers in america start having real life experience of orthodoxy and not just theological and theoritical revelations. Aka when the first saints will sprout like infant flowers.
How do I become a Christian? I'm tired beaten and broke down by sin... Can anyone please help me? Ive been a terrible human. Will God Forgive me?
If you are serious - yes. God has forgiven far worse than you can imagine. Pray to God and ask him the same question and ask to know him. Find an Orthodox priest and confide in him - he will help you; more so God will help you.
Talk to an orthodox monk or priest and take it from there. Your journey is yours and is unique and it will take all the twist and turns necessary to get you where God needs you to be. There is nothing more beautiful to God than a sinner who repeats and comes back to his Father. If you look through the life of Saints, there are many who sinned greatly before coming back to God. Saul was a murderer of Christians before he become Paul. Just repent with a sincere heart and after you get the Holy Baptism, do a thorough confession and then let go of the old you and rebuild yourself in Christ. And to answer your question simply: Yes, God will forgive you no matter what, if you are come to Him sincerely with your repentance. God bless you!
Dennis-
God always forgives. He knows and loves you, fully and unconditionally.
Pray: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.”
And then, in obedience and out of love, join the Church, be baptized, and stay in the healing graces that God continually pours out on his people.
If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord (God and Savior) you will be saved.
I will pray for you too.
Don’t despair. Just give Him your heart.
Like a little child, just let it all out, openly, honestly. He only wants to heal you.
Just found your videos. Throughly enjoyed Fr Freeman. Looking forward to watching more.
Wonderful video. Thank you!
Thanks to God...glad you found us!
Interesting story. I'm praying for help, trying to seek guidance. Roman Catholic or Orthodox. (I'm 40 miles from Duke!)
Beverly Harward Easy, Orthodox. 👍🏻
The current Pope and scandals within RCC make their case for infallibility, and indefectability untenable. Orthodoxy
Beverly Harward
“The Place of Rome in the Apostolic Church
Significantly, most Roman Catholic historians recognize that the Popes did not have universal jurisdiction during the first centuries of Christian history. Instead, they recognize that the Papacy, as it exists today, was the result of centuries of growth and evolution. For example, the Pope did not achieve complete authority over Roman Catholic doctrine until the declaration of papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council in 1870. One Roman Catholic historian wrote, “The primacy of the Church of Rome naturally did not appear all at once and in its full external development. It developed organically and as need required.” 308
As the bishop of the largest and most influential city in the world, the Bishop of Rome naturally occupied a position of great prestige. Most Christians looked to the Church of Rome for leadership from the very beginning of church history. Anyone with a cause would have had a stronger case with Roman support. For this reason, both heretics and Orthodox theologians tried to win the favor of the Bishop of Rome for their cause. In 343 or 344, the Council of Sardica, one of the local councils recognized by the Council in Trullo, granted deposed bishops the right to request that the Bishop of Rome appoint local bishops to hear their appeal. However, the canon did not give the Pope the authority to resolve the matter himself. 309
The Bishop of Rome as “First Among Equals” in the Apostolic Church
There was no question that the Pope held a primacy of honor as “first among equals,” during the first 1,000 years of Christian history. For example, St. Ignatius addresses the Church of Rome in very flowerily words, “worthy of honour, worthy of the highest happiness, worthy of praise, worthy of credit worthy of being deemed holy, and which presides over love…” 310 However, this honorary status did not give the Pope universal jurisdiction. In the same letter, St. Ignatius is also careful to limit the actual authority of the Bishop of Rome to “the region of the Romans.” 311 During his disagreement with Pope St. Stephen over Baptism, St. Cyprian specifically rejected the idea that Rome had authority over the other bishops. He wrote, “Certainly the rest of the apostles were exactly what Peter was; they were endowed with an equal share of office and power…. The episcopate is a single whole, in which each bishop’s share gives him a right to, and a responsibility for the whole.” 312
Although Roman Bishops began to claim authority over other bishops fairly early, it took centuries before they were strong enough to enforce these claims. Because the early Church used the administrative divisions already used by the Roman Empire, the Bishop of Rome only exercised jurisdiction over the ten provinces governed by the prefect of Rome during the first five centuries of Church history. For example, at the close of the first century, St. Clement, the Bishop of Rome, had the authority to advise the Church of Corinth in his Epistle to the Church in Corinth because the city was one of those ruled directly by Rome. For this reason, the Corinthian Church was under the authority of the Bishop of the imperial city. Outside of the areas ruled directly from Rome, the Western Church followed the same practice of the East, where local metropolitans and synods administered the Church. For example, Milan operated as an independent or autocephalous Church under the leadership of its own bishop rather than that of the Bishop of Rome. 313 The Bishop of Rome was only able to extend his authority over the other bishops of the West after centuries of effort. Rome was never able to persuade the Eastern Bishops to accept papal authority. Unfortunately, the Eastern bishops were not fully aware of the growing Roman claims until it was too late to avoid conflict with Rome. 314 Thus, Rome did not exercise universal jurisdiction during the era of the Ecumenical Councils. Nor was Rome above the authority of a general council as later Popes would claim. Instead, the Bishops of Rome were subject to the decisions of ecumenical councils just like any other bishop. For example, the Sixth Ecumenical Council, Constantinople III, did not hesitate to claim authority over the Pope when it condemned Pope Honorius I in 680.”-Historian & Archpriest John W. Morris
References:
308: Karl Bihlmeyer, Hermann Tuchle, Church History (Westminster: The Newman Press, 1968) vol. I, p. 114
309: Sardica. A.D. 343 or 344, “Canons III, IV, and V,” in Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. XIV, pp. 416-419
310: Ignatius, “The Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans,” in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. I, p. 73
