At my chrismation, one of the priests had a dog that hung around outside the church. When a person came in, the dog ran inside and was walking around. After the Liturgy, the priest said, “If you were offended by the dog, just remember we are the dogs God welcomed to His house.”
Wow. That was really thought provoking. Such analogies make you grasp the love of God a little more. Especially when you consider how the difference between God and man is unimaginably greater than between Man and animal.
The priest was simply saying that we are as unworthy of the presence of God as a dog, and yet God welcomes us into His home as His children. He was not by any means teaching original sin.
As an outsider who's been nothing but respectful when interacting with Orthodox Christianity in your videos, I don't think you need to be too worried about online comments. Also if it's any encouragement, I've seen and heard nothing but love from the online Orthodox communities I'm in regards to your videos.
Nope, that's not what happened Steve. At least on my channel, I have found that if you include a link in a comment the UA-cam filter automatically catches that and puts it into an unpublished waiting for review queue, that I never ever look at. As a basic rule of thumb on most channels, if you want your comment to appear, it's best not to add a link because it will usually get flagged automatically. I wish you would have extended me the benefit of the doubt on that instead of making proclamations about my character in a public forum.
@@MattWhitmanTMBH As an Orthodox Christian I want to apologies for Steve's accusation/slander. Forgive us for any negative comments you may have received from any Orthodox Christians. I hope you continue to make these wonderful videos, they really are helping many people seek God. May God be with you! Christ is risen!
Welcome! I was 40 years in the Protestant world before being introduced to the Eastern Church, and came to the Church in 2019. What a change. A wonderful change.
I was raised southern Baptist, went to other evangelical churches, worked in ministry, etc but then approached Orthodoxy with hostility in order to disprove its claims in 2006. I found myself baptized Orthodox a year later. Orthodoxy is the hardest thing I've ever tried to do but the most meaningful and grace filled part of my life of almost 47 years. All of what I learned from being Baptist and all the "unknowns" come together within Orthodoxy and it answers The Question and the questions. I love your channel! Thanks for these videos as they are continued solidification of my faith as an Orthodox Christian.
Kinda ended up there the same way. I started out trying to poke holes in the RCC. What bits I couldn''t contradict ended up sticking and becoming part of my own theology. Eventually, I ended up here, and learning about the Orthodox Church, I felt The Call. I think sometimes it is easy to forget that it is okay to ask questions. That's how we learn to see the depth and wisdom of the Word.
I know that God is omnipotent and omnipresent…. But I didn’t know that the saints were on the same level…. Whole lotta services to attend at the same time
Hey bro. Wanted to let you know that your videos were immensely consumed and enjoyed on my rediscovery of my faith. Former protestant, now orthodox and your questions are very familiar to me and I’m so grateful for you and for our shared love and salvation in Christ.
Thanks for saying that. I'm honored that my working it all through could in even some very small way be helpful in your process of faith as well Trevor.
@@MattWhitmanTMBH I’m becoming Orthodox, currently a catechumen, and I agree, all your questions are very familiar. I remember thinking a year ago, “I would never kiss and Icon”, here I am kissing icons. “Obviously the bread and wine don’t turn into Christ’s ACTUAL body and blood”. Here I am desperately longing to be baptized so I can experience bringing Christ’s actual Body and Blood into myself for the first time. Keep going, Matt. Most of us Orthodox Christians in America are converts, so we know the journey.
I've noticed Orthodox think deeply on theology and history more than most people I've met. Especially converts. When you aren't arrogant or dismissive to the minds of the past you can go deeper. Man peaked intellectually and spiritually long before the reformation. It's humbling once you open up to the writings of the church fathers and the saints. Our personal interpretations are shallow compared to what's been handed down from the Apostles. Written & Spoken. With that said I take no issue with you going out on a limb to understand. I'd welcome you to keep going. You'd benefit in future content understanding exactly what Orthodox believe even if you ultimately reject.
i think this is more because you probably live in acountry where orthodoxy is a minority, so those who are orthodox are more likely to be the more likely to the commited types.
In all the time I spent online, seeking Christian based content. I have discovered that I learn the most from protestant evangelical Christians. In contrast, I have learned nothing of value from Catholic or eastern orthodox online content. They have a lot of extrabiblical content. Some of that is entertaining at least. When it comes to scripture, the Gospel... Definitely I learned a great amount from protestant evangelical Christians. This is where I have learned the most about the Bible, the truth, scripture, making sense of the Old Testament. For example, a scholar like the recently departed Dr. Mike Heiser has many hours of content online. I learned and got more food for thought from 1 of his videos than from all the catholic/orthodox videos combined. Even when I disagree with some of Mikes ideas. He really gets in to scripture and helps reveal how deep it is. When I listen to orthodox content they seldom if ever refer to scripture. Instead they are always talking about saints, church fathers... Catholics too always talking about this pope or that pope or this council or that extrabiblical text. When I listen to protestants, they are always referencing scripture, the bible, Jesus. It does not take a genius to think this through and see what is what.
@br.m questions for you. 1. The evangelicals have lots of ideas. How do you know you've actually LEARNED truth rather than just hearing a different way to view the Bible? And before you say "I see what they say in the Bible"... you can see lots of different interpretations in the Bible. That's not an indication that their interpretation of the bible is true. 2. Orthodoxy and Catholicism are not adherents of Sola Scriptura, so there is no problem in their views with extra biblical content. Evangelicals of course believe they must only follow the Bible, but that is not a self-evidently true position nor is there anything inherently more virtuous about it. The Orthodox and the Catholics together formed the church that MADE the Bible. Christianitu did not start with the Bible, so I think you're right, it doesn't take a genius to think this through: the Orthodox and Catholics are definitely more likely to be right, since they have access to more information than just the Bible, which the Protestants all have a different interpretation of.
Ive been orthodox all my life. Those "violent comments" and negative orthodox internet individuals: weve been calling them "ortho-bros" and they are only brave online dont worry. But this is also why we have confession! I hope they dont turn you off to orthodoxy like they have so many others.
Loved what you have to say! I’m a 72 year old grandma who is now an Orthodox catechumen after 7 years of weighing the pots and cons, 5 of them as an enquirer. It’s a complete change of “phronema”! Blessings on your path. Young people like you give hope for the future.
Beautiful story, I've heard so many say that an Orthodox parish rests on the back of the grandma's who attend, may God bless you and grant you many years!
As a heads up, from someone who's a relatively recent convert to Orthodoxy from Protestantism, the experience of Orthodox Christianity in real life is quite different than what you see online. Online, there are people who profess to be Orthodox but don't set a good example and are overly bold/aggressive (sad to say, most of them seem to be overzealous "trad" converts and catechumens). At some points I've caught myself acting in a way not becoming of an Orthodox Christian. On our behalf, sorry.
@@elgatofelix8917 By that I'm not necessarily talking about traditional people/Christians, but I mean the kind of people that obsess over "adhering to tradition" to a point where they look down on people that don't do things the way they do, and can be really aggressive or argumentative. I encounter them online almost 100% of the time, and some refer to themselves as "trads". Not sure I clarified that well.
Hey brother, I get your mixed reaction to Orthodoxy and pockets of the orthodox online. I’m a recent convert and had to hold my nose a bit to some of the Orthodox personalities online. But experiencing the thing itself, the faith, the liturgy, and the Orthodox vision of reality completely floored me and I couldn’t turn back. Your comment comparing the depth in Orthodoxy to Tolkien; I get that. I think it’s because the Orthodox still very much inhabit a Christian cosmos, and haven’t tried to weave together this patchwork of secularism, scientism, and somehow fitting in God and revelation. I think that patchwork is the child of western history, and the Orthodox seem to be clinging to something deep and ancient that’s hard to understand from a modern perspective. Anyway, sorry for the rant, thanks for the videos; really enjoy them and found them helpful in my own journey. Christos Anesti!
I agree with your view except I think we don’t so much “ cling “ so much as we are “deeply rooted in” it! To be truly and fully Orthodox (living the depth of our tradition) is different than just being culturally Orthodox (participating in only the cultural aspects of the Church traditions yet having little to no real understanding of the Orthodox theology). That being said, many deepen their faith over their lifetime.
The reality of Orthodoxy's lore being so deep and "thought out" I find as both a great consolation and one of my greatest sources of consternation in being Orthodox. But you're totally right - Protestantism has a metaphysics or a view of the world which isn't based on a foundational view of the cosmos that goes deep enough. Orthodoxy digs to the deepest possible level - that of worship. Fr Schmemann was entirely right in diagnosing our present moment.
I grew up Reformed and joined the Orthodox Church a few years ago, after learning in depth about the history of the Church I don't think I could ever be anything but Orthodox. And then actually attending and participating in the life of the Church I've never felt so fulfilled or grown spiritually like this.
@Christos Kyrios I think the big difference with the Orthodox Church is the place off St. Augustine, to us he's not correct on everything and is kind of an outlier compared to his contemporaries. We look more to the consensus of the Church in all the Fathers and not one primarily, like Sts. John Chrysostom, Basil, Gregory, Athanasius, and the other Fathers are all seen as being correct and having a greater consensus. Plus we don't see a need for a Reformation, the Church is like a family heirloom handed down by Christ to the Apostles and in an unbroken chain to the current day, there have been times of struggle against heresies but the Truth won in the end and the heresies died, and the gates of hell never prevailed.
@Christos Kyrios One thing I've noticed also is that what seems to be the theological school most similar to Orthodoxy is Wesleyan ideas of sanctification, it's very similar to our idea of Theosis.
As a member of the parish you visited in Salt Lake, I thought your approach was very respectful. I found your questions insightful, probing, and very interesting. I learned things about my faith by hearing Father Paul answer your excellent questions. Please forgive those who are vehemently looking for meaning in their lives by posting harsh or thoughtless attacks in youtube comments.
I tried to go to a Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia for two months. Everyone was very friendly. I only attended the Divine Liturgy. I wanted to attend a different service with my family. I went to a feast day celebration for St. John of Shanghai on a Friday evening. Immediately I got bad stares since it was a small service. I was actually told I could leave anytime I wanted. My daughter and wife where there. It was quite shocking. First church I have ever been asked to leave. The Orthodox can work on being more welcoming to outsiders. My wife and I were very saddened by this event.
I am a convert to Holy Orthodoxy from Southern Baptist. I wanna say God bless you! I am praying for you in your journey to know Christ better. Don’t worry about the zealous bully orthodox and remember they are sinners just like all of us. Really enjoy your videos Brother!
It is important to know that the Orthodox Church teaches that she is Israel. We believe that there's never been a break in the lineage of Israel. The difference now is twofold, one, gentiles are now a part of and can join Israel (the Church) and two, because there's no break in the lineage, the Church continues to worship in the same manner, albeit now, as a fulfillment of what you see and read about in the Old Testament. We continue to have the same elements, but now they take on the fulfillment of the types in the Old Testament. I hope this helps. I enjoyed your video visiting Sts Peter and Paul in Utah. If you ever find yourself in Nashville, please feel free to let me know. I'd be happy to invite you to visit my parish! ( I am Orthodox if you haven't figured that out already lol)
In terms of the pockets of Orthodoxy that are aggressive, they're really only on the internet in my experience, or if they're in church they're not acting that way. Being that aggressive with outsiders who literally have no idea what they did wrong and weren't given a chance to learn comes from a lack of patience and love, the only time we see Christ get aggressive is with people is when those people should know better like the Apostles, or when those people are intentionally misleading people and trying to undermine Christ like the Sadducee and Pharisees. When St. Nicholas slapped Arius, Arius was a bishop of the Church and knew very well what he was doing was wrong but still continued in it, he wasn't someone who just wandered in and happened to disagree, he was a leader of the Church. My priest has said "be careful where you get your Orthodoxy from" when talking about the internet just because some pockets just get so crazy.
I agree. I'm a convert to Orthodoxy in the UK and yes most Orthodox don't behave like that. My priest has advised if someone online is preaching aggressively ask who is their Bishop. Chances are they are not technically canonical
Good point! Lots of sketchy people online that claim to be Orthodox but spew hatred and the likes. Of course hatred of any form is completely against Orthodoxy.
@@phanourios1279 that seems to be the case a lot of the time, they latch on to a sort of "orthodoxism identity" but don't participate in the life of the Church.
@@phanourios1279 not a fair argument all the time. I know, here in Australia, a lot of us just don't get the chance to know the clergy better, due to how few churches there are compared to the faithful and how incredibly busy they priests are.
