@@Milorad_Parlic another one bites the dust 😔 Hope u come back home And we are not like that we reach our fullness in Christ You know what fullness means? That theirs no more place for nothing else in this case ur nonsense you can reject the faith that’s one but poisoning others with this kinds of nonsense is another level of arrogance
Happy you finally went to an Orthodox Church! You mentioned you wanted to understand the "politics" behind each church (serbian, russian, greek, coptic, etc.) and it's pretty straightforward. To get started, there are actually two main branches of Orthodoxy - Oriental and Eastern (both mean eastern, I know, it's just their names). The Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches split during the Council of Chalcedon for a disagreement about Christ's God and Human properties. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are: - Coptic - Ethiopian - Eritrean - Syrian - Malankaran (Indian) - Armenian The biggest Eastern Orthodox Churches are: - Greek - Russian - Serbian - Ukrainian (kinda, it's a whole mess) - Antiochian - Romanian There are 17 independent Orthodox Churches, but I won't name them all here. Each of these Eastern Orthodox Churches all fall under the same denomination of Orthodoxy, but each church is called an autocephalous church, meaning it's independently run and has what is called a Patriarch. The church doesn't report to any higher authority in that case. There are many other churches such as the OCA and the ROCOR and (disputably) Estonia and Ukraine which do report to a higher authority but are referred to on as their own independent churches. However, while each of these churches do have an independent Patriarch, it doesn't mean they are divided any more than that. Each Church has the same theology, and you will find Greek, Russian, and Serbian books alike in many of their bookstores. The unity comes in with meetings called Synods, where Bishops from each church come together to discuss current theological or ecclesiastical issues. The Holy Synod is for the Patriarchs where they discuss it. However, the cultures in each church are quite different because they are tailored to that specific country and place. Entire nations were baptized at one point (Baptism of Kievan Rus') and so national identities and cultures were formed around the church, giving us the distinct styles we see today. However, these differences are only aesthetically and with language. Each hold the same service in their native language (Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom) and teach the same dogmas. Hope this helps!
@@dirkjensen969 Whether or not Christs human nature was subsumed into his divine nature(Oriental pov) or not(Chalcedonian Christianity) It is generally understood by all but the most polemic of orthodox people that this split was not over anything real, it was largely political and linguistic differences.
One extremely nerdy caveat on the liturgy: sometimes it is the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil, and in Western Rite Orthodox churches the ordinary liturgy is the Divine Liturgy St. Gregory... And there's a bit more, but that's just one additional layer of the onion.
They should be respectful. I was an atheist until a few years ago. A bunch of CIA docs got released from freedom of information act. Classified stuff from the 90s. I don't know if there is an astral plane or afterlife.. but I know the CIA thinks it's real, and believe they have seen it and I also know now the CIA believes in psychic abilities in some ppl. At this time they were teaching atheism in public schools while the while time CIA beleived there's something more. Based on this it's no longer possible for me to be atheist and it's shady as hell they would teach atheism all the while military didn't agree
Just because you are atheistic/agnostic doesnt mean you hate or even dislike religion. Sometimes you are genuinely confused and just honestly can't rationalize the belief for yourself.
@@blockhead1899 say something nice about Atheists or Atheism that is superior in some way to Christianity, explicitly. If not, it's clear, you don't have respect for them, or dignify their position. Even the Bible takes every opportunity to lob childish insults at Atheists.
We Egyptians love our Greek brothers 🇪🇬☦️🇬🇷 Last Egyptian dinasty was Greek and we use their greek alphabet to write Egyptian language Ⲡⲓⲭ̀ⲣⲓⲥⲧⲟⲥ ⲁϥⲧⲱⲛϥ ⲉ̀ⲃⲟⲗ ϧⲉⲛ
As someone interested in Orthodoxy, the Orthodox are very welcoming and in a genuine way. Several strangers have talked to me, offered me their seat, brought me food after the divine liturgy, said they're glad to see me again after not going to church for a few weeks, and much more
@@redaquila2891 You aren’t wrong. But what Church/denomination has the fullness of Faith comes down to the Spirit calling and/or the validity of the logical and historical arguments for whichever church.
Former atheist here. Also former Protestant. I am currently a catechumen in the Eastern Orthodox church. I typically go to a Greek parish but have recently attended services at a Serbian parish. In fact, I just came back from a 6:00am Matins service - on a Monday! If there is a Serbian parish in your area, I cannot recommend enough checking one out to diversify your experience. Heads up though, they probably won't have pews. EDIT: I also had a chance to spend a few days at a Serbian monastery. I did not want to leave!
You really need to visit Hilandar in Greece that is like one of the most important places for Orthodox Christians. I went when I was younger and it was truly amazing.
Imperial Christianity. Do you think impoverished persecuted Christians in house churches of the 1st century were mincing about in grand robes under massive basilicas? That didn't happen until the 4th century when the state took over and that relationship persists as can be seen with Putin's Patriarch in Moscow who is head of nearly half of all Orthodox. The rest are those cuddly Balkan churches (Dont ask about the 90s) or the Greek Orthodox which is the largest landowner in the country.