311 Ibid.
312: Cyprian, “Unity of the Catholic Church,” pp. 126-127
313: Meyendorff, Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions, p. 64
314: John Meyendorff, “St. Peter in Byzantine Theology,” in John Meyendorff, ed. The Primacy of Peter (Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1992), p. 69
Beverly Harward
An orthodox perspective on Roman Catholicism:
m.ua-cam.com/video/y6zXs_cUSjQ/v-deo.html
Well, the Roman Catholic is not an ethnic Church. Anyone can belong and fit in easily.
Is there any connection to the fact that the Trinity emanates from God and the fact that the simplest shape you can conceive of is a triangle?
Hi Fr. Stephen. Can u please tell me if the Anglican teachings in itself have no relevance in the whole Christendom???
No name of the seminary near Chicago!
☦️☦️☦️❤❤❤🙏🙏🙏
Thank you, and God bless you for your love. Please see my Orthodox end time videos on You Tube under 'marykfilms.'
I feel bad to say this but I never hear about the Lord Jesus him being saved I just hear about people joining churches
Μπορείτε να βάλετε ελληνικούς υπότιτλους;
Μακάρι να είχα το χρόνο να το κάνω! Εάν μπορείτε να βρείτε κάποιον να κάνει την μετάφραση, θα την βάλω!
I'm not hearing a whole lot of "I read the bible".
667th like
4:11 "It was Absurd to have any notion of any unmediated knowledge of God" We do what we are supposed to do. but it doesn't take much to know God without For example you know that the earth is round and so if it was written flat at some point that means it is corrupted.
To know God is to know his un-corrupted message - For example - To find out about something in Science that Co-relates to Ancient books.
Which Islam Precedes very much even to the point of geometry. The Quasi-Crystal in 4D is like Islamic Tiles and the Baseline of Islamic pattern drawing. That's Quantum physics meeting religion. and then you ask, how to know God ?
There's a whole Tone of evidences on this planet including the Megaliths ...
Coz we cannot say they were not ours. There's only us occupying this land planet called Earth.
Indeed it is a very big planet. It has all it's secrets hidden and away from people and impossible to be replaced nor destroyed nor even rebuilt nor change location.
To worship Jesus..why else???
Anglican.....orthodox......what next?
Heavens... :o)))
I've been called a heretic for believing in evolution.
Evolution is Freemasonic nonsense.
well you are then.
@Dojocho Yes, evolution is a satanic blasphemous story courtesy of the freemasonry who worships the great architect of the universe, satan.
Evolution is a Zionist lie.
Academia is controlled by the enemy.
I know it sounds prepostrous but it's true.
You are not a heretic, you just need more time to adapt.
I'm an Orthodox Christian and I believe in evolution
Why? My father was Jewish and orthodoxy reminded me of a Jewish service. I’ve since realized Orthodoxy has an adversarial relationship with Judaism and since Oct 7 have witnessed rampant antisemitism in Orthodoxy
I witness the Jews of Judaism reject our savior, Jesus Christ- AntiChrist, and this has gone on a long, long, time. 😒
God works beyond religions. Only a fool would deny that and to believe Meister Eckhart, John of the Cross, Krishnamurti, Huang Po, Ramana Maharshi, Rumi, Evelyn Underhill, Adyashanti and many more were/are not at very advanced stages of theosis and God realization is only fear and ignorance talking.
Bishops, priests, pastors etc are not even in the same division. There is a world of difference between religious suggestive mysticism and higher mysticism.
(needless to say, I am nowhere near higher mysticism).
The written Word is not enough to really know God, to walk by faith and not by sight (icons), in the Spirit and not in the flesh (chants, candles, rituals)? no issue of how to be justified before God, but to dwell on jobs, incomes, and other earthly things? shaky faith.
TOO MUCH ABOUT ORTHODOX
CHURCH VERY LITTLE BIBLE TEACHING too much tradition
Too little about salvation
Perhaps you need to watch more videos about Orthodoxy..
Orthodox teachings, doctrines and Church Services (the liturgy) are all about the Bible and Salvation, absolutely 100%. God bless. 🙏🏻
He’s talking about the personal journey, which I’m sure included Biblical study, but it’s more about the questions and thoughts he had that led him to the Orthodox Church. He’s also talking about the practical challenge of making such a huge change in his family’s life.
Before you mock tradition too much and try to divorce that from the true faith and the Bible, maybe you should consider that St Paul praised the Corinthians for tempering the traditions he passed down to them (1 Cor. 11:2). Do you really think that he and other disciples spent all that time in places like Corinth, Ephesus and Antioch and all they taught and established is contained in the epistles? The epistles were often times very focused on a particular subject or group of people, though you certainly get doctrine from them. You do realize that the Bible as we have it today was not something the early churches had right? Their faith was not simply based on reading a book. In fact many people were illiterate and books and scrolls were costly and time consuming to reproduce.