@@masto2898 Catholic church is everywhere, has a lot of money and resources, so I am sure he considered it. Most people who look for truth in fact choose catholicism as opposed to orthodoxy mostly because it is more convenient especially for an english-speaker.
Dear Matt, please accept my apologies on behalf of those Ortho bros who came at you with such unrighteous hostility! The zeal they exhibit is without true knowledge of the Orthodox phronema (i.e. “mindset”), which should above all else be expressed with the humility that is fitting a follower of Christ. Your open heart and mind are beautiful and all people of belief or non-belief would do well to emulate your example. May God grant you many happy and healthy years! 🙏☦️❤️
@Pat Lance It is a way of righting a wrong done. I see it as if someone in my family offended someone, I would feel obligated to apologize on their behalf because this relative did not behave as a faithful representative of my family. In fact, isn’t that what we do at the liturgy and in our private prayers? We stand in the presence of God on behalf of the whole world and ask Him for His grace, mercy and favor on its behalf?
As an Orthodox Christian, I would like to thank you for producing these videos on Orthodoxy. I shared your previous video in a large Orthodox FB group and the reception has been very positive.
Remember that the curtain can be opened. It is opened at times and especially for the Eucharist, Communion. Think how that relates to the veil in the temple being torn! So glad you enjoyed your visit with the Orthodox Church. For a better understanding, attend some services!
The interesting thing to ponder on is the idea that the religion of the Old Testament is not a different religion than Christianity, Christianity is just the fulfillment of such religion. With that in mind, it is easier to understand how the Early Christians maintained the ethos that was present in the Old Testament, from the understanding of Liturgy to their idea of symbolism. A great book that goes over this idea is The Religion of the Apostles by Fr. Stephen De Young
Regarding the tearing of the veil, it's not kept closed during the whole course of services. In fact, it's ripped back and the royal doors thrown open as the priest exits the altar with the Eucharist to bring it to the Faithful. I find it a beautiful playing-out of Christ tearing down the barriers, and not only asks us to come to Him, but also comes to us Himself. Of course, as a former Church of God evangelical myself, I definitely understand how that would cause that "record-scratch" moment that was mentioned. But, I have to say I really deeply appreciate how respectful and charitable you're being, especially when you find this thing or that thing quite troubling. God be with you! :) EDIT: I'm writing this as I watch the video. I'm deeply saddened [but not surprised] that you've encountered some of our less...Fruits-of-the-Spirit-aware brothers or sisters. I'm reminded of two things when I have my own run-ins, first the quote "Ye are zealous, brethren, for things NOT pertaining to salvation" from St. Clement of Rome's epistle to the Corinthians, and second a story. There were names attached to this story but I've since forgotten. A single mother once stepped into an Orthodox parish during Liturgy. She wasn't wearing any kind of head covering [which, by the way, isn't exactly required in the first place]. Someone approached her and scolded her for her "inappropriate" and "disrespectful" appearance. She was so embarrassed she left. The bishop serving Liturgy must've noticed this, because his homily consisted only of this: "You know who you are. I know who you are. That woman came here seeking Christ and you dared to slam the door in her face. You WILL pray for that woman every day for the rest of your life." The bishop then returned to the altar and continued Liturgy. I don't know how the Internet amplifies those interactions, but demonstrably it does. I appreciate that you VERY charitably have chosen not to assume those represent the rest of us. We're praying for them, and you. :)
That bishop was Anthony of Sourozh, the Russian Orthodox Church, in London, UK. One of the most prominent and revered Christian clerics and thinkers of the late XX century. If you look up his name on the Internet you'll find many more words of wisdom from him
@@MattWhitmanTMBH I thought it was weird, but funny at first. Now that I've finished the video it actually seems oddly appropriate. Idk if this was intentional or not, but it helped set the tone for the more touchy stuff you hit on later. It clued us in that this wasn't some hugely produced and scripted thing, but this was someone just opening up and being honest and trying to have a real conversation. (or at least as much as that can be the case online.)
I love how you didnt cut that part out when you got interrupted, made it feel like I was actually in the room listening to you. I find it soo interesting that when you learn about Catholics and Orthodox that you thought"Wait a minute. You looked at all the same data and all the same unfolding of history, and that is what you came too" because I think the exact same thing about you especially the history part! I would love to hear your thoughts on early church history and the writings of the early church fathers because I want to know if im missing out on something that you saw while reading these figures who were closest to Christ and his context. Cheers!
I usually point Protestants in the direction of Dallas Willard and his discussions on worldview. At least they can connect easier with someone in their own culture. You can look at “data” all you want but your worldview will have a huge impact on that.
I want to thank you for your good work, as it is immensely encouraging to me. I recently converted to Catholicism from Protestantism, and while most people are understanding, many think I left the Christian faith and don't even want to understand. Your videos are really refreshing to me because you are not only intelligent and perceptive but also very humble in your approach to other Christians. Christians, whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant, need to have that same Christ-like approach.
And my husband recently was ordained As an Anglican priest after having grown up in the Assemblies of God, moving to United Methodist, and now Anglican. It’s been a wonderful journey!
A joke to sacrifice at the altar of the algorithm. May the great googler in the sky smile upon you. Two atoms were walking across a road when one of them said, "I think I lost an electron!" "Really!" the other replied, "Are you sure?" "Yes, I 'm absolutely positive."
Matt, thanks from another Orthodox person for the way you've engaged the Orthodox Church (and other churches), and I'm sorry you've had such negative interactions with people who claim the name 'Orthodox.' You've seen how real submission to the theology, ethos, and pastoral tradition of Orthodoxy can bring people real humility and peace. But because Orthodoxy here in the West is so culturally different and distinct from the experience of the vast majority, in terms of converts it tends to draw two types: brave explorers of truth with open minds, and extreme fundamentalists looking for a system. It also happens to be the more recent converts that are the most zealous, who then later mellow a bit or else leave in search of something else. So, again, thanks for handling it all with class, and I've appreciated watching you encounter some of Orthodoxy.
Hi Mat. I'm a lay Eastern Orthodox, by no means the most knowledgeable. Could I make two points: 1. I would highly recommend reading 'Saint Paisios' by Hieromonk Isaac. Easy read, great for understanding much about Orthodox spirituality and why St Paisios was formally recognised as a saint relatively soon after his death 2. If we imagine the picture of someone we love eg our mother, and we see someone who knows our mother purposely stepping on her picture, we will probably feel that this is dishonoring our mother. For us Orthodox this also works the other way round: veneration (not worship) of the image of a beloved person honors the person. So, how one treats an image of someone, passes onto the person represented by the image. Mat please forgive me if I have written things already covered in your interviews, as I haven't had the chance to watch then in their entirety. Thank you for taking the time to investigate Eastern Orthodoxy. Christian greetings. TG
I'm Orthodox, and I'd like to apologize for those uncalled for commentaries of my fellow Orthodox Christians. Like other people have said, they're not an adequate representation of the Orthodox at all. You would never be punched for wearing a baseball cap in one of our churches, nor would anyone else. Comments like those are nothing but rude and violent and need not be taken to heart. May God forgive us all!
I attended my parish last week while our Metropolitan was visiting and saw someone wearing a baseball cap, he walked out very unpunched, it was a great time.
I tried to go to a Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia for two months. Everyone was very friendly. I only attended the Divine Liturgy. I wanted to attend a different service with my family. I went to a feast day celebration for St. John of Shanghai on a Friday evening. Immediately I got bad stares since it was a small service. I was actually told I could leave anytime I wanted. My daughter and wife where there. It was quite shocking. First church I have ever been asked to leave. The Orthodox can work on being more welcoming to outsiders. My wife and I were very saddened by this event.
Hello Serbian Orthodox here in USA on behalf of others being bullies I’m sorry and please forgive us, bully has no place in Orthodoxy... I will light a candle for you. Christ is risen !
As another recent Orthodox convert (baptism in July) I can also confirm that there's a real stark difference between online Orthodoxy and real life lived Orthodoxy. Many of my Orthodox Brothers online are very very passionate about what they believe and it can lead them to say and do things that aren't very nice. My experience of real life Orthodoxy though is very different. Everyone is loving and patient and respectful. The difference can be very stark. I think in all honesty, the internet just brings out the worst in people.
@@TW-fs3fj So not to me and certainly not to all Orthodox Christians, it is believed by many that one can only be in the Body of Christ within the Orthodox Church. Participating in prayer with a heteredox (non-Orthodox) led prayer is considered forbidden. For example, if you were Orthodox and praying before a Thanksgiving meal with family, it would be recommended that you politely bow your head and say the Jesus prayer and say your own blessing. Others say it's best not to even engage with heterodox Christians. The spirit of ecumenism is considered to be evil. Again, that's not all, but it's a lot of them.
@@markheithaus Seems like internet zealotry if anyone is telling you they can't pray with you because they're Orthodox. I wouldn't have a non Orthodox lead prayer but I will gladly pray with and for them.
@@TW-fs3fj that's what I suspect, is that it's internet zealotry. I'm not Orthodox, but an Orthodox friend prayed with me when I was in the hospital and it seemed fine. I was just watching the Billy Graham preaching in Moscow and he opened with a standard prayer in front of thousands who I imagine were Orthodox, and the Russian Orthodox Church had invited him! Of course, there were Baptists who were upset with him too 😆
what you are doing Matt is awesome. you are one of the pioneers going out there and seeking genuine dialogue with the Love of Christ. far from politics. Love what you are doing. i am sure that these small footsteps will lead somewhere nice in the years to come. God bless.
Sorry if any of us have had a chip on our shoulder with you, friend. So many of us are deeply excited and hopeful for where things are going. 99% of us are much more happy that you showed up and talked to us at all than we are that you put your hand in your pockets. Stay strong, and may God bless you. I’m baptized and I still mess up with these things so don’t feel too uncomfortable
As an Orthodox Christian, I must apologise on behalf of those Orthodox that have been combative to you over the internet. They don't represent us all. I would like to thank and praise you for all the respect you show to our faith, and the depth of understanding you seek to have is amazing. We have much to learn from you. I hope and I pray that you continue the search for truth with an open heart, like you clearly have been doing. I ask your prayers, God bless.
Orthodox here. Seeing these vids 2 years after the fact. Thought this was a great series and you were thoughtful and thorough in your questions and trying to humbly learn about the Orthodox church.
Dude, I’m a Greek Orthodox Christian and I appreciate the effort you make in trying to understand our faith. I am not offended by you asking dumb questions about our churches. For us Orthodox, the church space, it’s layout and icons are a given for us, and it’s what we’ve grown up with, and will always be a constant. You engaging in honest inquiry and thoughtful articulation of your thoughts is gratefully appreciated. Oh, and if you really want to see what Orthodox liturgies are all about; look up Mount Athos.
Matt, I absolutely love your videos. It was these videos that I went to during a road divergence on my Christian journey. I was a nondenominational Protestant looking for a more disciplined, more structured life both in my spiritual and everyday life. I came to Orthodoxy after my boyfriend introduced me, it’s truly mind blowing how a church has stood the test of time and has never changed. As a new convert, I still greatly respect my Protestant roots. Everyone has a different journey with Christ, thank you for playing a part in mine! ☦️✝️
As a catechumen and long-time inquirer into Orthodoxy it grieves me to hear that you had negative interactions with certain individuals in our church online much in the spirit of legalism and judgment. I also appreciate your sympathetic attitude towards those people and for portraying our church in such an honest and inquisitive light. Love and prayers to you, friend!
Thank you for these videos. I spent 15 years as a Reformed Baptist before becoming Eastern Orthodox, having just fully entered the church last month. I appreciate your honest thoughts and wrestlings, and I look forward to further discussions and expressions of your ideas and reflections on how different traditions can interact.
I think these videos are so powerful because they are both "academic" and "personal" and you can freely say "whaaat?" and then truly listen and "process". Thanks for doing these.
As a new convert to Orthodoxy, I have watched many "Orthodox Church tours" and I must say: this is the best one I have seen thus far! Thanks for doing this. Sorry, you got some bad and sometimes violent comments. I was at Vespers last night and there was a guy wearing a hat; some women wear a head covering and some don't; some people venerate the icons and some newer folks don't. In all this diversity, I have never seen anyone say boo to anyone about any of this and more. It was several months before I would venerate anything or even cross myself. Again, no one said anything to me but was very welcoming to me and would answer my questions when I would ask. My Parish thinks it is weird when someone new comes in and automatically starts doing everything the Orthodox way like venerating icons and such.