@@clivejungle6999 house churches were the houses of wealthy christians. The fact that there could be an upper room in the first place should tip you off to that fact.
@@bigol9223 Not the wealthiest, just more affluent. And they were more modest ones besides. What they didn't have were giant basilicas and vast temple premises.
Wow, just found you thanks to the UA-cam algorithm. I'm an Orthodox priest. Interesting video! I'm glad your visit was so positive! When it comes to the differences between the different Orthodox national churches, most are simply related to culture and musical style. All Orthodox Churches are in a worldwide communion and are a single denomination. However, the Coptic and Armenian churches are actually part of a similar but distinct communion of churches called the Oriental Orthodox.
Absolutely Father!In all of Easter Orthodox Churches we get the same theology and same liturgy!The only thing that can be different is chants and language that the priest speaks. Im from Serbia and we mostly chant on Church Slavonic but we also use Greek, in short all of autocephalous Churches are in communion and are the same, Armenian and Coptic Churches are Oriental Orthodox and they beleive that Jesus had 1 nature.
@@ericlammerman2777 Sadly no, but whole thing was Constantinople’s fault, they didn’t had right to proclaim autocephality on land that is under jurisdiction of ROC
I go to a Serbian Orthodox Church. From what I learned, the nation just represents the groups who started it. So mine was a Serbian group and our church is a great way for the Serbian culture to live on. I believe it's the same every other church, since the local Coptic Orthodox holds Egyptian festivals and all. Orthodox is the key, being that they held onto the foundation and original style intended from the beginning of the church. It's a beautiful thing. I'm happy I am there as a former protestant.
I was an Atheist/Agnostic until I was about 23 years old. I'm now 26 years old and I'm a Baptized Orthodox Christian. I have searched for the truth since I was 15 years old. Orthodoxy Christianity is true. I appreciate your perspective as most atheists are insufferable. Please speak to an Orthodox priest at length it will change your life if your heart is open and ready.
Let's test your insufferable ility... You speak of Truth That implies you get some kind of Methodology that let's you test religions on their true/false value!? Share it!
As a former Protestant who became Catholic and finally Orthodox - you did an amazing job at being unbiased, and you described how Divine Liturgy is at every church, every Sunday. Midnight Pascha is the most powerful thing - I 100% urge you to go next year!
Putting yourself in the "True" category of Christianity is very common but when it comes to defining those terms everybody gets real quiet... To me that's precious
We visited an Orthodox church in Israel. Built in 400 AD or so. In the back was an old well. Jacobs well. The priest drew some water and we got to drink some of the water out of paper cups. Pretty cool.
Eastwrn Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox are not in communion but really like one another. The difference between them to an outsider would be hard to notice. The main difference between Greek, Russian, Romanian, Serbian, OCA, etc is the language and a few minor traditions. What you saw in the Greek church would look basically identical to my Orthodox Church in America Parish where its all in English. Glad you enjoyed it. CHRIST IS RISEN TRAMPLING DOWN DEATH BY DEATH P.s I was an atheist for 25 years.
So if Oriental and Eastern Orthodox are really like one another in the faith then why do the Oriental churches in these modern times not accept the authority of the 7 Ecumenical Councils, only 3 of them. There's a huge difference between the nature of Christ. On earth he was true God and true man having two natures and not one.
@@michaelturnage3395one thing I will let you know my friend, is in San Antonio we see a lot of “Indian orthodox” churches, sadly those aren’t actually orthodox, they split off from us in the year 300 or so, but they kept the name, so check out either of the two I said and you’ll be set! ❤
Orthodoxy transcends nations, the faith is more important than the nation. Many conflate national pride and identity with their church, but I can (and have) walk into a Russian Orthodox Church and it’s the same faith. Orthodoxy is a lifestyle as much as it is a belief. There is no one “I felt really strongly so now I’m saved for ever and ever” moment. To truly follow Christ, it involves a change in how you live your life. Glad you had a good experience! It’s a very long history, if you have continued interest.
@@jaggedplanet At this point in time, I don't believe so. Doesn't change much on the ground. I had the pleasure of visiting the monastery of St. Tikhon in Pennsylvania, earlier this year.