Matt, I have watched your videos on The Coptic Orthodox Church and The Antiochian Church of America. I love your style and your respect for 'other' forms of Christianity. Myself and my Fiancee are Catechumen at St. James Antiochian Church in Ft. Collins Colorado. I have shared your videos with so many friends and family who want more information on the Antiochian Orthodox Church. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for providing this content. Christ is Risen!
I wanted to do something like this in high school where I went to different churches and compared all the different Christian religions. I stopped really short when I found orthodoxy. It just felt like nothing else and felt right.
Any Orthodox Christian with a shred of humility wouldn’t attack you for not knowing all the nuances of how we conduct ourselves in church. All I see in your videos is someone asking honest questions to gain greater understanding, and I really enjoy watching. Forgive the internet trolls (even those who claim they’re Orthodox). God bless you brother!
Regarding the hat thing I am reminded of a story - I wish I could remember the source, though there are different tellings and forms - this is the one I know best. One Sunday morning a young woman entered a church during Matins. She was dressed more as one would have expected for a Saturday night - heels, skinny short skirt, makeup (a bit worse for wear, as she may have been out since the night before). She stood there behind sunglasses, looking about. She tentatively lit a candle, and at length an older lady approached her. “What do you want here?” the older lady demanded. “I, uh… May I speak to the priest?” “Not dressed like that! You’re dressed like hussy, and this is God’s house!” “I see,” said the younger woman, and she stalked out, heels clicking. At that moment the priest came into the narthex, “Who was that?” “Some tramp, dressed like a street walker. And in the church! I told her to show respect, and she left…” “And thanks to you,” scolded the priest, “she might never come back. You were wrong to drive her out, and you must pray for her daily until she does come back.” Don’t worry about the hat, I’m just glad you came.
First I would like to thank you for presenting Orthodoxy very well. I’m an orthodox and from your video I’ve learned a lot.. one aspect that hasn’t been brought up concerning orthodoxy is that being the first Christian churches, it needed to be protected. The rituals the traditions needed to be strict and followed and respected. The Greek island my parents came from still have the caves preserved as they were then with icons the first Christians would go into to worship.. Hidden from the pagans and the nonbelievers.. I believe the issues you mentioned about a group of orthodox attacking you, stems from that ancient sense of guarding the church and its customs… thanks again
Cradle Orthodox Christian here. One of the "best" ways to view the icons is that they're like a non-moving window into the realm of God, so in essence, they are and are not present in our realm. At least that's how it was described to me. Also, love your videos, keep up the good work.
Thanks for taking an honest look at the Orthodox Church. I hope you will continue looking at various aspects of Orthodoxy including the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) as well as the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR). All of the different aspects are reflections of the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church, but you may appreciate learning more about the history of Orthodoxy in America as it was introduced in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest by such luminaries as Saint Herman and Saint Innocent.
I'm a convert to Orthodoxy from Protestantism. From my experience, there's aggressive fundamental types in every religious group and I hope we don't view them as representative of the group. Some issues that I've noticed since converting is that some can be borderline superstitious with some of the traditions and, in America at least, Orthodox churches have become a place for different ethnic groups to congregate. Sometimes it feels like there's a divide between the converts and those born into it and most of my relationships have been formed with other converts. But none of that really affects my perspective on Orthodoxy, just of human beings. The Liturgy also doesn't revolve around the sermon like in Protestantism so it's more communal and less focused on the intellect of the pastor or any one individual.
I appreciate your comment. As one born into the Orthodox faith I must say how much I admire converts because they have searched and studied and seem very committed to the faith. My Syrian grandfather came to this country 100 years ago with $50 and peddling wares and worked in the mines in Pennsylvania. The Antiochian Orthodox church provided him not only a place of worship but a place to converse in his native language and make connections.
The ugly stuff usually comes from a particular kind of convert; pray for these people, as they are usually working through an incredible amount of pain. Healing those hurts is part of the life of the Church. Check back with those folks in 50 years. If they've stuck with it, they'll have experienced some changes.
there are Eastern Catholic Churches that are in the Orthodox tradition. Byzantine, Melkite, Ukranian, malabar are a few of the 22 smaller Catholic Churches that are in the Eastern tradition.
This idea of “key assumptions” has been incredibly helpful to me in understanding why other Christians (I’m a Protestant) do things differently and it has helped me become more empathetic and more keen to learn more about their theology and traditions. These kinds of videos are always my favorite, keep up the good work!
I’m sorry to hear about those negative experiences with Orthodox people online. As an Orthodox convert of two years, I was once warned about internet orthodoxy and forums. “Real” life experiences have been incredibly positive but every group has their “crazy’s”.
Thanks! Orthodox on the Internet have been 98% awesome, but the 2% are bad in a way I don't see in other circles around the Christian Internet. I've got no hard feelings about it, but I thought it might be helpful to mention it.
Matt, I don't know how you can be more open minded and considerate than you have been up to this point. Thanks to your efforts, people like myself have been introduced to Orthodox Christianity in an absolutely positive light. To my mind, your efforts, as a kind of ambassador, are a credit to Protestants everywhere.
Hope u see this Matt. 😊 Love learning about Orthodoxy from you. I'm Greek Orthodox 💕 love everything you do. Had trouble with Saints at one time but the answer is simple... Their miracles occur daily, therefore they are alive, working with Christ to help us. ✝️❤️🙏God bless you always. Love from Cyprus 💕✝️
If you want your mind blown on the things of God, look up two podcasts: Lord of Spirits, and theWhole Counsel of God: Fr. Stephen DeYoung. Also look up Fr. John Behr on UA-cam.
As a Baptist, I've found The Orthodox Study Bible to be useful for a broad Eastern Orthodox commentary on the scriptures (produced in 2008 by the St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology -- they have a great eBook edition on Amazon.) A long time ago I subscribed to a multi-volume commentary collection of the Church Fathers from Ignatius, too, which naturally features a ton of commentary from before the schism (though that's very expensive).
My uncle, the late Archimandrite Jerome, converted to Orthodoxy in 1961 from the Evangelical United Brethern Church. At his parish in Wisconsin, families took turns baking the bread. There was a mold that they passed around for baking the bread. One time he showed it to me. So I would say people are familiar with the symbols on the bread.
As a Romanian living in Romania, orthodoxy is ubiquitous but through your videos it made me appreciate it. And to understand all the intentionality is a big difference for me. As a child going to church with my grandma, it would’ve made a big difference to understand the reason why we stand up during the entire liturgy. I baptized my daughter a couple years ago and I never knew that it should be done after 40 days, which I find pretty cool. The icons, drawings, smells and the chanting in the church are beautiful! That’s what means for me Orthodox Church. I’m saying all this as someone who wouldn’t consider him self being a “real” Christian and who doesn’t visit church too often. My experience with the orthodox church was indoctrination combined with a lot of social pressure and a lot of explanations missing. I know understand better from Father Paul that it’s the human part of the Church that feels dirty. I’d really enjoy seeing a discussion about bringing children to church. Do they choose their Faith when they are raised in that environment? On the other hand I think it can be a good moral structure for their growth. Thanks Matt for all your work!
@Efren Cruz why this recommendation? I've got more of a personal relationship with God, practice Vipassana meditation and try to learn from all religions. I don't consider one better than the other and that's one reason why I also like Matt and his openness to explore different perspectives.
Thank you for these exploratory visits! I always smile when I hear “High Church” and liturgy being attributed to Catholics/Orthodox, and “Low Church” and platforms being attributed to Protestants. We Confessional Lutherans retain Sacraments, Liturgy, Sanctuary and a more formal reverence while we gratefully rejoice in Sola Fide, Gratia and Scriptura through Chris’s fulfilling work of Salvation on the cross and our direct access to our loving Father through the work of the Spirit. I identify with Believers on both sides of the “divide.” In these seemingly less Christian times, I gain strength and encouragement in knowing that, like God reminded Elijah, we are not alone. There are many who have not ‘bent the knee to Baal.’ God is at work! Blessings on your ministry!
I think Orthodoxy is the most masculine of the denominations - not toxic masculine, but there is an inherent physicality and struggle to the orthodox life that I think is attractive to masculinity (I've heard this reiterated by many people). At any protestant church you would typically see women out number men but this is not the case at your local Orthodox Church. There are a lot of benefits to this but I guess one of the downsides is that perhaps more aggressive types are drawn to it. At any rate, the central part of Orthodoxy is not theology but participation - so Orthobros can rant and rage all they like on the internet but this really has nothing to do with Orthodoxy.
That is a pretty American development. Early Christians, as in 1st century, were mostly women and slaves at first. And if you go to historical Orthodox countries, churches are mostly filled with women. It’s and interesting development for sure, and it has been noted and discussed recently.
You are right in the sense that Orthodoxy is the Path to the fulfillment of the masculine and feminine, and their unification and completion of each other.
On the other hand , Orthodoxy is very feminine in the use of the beautiful in worship and then there are the babushkas and yiayias who really run some parishes
You're asking great questions and while being direct, you're being very respectful. It's good that you are asking. Many of us actually have ome from the same place you are currently in. At the end, there's a question you have to ask yourself, ...you reference theology that came out of the reformation, and how it's evolved to your current understanding. Many times you reference how this has come from the Bible. You are seeing how the first Christians worshipped, lived, believed (or, in the present, still believe). This is the group that assembled your Bible. We can access those same people that assembled the bible (before, during, and after) and how they viewed their faith. The question you have to ask yourself is "if I believe differently than this group, why?" And "Is this OK?" We must approach our faith with much humility. Here in America especially, if we don't like our church, we simply leave and find one that "fits" what we believe (Quite magnanamous of us!). I mean, if we were at the first council in Acts 15 and disagreed with James and the rest, and decided to go our own way, would we still be considered in the faith? If we disagreed with the council and sided with Arius, would be be considered in the faith? These aren't meant to be harsh questions, and may be somewhat rhetorical, but here in the west "I", "Myself" tend to be the best arbiter of what is good for me and what the best interpretation of the Bible is....maybe we need to push away and think on this. What if there is an actual continual faith that has existed all this time, and because of our circumstances, it has been hidden from us? We see so many churches trying to re-create the "Church of the Apostles", treating the Bible as some Jurassic Park Archeological dig, and re-creating the faith from what we have found. In the Sinai is a Greek Orthodox Monastery. They have had a continuous Christian presence from the 5th century. Continuous! There world reknown library has the oldest known bibles, the Codex Syriacus, a Syriac text of the Gospels written about 400, and a nearly complete Codex Sinaiticus, a Greek manuscript of the Bible dating from the 4th century. How they worship, and more importantly, the theology behind it and what they believe is the same as today's Orthodox. Continuous, from 527 AD. If your theology doesn't match with theirs (which matches all Orthodox) you have to ask why not? And what are you going to do about this? In America we easily say "Well, I interpret the bible to say this...(insert X) without running to ground where the source info comes from. In any case, keep up the good work. You're tilling up good stuff and asking good questions. I wouldn't spent too much time with social media bullies. Everyone is brave on a keyboard!
Standing in church really helps me focus on what I'm seeing and on what I'm hearing as well. It's too easy for my mind to drift off when I'm sitting in a pew. Not to mention the respect aspect of physically being reminded that you are in the presence of God, angels, and saints.
I was born into the Greek Orthodox Faith and have personally had a beautiful experience with it over my whole life. Here in Australia, we do have pews in our Churches. There are various intervals during important times of the liturgy where we are expected to stand, however we sit a lot as well. It’s a good mix. What I appreciate most about my Orthodox Faith is that it hasn’t changed its practices or doctrines in 2,000. It still practices in exactly the same way to what the early Church did 2,000 years ago and that means most to me. Additionally, my experience with any dealings with Priests, Arch Bishops, Deacons, Nuns, Monks etc has always been positive. They’re all lovely people, kind hearted and most of all “good souls”. You can clearly see that they’re in the job for the right reasons. I’ve been associated with the Orthodox Faith for nearly 52 years and have never had a bad experience. It has only ever brought me peace and closer to God. God bless all. 🙏🏻 PS: - For those that don’t know the history, Google “The Great Schism” which occurred in 1054. This will explain the split (Schism) between the Catholics & Orthodox, who were previously together just over 1,000 years ago. PPS: - Please also look up the beautiful UA-cam video called “The Holy Light (Holy Fire)”. 15 min video - absolutely worth the watch! 🙏🏻
I have been enjoying your visits to the Orthodox Church, I don't think you are disrespectful and I think everyone can see how you go to lengths to not offend people. Thank you for letting the Orthodox faith being known to an audience that otherwise would probably never heard of it. Instead of people attacking you, they should really appreciate and thank you.
Hello, I am an orthodox from Romania and I am your new suscriber. I very much appreciate and admire your curiosity towards the people around you and their faith. But it is more that I feel inspired about the way you are curious, about how you approach things that are unknown to you and that you don't fully understand or even understand at all. Speaking about understanding... I humbly think orthodoxy is more about feeling the word rather than understanding the word in a very logical or senselike way to us, humans. I think we, as humans, have a larger/greater capacity to feel, than to think, as we so limited in our mind, but so unlimited in our soul. A soul that goes beyond our bodies, beyond death, beyond time and all that is humane and all the way up to God... Keep doing what you do, being curious, because you feel it right and thus, you feel at peace. Big thank you for creating this kind of content. I just saw the previous video with the visit to an orthodox church and this one..and felt sooo inspired to write to you, to thank you.
Matt, Im born and raised Orthodox and I’d like to thank you for your videos. I enjoy all of your content. Im glad youre coming to realize how experiential Orthodoxy is, in this life and the next. We really do view both testaments as one story because of the foretelling of Christ and the Theophanies as well. Be well and God bless you always.
Thank you for having the honesty and courage to share with us what you found that makes sense, and what you found which didn’t make sense to you, or that you disagree with. As an Orthodox Christian, I certainly find it interesting to see how others react to our faith. I think it’s worth mentioning that there is an entire faith life which plays out inside the homes of every Orthodox family, and while we have our ‘Big’ Church stuff that we do, alot of our salvation is worked out within the walls of our homes, and hidden in the depths of our hearts. It would be so lovely if you were to travel to an Orthodox monastery, just to give us viewers your take on that more Ascetic tradition within Orthodoxy. Thanks again, and please pray for me a sinner, Victor
There's a lot of people that come to Orthodoxy seemingly because they see the uniqueness of the church and sad as it is to say, the aesthetics and traditional nature of the faith (it is traditional, in the sense we adhere to the Scriptures and Apostolic Traditions handed down to us). However the church is full of sinners, otherwise it wouldn't be a Church of God's people, there's plenty of bad people and that's only par for the course. God bless you for taking the time to explore that beautiful church and chat with Fr Pau!
Thank you for your videos bro. I'm a Protestant and because of your videos....I remain a Protestant. The videos are very educational and watching how you process the information you find is great! You do it with such respect and love.
Thank you so much for making these videos with such humility and honesty. To see you openly grapple with these hard questions and continue to listen to feedback, amend your statements, and hold firm to your faith is inspiring. Many people would either never acknowledge the feedback and just keep plugging along like nothing negative ever came up, or they would be incredibly defensive and combative in terms of defending their original stance. Thanks for being a voice of reason and grace!
lol love the video game analogy of slots. I could sense you were a gamer with the Castlevania reference in the previous vid. Anyway, my ortho bros could chill a bit. Much love for your humble and respectful curiosity! Thank you for you what you do! God bless, from a Coptic Orthodox Christian
As a Catholic I have always had a lot of questions about the Eastern Orthodox Church. Your visit was very informative and enjoyable to watch. I love the style of their icons. They are beautiful.
Fantastic video Matt, came off as very genuine and endearing. I want to say as an Orthodox myself, that I'm not surprised at your comment about having some of the worst and best internet interactions with Orthodox Christians. Many of us have suffered from "convertitis". The Devil tries to inflate our sense of pride about being in the true church because that's what he does. Once one converts, they feel foolish for ever not being Orthodox and many things about it suddenly seem incredibly obvious to them and exhibit a lack of charity for those who have been formed in other backgrounds. It's not us who chose a path, but the holy spirit guides us. I doubt any of those people would have even said anything to some new guy walking in with a hat on, and they shouldn't because all of us were there once at our first liturgy, trying to figure out what the heck was going on ourselves. God bless you, I believe you are doing a great service to Christ and his church. That video that you made at that Orthodox Cathedral in Colorado was very helpful for me converting myself.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Matt. For Catholics and the Orthodox: asking the Saints to pray for us is a very simple concept since we see it like asking a friend on earth to pray for us. I really enjoy how you mentioned how we start off with different assumptions.
The other important major difference between the Eastern Orthodox Church and all Western Churches is that Orthodox Church until 20C did not have to deal with the paradigm shift caused by the Enlightenment, and the ensuing secularisation and separation of church and state and the compartmentalisation of faith and life.
I appreciate you. You are a true open mind. I was raised Catholic, then spent my 20's and 30's studying a lot of world religions. No matter what, I've always had my faith, and my view of "truth". I always question, but am so grateful for my faith and my belief. It's gotten me through a lot of trials. Thank you.
I am what most would call a Christo-Pagan, which puts me on the very periphery of what could be called Christian. But I am very happy to have found your channel. I feel it helps my own journey towards finding my link to divinity, and also helps me in the understanding of both Protestant and Orthodox faiths. Thank you for making these videos and I hope you continue making more.
@@joseonwalking8666 We are using Orthobro as a term to denote a group of toxic, prideful, and hateful people who claim to be Orthodox but do not show it by their actions on the internet. Edit: Orthobro can also mean something different and more nuanced in other scenarios
@10:58 Hey Matt, as a former Protestant myself and now Eastern Orthodox, there was a couple things from the scriptures that convinced me of the continuity from the Old Testament worship. The first is Malachi 1:11 which says "For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the Lord of hosts." This is a prophesy fulfilled by the church. Gentiles are acting in the capacity as the Levitical priests would offering a "pure offering" (Eucharist) and incense. I take this at its word. Also in Hebrews 13:10 it says "We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.". This is showing an alter at the heart of worship with the Eucharistic sacrifice. Or Romans 15:16 where the word for _ministering_ is pointing to Paul acting as a priest in liturgical worship. All that to say, the Apostles would have set up churches in a manner consistent with liturgical worship patterns not so unlike the Temple worship except with the veil torn and now the gentiles have access to the most holy, the pure body and precious blood of Christ. Love your videos. Keep up the good work!
Your interviews with Father Paul are excellent. He is a powerful communicator. Also, your questions demonstrate an honest curiosity. As a “cradle” Orthodox, I feel I have been given a great gift in knowing the Church all my life. As seekers of Truth do, I have struggled spiritually, but I have always had a reliable foundation and community in which to work out my faith. It seems many people are learning about Orthodoxy and I see this spirit of honest curiosity in those who visit our parish. I hope that the aggression that you have encountered is rare. It is devastatingly contrary to the hospitality that we, as Orthodox Christians, are expected to extend to visitors. I suspect that some misguided/fanatical individuals are emboldened by the anonymity of the internet. Thanks for your thought provoking videos!
Matt, Thank you for your heart. I was not Protestant but I was a christian by association of family only never practiced it. Being baptized and never changing my wicked ways saying I am saved I don't need to go to church or repent for my sins. What was I thinking? lol. However my life changed when I became Eastern Orthodox Christian. The Struggle is real living as an orthodox person in this world. The cross we carry is heavy because it's not just words we say its constant repentance, It's constant asking for forgiveness of sins to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I pray that you get more knowledge in the Orthodox Faith as I am not saying convert but take a look at it and see how truly we live for Christ as he is standing before us today. God bless you and I love your videos. Keep up the good work in the name of The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Peace be with you my Brother in Christ.
Matt, I love the videos you make and this one in particular I felt like we were having a conversation in person. I am happy to see you have exposed yourself to Orthodoxy and think deeply about what you are coming in contact with. I became Orthodox and came from a similar background (reformed-evangelical-nondenominational). These are the conversations I enjoy very much. I apologize for the nasty comments from orthobros on the interwebs, unwarrented and rude. To be honest, there are odd folks that are attracted to orthodoxy and sometimes these people (in many cases new converts) can be overly zealous and forget humility. I hope your videos reach many. I wish folks I grew up with to include my friends and family took some time to wrestle with Orthodoxy. As you know, it is not something American's are around and I can't blame them for that. Take Care! Kyrie Eleison.
I really enjoyed your visit to and views on Orthodoxy. In many ways I understand where you come from as I spent the first 43 years of my life as a Protestant (Reformed tradition). Converted to Orthodoxy 7 years ago and the questions you raised about icons also took me a while to grasp. Thank you and all the best in running this race called life. God Bless!
I tried to go to a Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia for two months. Everyone was very friendly. I only attended the Divine Liturgy. I wanted to attend a different service with my family. I went to a feast day celebration for St. John of Shanghai on a Friday evening. Immediately I got bad stares since it was a small service. I was actually told I could leave anytime I wanted. My daughter and wife where there. It was quite shocking. First church I have ever been asked to leave. The Orthodox can work on being more welcoming to outsiders. My wife and I were very saddened by this event.
A few years ago I did not leave my church (same denomination as your church Matt) but I did "supplement" by attending on a somewhat regular basis a liturgical church and a charismatic multi-racial church. I did this for the specific purpose of learning. I have watched a ton of your videos. I find you speaking my language... THANK YOU.
At my chrismation, one of the priests had a dog that hung around outside the church. When a person came in, the dog ran inside and was walking around. After the Liturgy, the priest said, “If you were offended by the dog, just remember we are the dogs God welcomed to His house.”
Wow. That was really thought provoking. Such analogies make you grasp the love of God a little more. Especially when you consider how the difference between God and man is unimaginably greater than between Man and animal.
That is awesome!
We are not dogs we are Sons of god
@@GeorgeGamer Only out of His grace are we His children. We are far below dogs compared to Him. It’s an analogy not theology.
The priest was simply saying that we are as unworthy of the presence of God as a dog, and yet God welcomes us into His home as His children. He was not by any means teaching original sin.
I’m Catholic but love my Orthodox and Protestant brothers and sisters! God bless you all
Likewise sister!
Yes, we are branches on the same tree and have so much in common!
I second that!
Recently Joined the Catholic Church for the love of the Eucharist, hope the Orthodox and Catholic church can come together one day.
Me too! I’m a Protestant and love all those in the body!
As an outsider who's been nothing but respectful when interacting with Orthodox Christianity in your videos, I don't think you need to be too worried about online comments. Also if it's any encouragement, I've seen and heard nothing but love from the online Orthodox communities I'm in regards to your videos.
Yup
I'm honestly in love with this channel because of the way he goes about this stuff.
Agreed!
Nope, that's not what happened Steve. At least on my channel, I have found that if you include a link in a comment the UA-cam filter automatically catches that and puts it into an unpublished waiting for review queue, that I never ever look at. As a basic rule of thumb on most channels, if you want your comment to appear, it's best not to add a link because it will usually get flagged automatically.
I wish you would have extended me the benefit of the doubt on that instead of making proclamations about my character in a public forum.
@@MattWhitmanTMBH As an Orthodox Christian I want to apologies for Steve's accusation/slander. Forgive us for any negative comments you may have received from any Orthodox Christians. I hope you continue to make these wonderful videos, they really are helping many people seek God.
May God be with you! Christ is risen!
I just became Eastern Orthodox after decades of being a Baptist.
Welcome Home
What lead you to eastern orthodoxy?
Welcome! I was 40 years in the Protestant world before being introduced to the Eastern Church, and came to the Church in 2019. What a change. A wonderful change.
My family and I just became Orthodox after years as Protestants
Should have stayed Protestant.
I was raised southern Baptist, went to other evangelical churches, worked in ministry, etc but then approached Orthodoxy with hostility in order to disprove its claims in 2006. I found myself baptized Orthodox a year later. Orthodoxy is the hardest thing I've ever tried to do but the most meaningful and grace filled part of my life of almost 47 years. All of what I learned from being Baptist and all the "unknowns" come together within Orthodoxy and it answers The Question and the questions. I love your channel! Thanks for these videos as they are continued solidification of my faith as an Orthodox Christian.
Kinda ended up there the same way. I started out trying to poke holes in the RCC. What bits I couldn''t contradict ended up sticking and becoming part of my own theology. Eventually, I ended up here, and learning about the Orthodox Church, I felt The Call. I think sometimes it is easy to forget that it is okay to ask questions. That's how we learn to see the depth and wisdom of the Word.
Both good honest comments.. I agree with you both.
I know that God is omnipotent and omnipresent…. But I didn’t know that the saints were on the same level…. Whole lotta services to attend at the same time
@@nomadicfenceman509 No body ever in history ever said that they were but your implication of such a statement here.
Hey bro. Wanted to let you know that your videos were immensely consumed and enjoyed on my rediscovery of my faith. Former protestant, now orthodox and your questions are very familiar to me and I’m so grateful for you and for our shared love and salvation in Christ.
Thanks for saying that. I'm honored that my working it all through could in even some very small way be helpful in your process of faith as well Trevor.
@@MattWhitmanTMBH I’m becoming Orthodox, currently a catechumen, and I agree, all your questions are very familiar. I remember thinking a year ago, “I would never kiss and Icon”, here I am kissing icons.
“Obviously the bread and wine don’t turn into Christ’s ACTUAL body and blood”. Here I am desperately longing to be baptized so I can experience bringing Christ’s actual Body and Blood into myself for the first time.
Keep going, Matt. Most of us Orthodox Christians in America are converts, so we know the journey.
@@MrWesford Prayers for your journey! There is nothing like receiving Christ in the Eucharist!
@@MrWesford I was a pentecostal that became Orthodox and know what walking that path is like. God grant you many years. 👃
@@MrWesford LOL, welcome home brother! I had a similar experience.
I've noticed Orthodox think deeply on theology and history more than most people I've met. Especially converts. When you aren't arrogant or dismissive to the minds of the past you can go deeper. Man peaked intellectually and spiritually long before the reformation. It's humbling once you open up to the writings of the church fathers and the saints. Our personal interpretations are shallow compared to what's been handed down from the Apostles. Written & Spoken.
With that said I take no issue with you going out on a limb to understand. I'd welcome you to keep going. You'd benefit in future content understanding exactly what Orthodox believe even if you ultimately reject.
i think this is more because you probably live in acountry where orthodoxy is a minority, so those who are orthodox are more likely to be the more likely to the commited types.
@@daveunbelievable6313 no you get both, lots of people are born into the faith and treat it like your average Christian treats their faith.
In all the time I spent online, seeking Christian based content. I have discovered that I learn the most from protestant evangelical Christians. In contrast, I have learned nothing of value from Catholic or eastern orthodox online content.
They have a lot of extrabiblical content. Some of that is entertaining at least. When it comes to scripture, the Gospel... Definitely I learned a great amount from protestant evangelical Christians. This is where I have learned the most about the Bible, the truth, scripture, making sense of the Old Testament. For example, a scholar like the recently departed Dr. Mike Heiser has many hours of content online. I learned and got more food for thought from 1 of his videos than from all the catholic/orthodox videos combined. Even when I disagree with some of Mikes ideas. He really gets in to scripture and helps reveal how deep it is.
When I listen to orthodox content they seldom if ever refer to scripture. Instead they are always talking about saints, church fathers... Catholics too always talking about this pope or that pope or this council or that extrabiblical text.
When I listen to protestants, they are always referencing scripture, the bible, Jesus. It does not take a genius to think this through and see what is what.
@br.m questions for you.
1. The evangelicals have lots of ideas. How do you know you've actually LEARNED truth rather than just hearing a different way to view the Bible? And before you say "I see what they say in the Bible"... you can see lots of different interpretations in the Bible. That's not an indication that their interpretation of the bible is true.
2. Orthodoxy and Catholicism are not adherents of Sola Scriptura, so there is no problem in their views with extra biblical content. Evangelicals of course believe they must only follow the Bible, but that is not a self-evidently true position nor is there anything inherently more virtuous about it.
The Orthodox and the Catholics together formed the church that MADE the Bible. Christianitu did not start with the Bible, so I think you're right, it doesn't take a genius to think this through: the Orthodox and Catholics are definitely more likely to be right, since they have access to more information than just the Bible, which the Protestants all have a different interpretation of.
Ive been orthodox all my life. Those "violent comments" and negative orthodox internet individuals: weve been calling them "ortho-bros" and they are only brave online dont worry. But this is also why we have confession! I hope they dont turn you off to orthodoxy like they have so many others.
This is so true. Love is our greatest purpose as orthodox christians
My own priest jokingly calls the online militants the “Orthodox Taliban”.
Every church has that. I think the Calvinist call there version “caged Calvinist”.
The phrase is "cage stage calvinist" and man can they can go overboard
@@joshinfwtx4506 THAT is bloody hilarious!
Loved what you have to say! I’m a 72 year old grandma who is now an Orthodox catechumen after 7 years of weighing the pots and cons, 5 of them as an enquirer. It’s a complete change of “phronema”! Blessings on your path. Young people like you give hope for the future.
Beautiful story, I've heard so many say that an Orthodox parish rests on the back of the grandma's who attend, may God bless you and grant you many years!
As a heads up, from someone who's a relatively recent convert to Orthodoxy from Protestantism, the experience of Orthodox Christianity in real life is quite different than what you see online. Online, there are people who profess to be Orthodox but don't set a good example and are overly bold/aggressive (sad to say, most of them seem to be overzealous "trad" converts and catechumens). At some points I've caught myself acting in a way not becoming of an Orthodox Christian. On our behalf, sorry.
I really appreciate the comment. I've caught myself not doing things the way I should on the Internet too. Grace, forgiveness and peace to all of us.
Define "trad"
It seems as if a lot of people embrace the aesthetic, without embracing what lies behind it.
@@elgatofelix8917 By that I'm not necessarily talking about traditional people/Christians, but I mean the kind of people that obsess over "adhering to tradition" to a point where they look down on people that don't do things the way they do, and can be really aggressive or argumentative. I encounter them online almost 100% of the time, and some refer to themselves as "trads".
Not sure I clarified that well.
@@thekingofsomewhere “THATS NOT HOW YOU DO THE SIGN OF THE CROSS! REEEEEE”
Hey brother, I get your mixed reaction to Orthodoxy and pockets of the orthodox online. I’m a recent convert and had to hold my nose a bit to some of the Orthodox personalities online. But experiencing the thing itself, the faith, the liturgy, and the Orthodox vision of reality completely floored me and I couldn’t turn back. Your comment comparing the depth in Orthodoxy to Tolkien; I get that. I think it’s because the Orthodox still very much inhabit a Christian cosmos, and haven’t tried to weave together this patchwork of secularism, scientism, and somehow fitting in God and revelation. I think that patchwork is the child of western history, and the Orthodox seem to be clinging to something deep and ancient that’s hard to understand from a modern perspective. Anyway, sorry for the rant, thanks for the videos; really enjoy them and found them helpful in my own journey. Christos Anesti!
I agree with your view except I think we don’t so much “ cling “ so much as we are “deeply rooted in” it! To be truly and fully Orthodox (living the depth of our tradition) is different than just being culturally Orthodox (participating in only the cultural aspects of the Church traditions yet having little to no real understanding of the Orthodox theology). That being said, many deepen their faith over their lifetime.
@@socol76 thank you for the correction.
The reality of Orthodoxy's lore being so deep and "thought out" I find as both a great consolation and one of my greatest sources of consternation in being Orthodox.
But you're totally right - Protestantism has a metaphysics or a view of the world which isn't based on a foundational view of the cosmos that goes deep enough. Orthodoxy digs to the deepest possible level - that of worship. Fr Schmemann was entirely right in diagnosing our present moment.
I can feel the pre-modern form of worship and world view coming through, too. It's nice to feel the two tied together.
GLORY TO GOD 🤲🏽 love from Ethiopian ortodox Christian❤️
I grew up Reformed and joined the Orthodox Church a few years ago, after learning in depth about the history of the Church I don't think I could ever be anything but Orthodox. And then actually attending and participating in the life of the Church I've never felt so fulfilled or grown spiritually like this.
My sentiments exactly after moving into an Anglo Catholic church. My husband is now an Anglican priest after growing up Pentecostal!
We have met online.
@Christos Kyrios I think the big difference with the Orthodox Church is the place off St. Augustine, to us he's not correct on everything and is kind of an outlier compared to his contemporaries. We look more to the consensus of the Church in all the Fathers and not one primarily, like Sts. John Chrysostom, Basil, Gregory, Athanasius, and the other Fathers are all seen as being correct and having a greater consensus. Plus we don't see a need for a Reformation, the Church is like a family heirloom handed down by Christ to the Apostles and in an unbroken chain to the current day, there have been times of struggle against heresies but the Truth won in the end and the heresies died, and the gates of hell never prevailed.
@Christos Kyrios One thing I've noticed also is that what seems to be the theological school most similar to Orthodoxy is Wesleyan ideas of sanctification, it's very similar to our idea of Theosis.
@Christos Kyrios That's pretty cool
As a member of the parish you visited in Salt Lake, I thought your approach was very respectful. I found your questions insightful, probing, and very interesting. I learned things about my faith by hearing Father Paul answer your excellent questions. Please forgive those who are vehemently looking for meaning in their lives by posting harsh or thoughtless attacks in youtube comments.
I come from a similar Protestant background as you. Lost my faith after college and I’m now returning with a deep interest in Orthodoxy.
I tried to go to a Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia for two months. Everyone was very friendly. I only attended the Divine Liturgy. I wanted to attend a different service with my family. I went to a feast day celebration for St. John of Shanghai on a Friday evening. Immediately I got bad stares since it was a small service. I was actually told I could leave anytime I wanted. My daughter and wife where there. It was quite shocking. First church I have ever been asked to leave. The Orthodox can work on being more welcoming to outsiders. My wife and I were very saddened by this event.
I am a convert to Holy Orthodoxy from Southern Baptist. I wanna say God bless you! I am praying for you in your journey to know Christ better. Don’t worry about the zealous bully orthodox and remember they are sinners just like all of us. Really enjoy your videos Brother!
I am Orthodox from Greece, and I have been watching your videos for a few years now.
Keep up the good work!
It is important to know that the Orthodox Church teaches that she is Israel. We believe that there's never been a break in the lineage of Israel. The difference now is twofold, one, gentiles are now a part of and can join Israel (the Church) and two, because there's no break in the lineage, the Church continues to worship in the same manner, albeit now, as a fulfillment of what you see and read about in the Old Testament. We continue to have the same elements, but now they take on the fulfillment of the types in the Old Testament. I hope this helps. I enjoyed your video visiting Sts Peter and Paul in Utah. If you ever find yourself in Nashville, please feel free to let me know. I'd be happy to invite you to visit my parish! ( I am Orthodox if you haven't figured that out already lol)
@@alexs8335 Indeed, he is Risen!
Great reply! It's simple and to the point, and is a great rebuttal to certain popular beliefs concerning modern Israel and the End Times.
Replacement Theology?
@@mattrivera8587 Covenant Theology. Replacement theology is a dispensationalist strawman against covenant theology.
In terms of the pockets of Orthodoxy that are aggressive, they're really only on the internet in my experience, or if they're in church they're not acting that way. Being that aggressive with outsiders who literally have no idea what they did wrong and weren't given a chance to learn comes from a lack of patience and love, the only time we see Christ get aggressive is with people is when those people should know better like the Apostles, or when those people are intentionally misleading people and trying to undermine Christ like the Sadducee and Pharisees. When St. Nicholas slapped Arius, Arius was a bishop of the Church and knew very well what he was doing was wrong but still continued in it, he wasn't someone who just wandered in and happened to disagree, he was a leader of the Church. My priest has said "be careful where you get your Orthodoxy from" when talking about the internet just because some pockets just get so crazy.
I agree. I'm a convert to Orthodoxy in the UK and yes most Orthodox don't behave like that. My priest has advised if someone online is preaching aggressively ask who is their Bishop. Chances are they are not technically canonical
Good point! Lots of sketchy people online that claim to be Orthodox but spew hatred and the likes. Of course hatred of any form is completely against Orthodoxy.
@@phanourios1279 that seems to be the case a lot of the time, they latch on to a sort of "orthodoxism identity" but don't participate in the life of the Church.
@@phanourios1279 not a fair argument all the time. I know, here in Australia, a lot of us just don't get the chance to know the clergy better, due to how few churches there are compared to the faithful and how incredibly busy they priests are.
Sometimes trolls too
I'm in the process of converting to Orthodox Christianity. Thanks for doing this video.
Have you considered catholic church
@@masto2898 why would they consider a heresy instead of the truth?
@@xriskos4227 to claim that catholicism is heresy is a big claim
You have to prove it
Try to prove that the true church is heretical i am waiting
@@masto2898 Catholic church is everywhere, has a lot of money and resources, so I am sure he considered it. Most people who look for truth in fact choose catholicism as opposed to orthodoxy mostly because it is more convenient especially for an english-speaker.
@@masto2898 The pope kissed the Koran and proved how heretical your fallible papacy is.
Dear Matt, please accept my apologies on behalf of those Ortho bros who came at you with such unrighteous hostility! The zeal they exhibit is without true knowledge of the Orthodox phronema (i.e. “mindset”), which should above all else be expressed with the humility that is fitting a follower of Christ.
Your open heart and mind are beautiful and all people of belief or non-belief would do well to emulate your example.
May God grant you many happy and healthy years! 🙏☦️❤️
Its one of the sad parts of the internet, people of all walks are just extra nasty on it.
Thank you Lorinda.
@@throngarastora7569 we must pray for their healing! 🙏☦️❤️
@@brotheraugustine Christ is Risen!Hi, Michael 🥰
@Pat Lance It is a way of righting a wrong done. I see it as if someone in my family offended someone, I would feel obligated to apologize on their behalf because this relative did not behave as a faithful representative of my family. In fact, isn’t that what we do at the liturgy and in our private prayers? We stand in the presence of God on behalf of the whole world and ask Him for His grace, mercy and favor on its behalf?
As an Orthodox Christian, I would like to thank you for producing these videos on Orthodoxy. I shared your previous video in a large Orthodox FB group and the reception has been very positive.
Thanks for doing that Michael!
Remember that the curtain can be opened. It is opened at times and especially for the Eucharist, Communion. Think how that relates to the veil in the temple being torn! So glad you enjoyed your visit with the Orthodox Church. For a better understanding, attend some services!
He got physical threats for visiting the Church. Very welcoming!
I enjoy learning about these other traditions through this channel. Interesting insights.
The interesting thing to ponder on is the idea that the religion of the Old Testament is not a different religion than Christianity, Christianity is just the fulfillment of such religion. With that in mind, it is easier to understand how the Early Christians maintained the ethos that was present in the Old Testament, from the understanding of Liturgy to their idea of symbolism. A great book that goes over this idea is The Religion of the Apostles by Fr. Stephen De Young
I'm reading it now, it's awesome!
Even though I’m Orthodox I want to read it too.
@@socol76 I'm also Orthodox and it still taught me a lot, it's definitely a good read.
Regarding the tearing of the veil, it's not kept closed during the whole course of services. In fact, it's ripped back and the royal doors thrown open as the priest exits the altar with the Eucharist to bring it to the Faithful. I find it a beautiful playing-out of Christ tearing down the barriers, and not only asks us to come to Him, but also comes to us Himself. Of course, as a former Church of God evangelical myself, I definitely understand how that would cause that "record-scratch" moment that was mentioned. But, I have to say I really deeply appreciate how respectful and charitable you're being, especially when you find this thing or that thing quite troubling. God be with you! :)
EDIT: I'm writing this as I watch the video. I'm deeply saddened [but not surprised] that you've encountered some of our less...Fruits-of-the-Spirit-aware brothers or sisters. I'm reminded of two things when I have my own run-ins, first the quote "Ye are zealous, brethren, for things NOT pertaining to salvation" from St. Clement of Rome's epistle to the Corinthians, and second a story. There were names attached to this story but I've since forgotten. A single mother once stepped into an Orthodox parish during Liturgy. She wasn't wearing any kind of head covering [which, by the way, isn't exactly required in the first place]. Someone approached her and scolded her for her "inappropriate" and "disrespectful" appearance. She was so embarrassed she left. The bishop serving Liturgy must've noticed this, because his homily consisted only of this: "You know who you are. I know who you are. That woman came here seeking Christ and you dared to slam the door in her face. You WILL pray for that woman every day for the rest of your life." The bishop then returned to the altar and continued Liturgy.
I don't know how the Internet amplifies those interactions, but demonstrably it does. I appreciate that you VERY charitably have chosen not to assume those represent the rest of us. We're praying for them, and you. :)
That bishop was Anthony of Sourozh, the Russian Orthodox Church, in London, UK. One of the most prominent and revered Christian clerics and thinkers of the late XX century. If you look up his name on the Internet you'll find many more words of wisdom from him
I love how Matt just gets up to answer the door in the middle of the video and doesn't edit it out. lol!
It felt right to leave it :)
@@MattWhitmanTMBH I thought it was weird, but funny at first. Now that I've finished the video it actually seems oddly appropriate. Idk if this was intentional or not, but it helped set the tone for the more touchy stuff you hit on later. It clued us in that this wasn't some hugely produced and scripted thing, but this was someone just opening up and being honest and trying to have a real conversation. (or at least as much as that can be the case online.)
Funny I find you here in the comment section Tyler.
I love how you didnt cut that part out when you got interrupted, made it feel like I was actually in the room listening to you. I find it soo interesting that when you learn about Catholics and Orthodox that you thought"Wait a minute. You looked at all the same data and all the same unfolding of history, and that is what you came too" because I think the exact same thing about you especially the history part! I would love to hear your thoughts on early church history and the writings of the early church fathers because I want to know if im missing out on something that you saw while reading these figures who were closest to Christ and his context. Cheers!
I was scrolling comments as I listened and hit that moment in the video at the exact moment I read it in your comment lol
I usually point Protestants in the direction of Dallas Willard and his discussions on worldview. At least they can connect easier with someone in their own culture. You can look at “data” all you want but your worldview will have a huge impact on that.
I want to thank you for your good work, as it is immensely encouraging to me. I recently converted to Catholicism from Protestantism, and while most people are understanding, many think I left the Christian faith and don't even want to understand. Your videos are really refreshing to me because you are not only intelligent and perceptive but also very humble in your approach to other Christians. Christians, whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant, need to have that same Christ-like approach.
And my husband recently was ordained As an Anglican priest after having grown up in the Assemblies of God, moving to United Methodist, and now Anglican. It’s been a wonderful journey!
Welcome Home! I was confirmed on St Valentine’s Day coming from agnosticism and I love it to bits. I started altar serving about five weeks ago
A joke to sacrifice at the altar of the algorithm. May the great googler in the sky smile upon you.
Two atoms were walking across a road when one of them said, "I think I lost an electron!" "Really!" the other replied, "Are you sure?" "Yes, I 'm absolutely positive."
Matt, thanks from another Orthodox person for the way you've engaged the Orthodox Church (and other churches), and I'm sorry you've had such negative interactions with people who claim the name 'Orthodox.' You've seen how real submission to the theology, ethos, and pastoral tradition of Orthodoxy can bring people real humility and peace. But because Orthodoxy here in the West is so culturally different and distinct from the experience of the vast majority, in terms of converts it tends to draw two types: brave explorers of truth with open minds, and extreme fundamentalists looking for a system. It also happens to be the more recent converts that are the most zealous, who then later mellow a bit or else leave in search of something else. So, again, thanks for handling it all with class, and I've appreciated watching you encounter some of Orthodoxy.
Hi Mat. I'm a lay Eastern Orthodox, by no means the most knowledgeable. Could I make two points:
1. I would highly recommend reading 'Saint Paisios' by Hieromonk Isaac. Easy read, great for understanding much about Orthodox spirituality and why St Paisios was formally recognised as a saint relatively soon after his death
2. If we imagine the picture of someone we love eg our mother, and we see someone who knows our mother purposely stepping on her picture, we will probably feel that this is dishonoring our mother. For us Orthodox this also works the other way round: veneration (not worship) of the image of a beloved person honors the person. So, how one treats an image of someone, passes onto the person represented by the image.
Mat please forgive me if I have written things already covered in your interviews, as I haven't had the chance to watch then in their entirety.
Thank you for taking the time to investigate Eastern Orthodoxy.
Christian greetings. TG
I'm Orthodox, and I'd like to apologize for those uncalled for commentaries of my fellow Orthodox Christians. Like other people have said, they're not an adequate representation of the Orthodox at all. You would never be punched for wearing a baseball cap in one of our churches, nor would anyone else. Comments like those are nothing but rude and violent and need not be taken to heart. May God forgive us all!
I attended my parish last week while our Metropolitan was visiting and saw someone wearing a baseball cap, he walked out very unpunched, it was a great time.
I tried to go to a Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia for two months. Everyone was very friendly. I only attended the Divine Liturgy. I wanted to attend a different service with my family. I went to a feast day celebration for St. John of Shanghai on a Friday evening. Immediately I got bad stares since it was a small service. I was actually told I could leave anytime I wanted. My daughter and wife where there. It was quite shocking. First church I have ever been asked to leave. The Orthodox can work on being more welcoming to outsiders. My wife and I were very saddened by this event.
Hello Serbian Orthodox here in USA on behalf of others being bullies I’m sorry and please forgive us, bully has no place in Orthodoxy... I will light a candle for you. Christ is risen !
As another recent Orthodox convert (baptism in July) I can also confirm that there's a real stark difference between online Orthodoxy and real life lived Orthodoxy.
Many of my Orthodox Brothers online are very very passionate about what they believe and it can lead them to say and do things that aren't very nice.
My experience of real life Orthodoxy though is very different. Everyone is loving and patient and respectful. The difference can be very stark.
I think in all honesty, the internet just brings out the worst in people.
I only recently learned that my Orthodox friends who pray with me are heretics for doing so 😂
@@markheithaus How are they heretics for that?
@@TW-fs3fj So not to me and certainly not to all Orthodox Christians, it is believed by many that one can only be in the Body of Christ within the Orthodox Church. Participating in prayer with a heteredox (non-Orthodox) led prayer is considered forbidden. For example, if you were Orthodox and praying before a Thanksgiving meal with family, it would be recommended that you politely bow your head and say the Jesus prayer and say your own blessing. Others say it's best not to even engage with heterodox Christians. The spirit of ecumenism is considered to be evil.
Again, that's not all, but it's a lot of them.
@@markheithaus Seems like internet zealotry if anyone is telling you they can't pray with you because they're Orthodox. I wouldn't have a non Orthodox lead prayer but I will gladly pray with and for them.
@@TW-fs3fj that's what I suspect, is that it's internet zealotry. I'm not Orthodox, but an Orthodox friend prayed with me when I was in the hospital and it seemed fine. I was just watching the Billy Graham preaching in Moscow and he opened with a standard prayer in front of thousands who I imagine were Orthodox, and the Russian Orthodox Church had invited him! Of course, there were Baptists who were upset with him too 😆
what you are doing Matt is awesome. you are one of the pioneers going out there and seeking genuine dialogue with the Love of Christ. far from politics. Love what you are doing. i am sure that these small footsteps will lead somewhere nice in the years to come. God bless.
Born and raised Baptist and converted to Orthodoxy. I appreciate your videos and the respect you show to others. May God grant you many years.
Sorry if any of us have had a chip on our shoulder with you, friend. So many of us are deeply excited and hopeful for where things are going. 99% of us are much more happy that you showed up and talked to us at all than we are that you put your hand in your pockets. Stay strong, and may God bless you. I’m baptized and I still mess up with these things so don’t feel too uncomfortable
As an Orthodox Christian, I must apologise on behalf of those Orthodox that have been combative to you over the internet. They don't represent us all. I would like to thank and praise you for all the respect you show to our faith, and the depth of understanding you seek to have is amazing. We have much to learn from you. I hope and I pray that you continue the search for truth with an open heart, like you clearly have been doing. I ask your prayers, God bless.
If you ever get the chance, please visit a church on the Pascha vigil (orthodox easter) it is a truly amazing experience.
Orthodox here. Seeing these vids 2 years after the fact. Thought this was a great series and you were thoughtful and thorough in your questions and trying to humbly learn about the Orthodox church.
Dude, I’m a Greek Orthodox Christian and I appreciate the effort you make in trying to understand our faith. I am not offended by you asking dumb questions about our churches. For us Orthodox, the church space, it’s layout and icons are a given for us, and it’s what we’ve grown up with, and will always be a constant.
You engaging in honest inquiry and thoughtful articulation of your thoughts is gratefully appreciated.
Oh, and if you really want to see what Orthodox liturgies are all about; look up Mount Athos.
Matt, I absolutely love your videos. It was these videos that I went to during a road divergence on my Christian journey. I was a nondenominational Protestant looking for a more disciplined, more structured life both in my spiritual and everyday life. I came to Orthodoxy after my boyfriend introduced me, it’s truly mind blowing how a church has stood the test of time and has never changed. As a new convert, I still greatly respect my Protestant roots. Everyone has a different journey with Christ, thank you for playing a part in mine! ☦️✝️
I was having a pretty rough day it's so good to see a second TMBH video in a week. This video helped brighten my day thank you
Glad to hear it amigo. Hang in.
As a catechumen and long-time inquirer into Orthodoxy it grieves me to hear that you had negative interactions with certain individuals in our church online much in the spirit of legalism and judgment. I also appreciate your sympathetic attitude towards those people and for portraying our church in such an honest and inquisitive light. Love and prayers to you, friend!
Thank you for these videos. I spent 15 years as a Reformed Baptist before becoming Eastern Orthodox, having just fully entered the church last month. I appreciate your honest thoughts and wrestlings, and I look forward to further discussions and expressions of your ideas and reflections on how different traditions can interact.
I think these videos are so powerful because they are both "academic" and "personal" and you can freely say "whaaat?" and then truly listen and "process". Thanks for doing these.
As a new convert to Orthodoxy, I have watched many "Orthodox Church tours" and I must say: this is the best one I have seen thus far! Thanks for doing this. Sorry, you got some bad and sometimes violent comments. I was at Vespers last night and there was a guy wearing a hat; some women wear a head covering and some don't; some people venerate the icons and some newer folks don't. In all this diversity, I have never seen anyone say boo to anyone about any of this and more. It was several months before I would venerate anything or even cross myself. Again, no one said anything to me but was very welcoming to me and would answer my questions when I would ask. My Parish thinks it is weird when someone new comes in and automatically starts doing everything the Orthodox way like venerating icons and such.
Matt,
I have watched your videos on The Coptic Orthodox Church and The Antiochian Church of America. I love your style and your respect for 'other' forms of Christianity. Myself and my Fiancee are Catechumen at St. James Antiochian Church in Ft. Collins Colorado. I have shared your videos with so many friends and family who want more information on the Antiochian Orthodox Church. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for providing this content.
Christ is Risen!
I wanted to do something like this in high school where I went to different churches and compared all the different Christian religions. I stopped really short when I found orthodoxy. It just felt like nothing else and felt right.
Any Orthodox Christian with a shred of humility wouldn’t attack you for not knowing all the nuances of how we conduct ourselves in church. All I see in your videos is someone asking honest questions to gain greater understanding, and I really enjoy watching. Forgive the internet trolls (even those who claim they’re Orthodox). God bless you brother!
Regarding the hat thing I am reminded of a story - I wish I could remember the source, though there are different tellings and forms - this is the one I know best. One Sunday morning a young woman entered a church during Matins. She was dressed more as one would have expected for a Saturday night - heels, skinny short skirt, makeup (a bit worse for wear, as she may have been out since the night before). She stood there behind sunglasses, looking about. She tentatively lit a candle, and at length an older lady approached her. “What do you want here?” the older lady demanded.
“I, uh… May I speak to the priest?”
“Not dressed like that! You’re dressed like hussy, and this is God’s house!”
“I see,” said the younger woman, and she stalked out, heels clicking.
At that moment the priest came into the narthex, “Who was that?”
“Some tramp, dressed like a street walker. And in the church! I told her to show respect, and she left…”
“And thanks to you,” scolded the priest, “she might never come back. You were wrong to drive her out, and you must pray for her daily until she does come back.”
Don’t worry about the hat, I’m just glad you came.
First I would like to thank you for presenting Orthodoxy very well. I’m an orthodox and from your video I’ve learned a lot.. one aspect that hasn’t been brought up concerning orthodoxy is that being the first Christian churches, it needed to be protected. The rituals the traditions needed to be strict and followed and respected. The Greek island my parents came from still have the caves preserved as they were then with icons the first Christians would go into to worship.. Hidden from the pagans and the nonbelievers.. I believe the issues you mentioned about a group of orthodox attacking you, stems from that ancient sense of guarding the church and its customs… thanks again
I love your referring to Orthodox believers as "my Orthodox brethren" - may the Christ bless you, brother :)
Cradle Orthodox Christian here. One of the "best" ways to view the icons is that they're like a non-moving window into the realm of God, so in essence, they are and are not present in our realm. At least that's how it was described to me. Also, love your videos, keep up the good work.
Thanks for taking an honest look at the Orthodox Church. I hope you will continue looking at various aspects of Orthodoxy including the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) as well as the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR). All of the different aspects are reflections of the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church, but you may appreciate learning more about the history of Orthodoxy in America as it was introduced in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest by such luminaries as Saint Herman and Saint Innocent.
I'm a convert to Orthodoxy from Protestantism. From my experience, there's aggressive fundamental types in every religious group and I hope we don't view them as representative of the group. Some issues that I've noticed since converting is that some can be borderline superstitious with some of the traditions and, in America at least, Orthodox churches have become a place for different ethnic groups to congregate. Sometimes it feels like there's a divide between the converts and those born into it and most of my relationships have been formed with other converts. But none of that really affects my perspective on Orthodoxy, just of human beings. The Liturgy also doesn't revolve around the sermon like in Protestantism so it's more communal and less focused on the intellect of the pastor or any one individual.
I appreciate your comment. As one born into the Orthodox faith I must say how much I admire converts because they have searched and studied and seem very committed to the faith. My Syrian grandfather came to this country 100 years ago with $50 and peddling wares and worked in the mines in Pennsylvania. The Antiochian Orthodox church provided him not only a place of worship but a place to converse in his native language and make connections.
The ugly stuff usually comes from a particular kind of convert; pray for these people, as they are usually working through an incredible amount of pain. Healing those hurts is part of the life of the Church. Check back with those folks in 50 years. If they've stuck with it, they'll have experienced some changes.
Your videos are really helping me process as well. Thank you Brother.
As a Catholic, I love and appreciate my Orthodox brothers and sisters.
there are Eastern Catholic Churches that are in the Orthodox tradition. Byzantine, Melkite, Ukranian, malabar are a few of the 22 smaller Catholic Churches that are in the Eastern tradition.
This idea of “key assumptions” has been incredibly helpful to me in understanding why other Christians (I’m a Protestant) do things differently and it has helped me become more empathetic and more keen to learn more about their theology and traditions. These kinds of videos are always my favorite, keep up the good work!
I’m sorry to hear about those negative experiences with Orthodox people online. As an Orthodox convert of two years, I was once warned about internet orthodoxy and forums. “Real” life experiences have been incredibly positive but every group has their “crazy’s”.
Thanks! Orthodox on the Internet have been 98% awesome, but the 2% are bad in a way I don't see in other circles around the Christian Internet. I've got no hard feelings about it, but I thought it might be helpful to mention it.
Matt, I don't know how you can be more open minded and considerate than you have been up to this point. Thanks to your efforts, people like myself have been introduced to Orthodox Christianity in an absolutely positive light. To my mind, your efforts, as a kind of ambassador, are a credit to Protestants everywhere.
Hope u see this Matt. 😊 Love learning about Orthodoxy from you. I'm Greek Orthodox 💕 love everything you do. Had trouble with Saints at one time but the answer is simple... Their miracles occur daily, therefore they are alive, working with Christ to help us. ✝️❤️🙏God bless you always. Love from Cyprus 💕✝️
If you want your mind blown on the things of God, look up two podcasts: Lord of Spirits, and theWhole Counsel of God: Fr. Stephen DeYoung. Also look up Fr. John Behr on UA-cam.
It really is an amazing podcast. And amazing is an understatement.
An understatement! Incredible insights from Fr. De Young.
I would check out his new book too!!! It's amazing
@@grantguikema9821 I bought and will finish my current read this weekend. I can’t wait to dive in!
Lord of Spirits will make your brain explode!
Congratulations on one of your other videos - Protestant takes tour of a Catholic Cathedral getting 1,000,000 views! That’s amazing!
Hey thanks! I made that one just a couple of blocks from this most recent Orthodox video.
As a Baptist, I've found The Orthodox Study Bible to be useful for a broad Eastern Orthodox commentary on the scriptures (produced in 2008 by the St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology -- they have a great eBook edition on Amazon.) A long time ago I subscribed to a multi-volume commentary collection of the Church Fathers from Ignatius, too, which naturally features a ton of commentary from before the schism (though that's very expensive).
People in the parish do know and see prosphoron bread. Usually they are baking it for the church.
My uncle, the late Archimandrite Jerome, converted to Orthodoxy in 1961 from the Evangelical United Brethern Church. At his parish in Wisconsin, families took turns baking the bread. There was a mold that they passed around for baking the bread. One time he showed it to me. So I would say people are familiar with the symbols on the bread.
As a Romanian living in Romania, orthodoxy is ubiquitous but through your videos it made me appreciate it. And to understand all the intentionality is a big difference for me. As a child going to church with my grandma, it would’ve made a big difference to understand the reason why we stand up during the entire liturgy. I baptized my daughter a couple years ago and I never knew that it should be done after 40 days, which I find pretty cool.
The icons, drawings, smells and the chanting in the church are beautiful! That’s what means for me Orthodox Church.
I’m saying all this as someone who wouldn’t consider him self being a “real” Christian and who doesn’t visit church too often. My experience with the orthodox church was indoctrination combined with a lot of social pressure and a lot of explanations missing. I know understand better from Father Paul that it’s the human part of the Church that feels dirty. I’d really enjoy seeing a discussion about bringing children to church. Do they choose their Faith when they are raised in that environment? On the other hand I think it can be a good moral structure for their growth. Thanks Matt for all your work!
@Efren Cruz why this recommendation? I've got more of a personal relationship with God, practice Vipassana meditation and try to learn from all religions. I don't consider one better than the other and that's one reason why I also like Matt and his openness to explore different perspectives.
Thank you for these exploratory visits!
I always smile when I hear “High Church” and liturgy being attributed to Catholics/Orthodox, and “Low Church” and platforms being attributed to Protestants.
We Confessional Lutherans retain Sacraments, Liturgy, Sanctuary and a more formal reverence while we gratefully rejoice in Sola Fide, Gratia and Scriptura through Chris’s fulfilling work of Salvation on the cross and our direct access to our loving Father through the work of the Spirit.
I identify with Believers on both sides of the “divide.” In these seemingly less Christian times, I gain strength and encouragement in knowing that, like God reminded Elijah, we are not alone. There are many who have not ‘bent the knee to Baal.’ God is at work!
Blessings on your ministry!
Recent subscriber here from New Zealand. Absolutely LOVE your channel. Keep up the good work brother!
I think Orthodoxy is the most masculine of the denominations - not toxic masculine, but there is an inherent physicality and struggle to the orthodox life that I think is attractive to masculinity (I've heard this reiterated by many people). At any protestant church you would typically see women out number men but this is not the case at your local Orthodox Church. There are a lot of benefits to this but I guess one of the downsides is that perhaps more aggressive types are drawn to it. At any rate, the central part of Orthodoxy is not theology but participation - so Orthobros can rant and rage all they like on the internet but this really has nothing to do with Orthodoxy.
That is a pretty American development. Early Christians, as in 1st century, were mostly women and slaves at first. And if you go to historical Orthodox countries, churches are mostly filled with women. It’s and interesting development for sure, and it has been noted and discussed recently.
Go to Ethiopia and you'll see that the majority in Orthodox churches are women.
You are right in the sense that Orthodoxy is the Path to the fulfillment of the masculine and feminine, and their unification and completion of each other.
On the other hand , Orthodoxy is very feminine in the use of the beautiful in worship and then there are the babushkas and yiayias who really run some parishes
You're asking great questions and while being direct, you're being very respectful. It's good that you are asking. Many of us actually have ome from the same place you are currently in. At the end, there's a question you have to ask yourself, ...you reference theology that came out of the reformation, and how it's evolved to your current understanding. Many times you reference how this has come from the Bible. You are seeing how the first Christians worshipped, lived, believed (or, in the present, still believe). This is the group that assembled your Bible. We can access those same people that assembled the bible (before, during, and after) and how they viewed their faith. The question you have to ask yourself is "if I believe differently than this group, why?" And "Is this OK?" We must approach our faith with much humility. Here in America especially, if we don't like our church, we simply leave and find one that "fits" what we believe (Quite magnanamous of us!). I mean, if we were at the first council in Acts 15 and disagreed with James and the rest, and decided to go our own way, would we still be considered in the faith? If we disagreed with the council and sided with Arius, would be be considered in the faith? These aren't meant to be harsh questions, and may be somewhat rhetorical, but here in the west "I", "Myself" tend to be the best arbiter of what is good for me and what the best interpretation of the Bible is....maybe we need to push away and think on this. What if there is an actual continual faith that has existed all this time, and because of our circumstances, it has been hidden from us? We see so many churches trying to re-create the "Church of the Apostles", treating the Bible as some Jurassic Park Archeological dig, and re-creating the faith from what we have found. In the Sinai is a Greek Orthodox Monastery. They have had a continuous Christian presence from the 5th century. Continuous! There world reknown library has the oldest known bibles, the Codex Syriacus, a Syriac text of the Gospels written about 400, and a nearly complete Codex Sinaiticus, a Greek manuscript of the Bible dating from the 4th century. How they worship, and more importantly, the theology behind it and what they believe is the same as today's Orthodox. Continuous, from 527 AD. If your theology doesn't match with theirs (which matches all Orthodox) you have to ask why not? And what are you going to do about this? In America we easily say "Well, I interpret the bible to say this...(insert X) without running to ground where the source info comes from. In any case, keep up the good work. You're tilling up good stuff and asking good questions. I wouldn't spent too much time with social media bullies. Everyone is brave on a keyboard!
Standing in church really helps me focus on what I'm seeing and on what I'm hearing as well. It's too easy for my mind to drift off when I'm sitting in a pew. Not to mention the respect aspect of physically being reminded that you are in the presence of God, angels, and saints.
I was born into the Greek Orthodox Faith and have personally had a beautiful experience with it over my whole life. Here in Australia, we do have pews in our Churches. There are various intervals during important times of the liturgy where we are expected to stand, however we sit a lot as well. It’s a good mix. What I appreciate most about my Orthodox Faith is that it hasn’t changed its practices or doctrines in 2,000. It still practices in exactly the same way to what the early Church did 2,000 years ago and that means most to me. Additionally, my experience with any dealings with Priests, Arch Bishops, Deacons, Nuns, Monks etc has always been positive. They’re all lovely people, kind hearted and most of all “good souls”. You can clearly see that they’re in the job for the right reasons.
I’ve been associated with the Orthodox Faith for nearly 52 years and have never had a bad experience. It has only ever brought me peace and closer to God. God bless all. 🙏🏻
PS: - For those that don’t know the history, Google “The Great Schism” which occurred in 1054. This will explain the split (Schism) between the Catholics & Orthodox, who were previously together just over 1,000 years ago.
PPS: - Please also look up the beautiful UA-cam video called “The Holy Light (Holy Fire)”. 15 min video - absolutely worth the watch! 🙏🏻
I have been enjoying your visits to the Orthodox Church, I don't think you are disrespectful and I think everyone can see how you go to lengths to not offend people. Thank you for letting the Orthodox faith being known to an audience that otherwise would probably never heard of it. Instead of people attacking you, they should really appreciate and thank you.
Hello, I am an orthodox from Romania and I am your new suscriber. I very much appreciate and admire your curiosity towards the people around you and their faith. But it is more that I feel inspired about the way you are curious, about how you approach things that are unknown to you and that you don't fully understand or even understand at all. Speaking about understanding... I humbly think orthodoxy is more about feeling the word rather than understanding the word in a very logical or senselike way to us, humans. I think we, as humans, have a larger/greater capacity to feel, than to think, as we so limited in our mind, but so unlimited in our soul. A soul that goes beyond our bodies, beyond death, beyond time and all that is humane and all the way up to God... Keep doing what you do, being curious, because you feel it right and thus, you feel at peace. Big thank you for creating this kind of content. I just saw the previous video with the visit to an orthodox church and this one..and felt sooo inspired to write to you, to thank you.
Matt, Im born and raised Orthodox and I’d like to thank you for your videos. I enjoy all of your content. Im glad youre coming to realize how experiential Orthodoxy is, in this life and the next. We really do view both testaments as one story because of the foretelling of Christ and the Theophanies as well. Be well and God bless you always.
Matt mentioned the different feel of epistemology of the old testament between groups.
@Christos Kyrios Matt begins at about 10:55. I dont know who sees shadows or allegories in theophanies. I dont.Be well, God bless
Thank you for having the honesty and courage to share with us what you found that makes sense, and what you found which didn’t make sense to you, or that you disagree with.
As an Orthodox Christian, I certainly find it interesting to see how others react to our faith.
I think it’s worth mentioning that there is an entire faith life which plays out inside the homes of every Orthodox family, and while we have our ‘Big’ Church stuff that we do, alot of our salvation is worked out within the walls of our homes, and hidden in the depths of our hearts.
It would be so lovely if you were to travel to an Orthodox monastery, just to give us viewers your take on that more Ascetic tradition within Orthodoxy.
Thanks again, and please pray for me a sinner,
Victor
There's a lot of people that come to Orthodoxy seemingly because they see the uniqueness of the church and sad as it is to say, the aesthetics and traditional nature of the faith (it is traditional, in the sense we adhere to the Scriptures and Apostolic Traditions handed down to us). However the church is full of sinners, otherwise it wouldn't be a Church of God's people, there's plenty of bad people and that's only par for the course. God bless you for taking the time to explore that beautiful church and chat with Fr Pau!
Thank you for your videos bro. I'm a Protestant and because of your videos....I remain a Protestant. The videos are very educational and watching how you process the information you find is great! You do it with such respect and love.
I really appreciate the comment. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for making these videos with such humility and honesty. To see you openly grapple with these hard questions and continue to listen to feedback, amend your statements, and hold firm to your faith is inspiring. Many people would either never acknowledge the feedback and just keep plugging along like nothing negative ever came up, or they would be incredibly defensive and combative in terms of defending their original stance. Thanks for being a voice of reason and grace!
lol love the video game analogy of slots. I could sense you were a gamer with the Castlevania reference in the previous vid. Anyway, my ortho bros could chill a bit. Much love for your humble and respectful curiosity! Thank you for you what you do! God bless, from a Coptic Orthodox Christian
As a Catholic I have always had a lot of questions about the Eastern Orthodox Church. Your visit was very informative and enjoyable to watch. I love the style of their icons. They are beautiful.
Fantastic video Matt, came off as very genuine and endearing. I want to say as an Orthodox myself, that I'm not surprised at your comment about having some of the worst and best internet interactions with Orthodox Christians. Many of us have suffered from "convertitis". The Devil tries to inflate our sense of pride about being in the true church because that's what he does. Once one converts, they feel foolish for ever not being Orthodox and many things about it suddenly seem incredibly obvious to them and exhibit a lack of charity for those who have been formed in other backgrounds. It's not us who chose a path, but the holy spirit guides us. I doubt any of those people would have even said anything to some new guy walking in with a hat on, and they shouldn't because all of us were there once at our first liturgy, trying to figure out what the heck was going on ourselves. God bless you, I believe you are doing a great service to Christ and his church. That video that you made at that Orthodox Cathedral in Colorado was very helpful for me converting myself.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Matt. For Catholics and the Orthodox: asking the Saints to pray for us is a very simple concept since we see it like asking a friend on earth to pray for us. I really enjoy how you mentioned how we start off with different assumptions.
Just found your channel yesterday while looking into faith in general. You earned my subscription within the first 5 minutes.
The other important major difference between the Eastern Orthodox Church and all Western Churches is that Orthodox Church until 20C did not have to deal with the paradigm shift caused by the Enlightenment, and the ensuing secularisation and separation of church and state and the compartmentalisation of faith and life.
I'm going through the same thing! I will attend my first Divine Liturgy this Sunday! Glory to God!
I appreciate you. You are a true open mind. I was raised Catholic, then spent my 20's and 30's studying a lot of world religions. No matter what, I've always had my faith, and my view of "truth". I always question, but am so grateful for my faith and my belief. It's gotten me through a lot of trials. Thank you.
I am what most would call a Christo-Pagan, which puts me on the very periphery of what could be called Christian. But I am very happy to have found your channel. I feel it helps my own journey towards finding my link to divinity, and also helps me in the understanding of both Protestant and Orthodox faiths. Thank you for making these videos and I hope you continue making more.
Don’t listen to the orthobros. Talk to priests.
Orthobros need to learn humility and kindness. Hopefully I am not in the orthobro category.
Why are you just labeling bunch of ppl orthobro? As if it is some sort of slight. A few toxic Orthodox is not representative of the church.
@@joseonwalking8666 it’s like calling someone a Boomer. It’s not a big deal.
@@joseonwalking8666 We are using Orthobro as a term to denote a group of toxic, prideful, and hateful people who claim to be Orthodox but do not show it by their actions on the internet.
Edit: Orthobro can also mean something different and more nuanced in other scenarios
I am an Orthobro and I endorse this message
@10:58 Hey Matt, as a former Protestant myself and now Eastern Orthodox, there was a couple things from the scriptures that convinced me of the continuity from the Old Testament worship. The first is Malachi 1:11 which says "For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the Lord of hosts." This is a prophesy fulfilled by the church. Gentiles are acting in the capacity as the Levitical priests would offering a "pure offering" (Eucharist) and incense. I take this at its word. Also in Hebrews 13:10 it says "We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.". This is showing an alter at the heart of worship with the Eucharistic sacrifice. Or Romans 15:16 where the word for _ministering_ is pointing to Paul acting as a priest in liturgical worship. All that to say, the Apostles would have set up churches in a manner consistent with liturgical worship patterns not so unlike the Temple worship except with the veil torn and now the gentiles have access to the most holy, the pure body and precious blood of Christ.
Love your videos. Keep up the good work!
Love this series. As an orthodox Christian, I really enjoyed it!
Your interviews with Father Paul are excellent. He is a powerful communicator. Also, your questions demonstrate an honest curiosity.
As a “cradle” Orthodox, I feel I have been given a great gift in knowing the Church all my life. As seekers of Truth do, I have struggled spiritually, but I have always had a reliable foundation and community in which to work out my faith.
It seems many people are learning about Orthodoxy and I see this spirit of honest curiosity in those who visit our parish. I hope that the aggression that you have encountered is rare. It is devastatingly contrary to the hospitality that we, as Orthodox Christians, are expected to extend to visitors. I suspect that some misguided/fanatical individuals are emboldened by the anonymity of the internet.
Thanks for your thought provoking videos!
I'm Orthodox and I appreciate your investigation. Though academic analysis is helpful, Orthodoxy can only be truly understood through experience
Matt, Thank you for your heart. I was not Protestant but I was a christian by association of family only never practiced it. Being baptized and never changing my wicked ways saying I am saved I don't need to go to church or repent for my sins. What was I thinking? lol. However my life changed when I became Eastern Orthodox Christian. The Struggle is real living as an orthodox person in this world. The cross we carry is heavy because it's not just words we say its constant repentance, It's constant asking for forgiveness of sins to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I pray that you get more knowledge in the Orthodox Faith as I am not saying convert but take a look at it and see how truly we live for Christ as he is standing before us today. God bless you and I love your videos. Keep up the good work in the name of The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Peace be with you my Brother in Christ.
Matt, I love the videos you make and this one in particular I felt like we were having a conversation in person. I am happy to see you have exposed yourself to Orthodoxy and think deeply about what you are coming in contact with. I became Orthodox and came from a similar background (reformed-evangelical-nondenominational). These are the conversations I enjoy very much.
I apologize for the nasty comments from orthobros on the interwebs, unwarrented and rude. To be honest, there are odd folks that are attracted to orthodoxy and sometimes these people (in many cases new converts) can be overly zealous and forget humility.
I hope your videos reach many. I wish folks I grew up with to include my friends and family took some time to wrestle with Orthodoxy. As you know, it is not something American's are around and I can't blame them for that.
Take Care!
Kyrie Eleison.
🧊
I really enjoyed your visit to and views on Orthodoxy. In many ways I understand where you come from as I spent the first 43 years of my life as a Protestant (Reformed tradition). Converted to Orthodoxy 7 years ago and the questions you raised about icons also took me a while to grasp. Thank you and all the best in running this race called life. God Bless!
I tried to go to a Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia for two months. Everyone was very friendly. I only attended the Divine Liturgy. I wanted to attend a different service with my family. I went to a feast day celebration for St. John of Shanghai on a Friday evening. Immediately I got bad stares since it was a small service. I was actually told I could leave anytime I wanted. My daughter and wife where there. It was quite shocking. First church I have ever been asked to leave. The Orthodox can work on being more welcoming to outsiders. My wife and I were very saddened by this event.
I'm a Messianic Jew and I love these videos! Keep up the good work!
A few years ago I did not leave my church (same denomination as your church Matt) but I did "supplement" by attending on a somewhat regular basis a liturgical church and a charismatic multi-racial church. I did this for the specific purpose of learning. I have watched a ton of your videos. I find you speaking my language... THANK YOU.