For anyone curious about what stands out about Orthodox theology and our beliefs about God: For Orthodox, we believe we are meant to be united with God in a very deep way, and that the priesthood of humanity is to take what is in our heart and put it into the world. This is why the Fall happened, because the life of Christ was meant to come through mankind as loving priests and into Creation, infusing it all with God's love. When we rejected God and decided to be completely independent (instead of being co-workers with Him), we cut off the supply of life to call Creation, introducing death no only to ourselves but everything. In addition to physical death is spiritual death, which manifests most greatly in pride, which we see as a total self focus and self gravity, the entire universe revolving around our desires, our opinions, our image, etc. In this way, all sins are a form of pride, a brokenness that flows out of this selfishness, this spiritual illness. While sin is very serious and we Orthodox are called to constant warfare with it, their is a balanced view of it being not only our choice but also an illness that has captured us. It is naturally a far more merciful view towards people who sin. Sin in Orthodoxy is actually much broader, describing many broken things. When a soldier kills someone, even if it was considered justified, they go to confession to be "unbound" or healed because we recognize killing anyone damages us. It's not about a legal system but about entering into healing with Christ, the Holy Physician. A major symptom of this pride, this spiritual death, is a lack of love. By love we don't simply mean affection, nor even good deeds, but a heart that unconditionally lives for the beauty of that which is loved. While we humans seem to have some fragmented remains of love, full altruism is a divine reality flowing from God Himself. It's not simply that God is loving, but He is literally love. We see this love at the Cross when, after horrible treatment from enemies and friends, all Christ thinks about is the well being of his beloved Creation: "Forgive them Father, they know not what they do." When we Orthodox say we need a savior, it's not to be saved from God's legal retribution or anger, it's being saved from ourselves. We need Him to help us overcome our selfishness and pride, and plant Himself within us, which means planting this divine, unconditional love. This love is the same love that is shared between the members of the Trinity, and the same love that birthed all of Creation. Not only is there spiritual death but there is also physical death, which is the unnatural fragmentation of man, a split between his body and soul. Death is an ontological reality, and all death, sin, and suffering are linked directly. So what Christ accomplishes at the Cross, while rightly described as a payment or ransom, is more deeply and literally understood as Life Himself entering into death and filling the reality with His presence. We Orthodox call this the Harrowing of Hades. This is why many other people were resurrected the moment Christ died and were said to be seen walking around the city. Again, the way the Orthodox (and the earliest Christians) think about these things was far less legalistic and more ontological. The literalization of the legal language was something that came far later in Roman Catholicism after it split off from the other Apostolic Churches (which are today's Orthodox Churches) in 1054, and when the Protestants left the Catholic Church they unfortunately kept a lot of the legal ideas that produce a lot of mental and spiritual damage today. Christ offers union with Him, healing both spiritual and physical death as He Himself is life and love. The Fathers say God forgives everyone, even Satan, but if one doesn't want forgiveness then the distance is experienced the same as if God rejected someone, thus we speak of the need to approach humbly for forgiveness, because such an act is what makes our hearts compatible with His, a humble God who would bear the worst pain and shame for His children. All the Orthodox services are about a balance of peace but also humility, about nor being terrified but about seeing our need for His help. Even the word repentance in Scripture is "metanoia" meaning change of nous or change of heart, which means putting our heart back on God. It isn't about self loathing or beating ourselves up. In fact, the Fathers were adamant that beating ourselves up was demonic deception and we should have peace. We should admit our sins and struggle against them, as anyone should admit faults and try to grow, but they insisted that God never wanted us to destroy our peace over our sins. As man and Christ are reunited in prayer, liturgical worship, sacraments, etc. man returns to the state of being a bridge between God and Creation. We have our Saints as examples of men who achieved this, who brought healing and peace and love to every person and animal they met. The goal of all the Churches work is the infuse this life and love of God's presence into all things, which is why relics and icons and holy places are a thing, and also why we Orthodox are insistent on using our bodies and physical creation in our worship. Worship isn't stroking God's ego like it is for the pagan deities, it is transformation that enables us to be close to God, hence why He has to reveal it and we can make it up ourselves. Candles and incense don't merely represent things as Westerners would thing, they genuinely participate in prayer with us physically. Scripture talks about how Creation groans because it has been cut off from the Son of God, and now that mankind, the priests of Creation, are being healed, it has a chance to be with God again. I was raised as a non-denom Protestant and dabbled in Catholicism, but when I looked into the earliest Christians I saw something I didn't recognize, something unlike Protestantism and Catholicism. The only place I could find it being lived out was Orthodoxy. It wasn't something to just believe because Orthodox people said so, but it was supposed to be compelling only because the Orthodox lived it, and it was to their shame, not mine, if I didn't believe. And I myself saw it, I saw a peace in these priests and people that I have never seen in any other group or religion. It wasn't a manic high like the cults have, it was the opposite. And when I read the writings of their Saints, it was obvious they knew the heart better than anyone else I had ever read. Anyone who finds this appealing, who wants to heal their hearts and have peace, please visit a local Orthodox Church. Antiochian, Greek, Russian, OCA, Serbian, and several others... these are all part of one family, separated only by leadership but united as one Church. I looked for years in the Bible and in Psychology for healing, but the depths of understanding I found in the Church Fathers and modern Orthodox were the understandings I needed, and that I know believe Christ passed on to us. I don't expect anyone to believe because I say so, but if you are hungry like I was... it's worth a look, eh?
"Scripture talks about how Creation groans because it has been cut off from the Son of God, and now that mankind, the priests of Creation, are being healed, it has a chance to be with God again." I like this.
Glad you got to enjoy it bro. Pascha is the event that cemented me on Orthodoxy too. Start praying now because there's no turning back. God bless you and stay pointed to the truth.
I'm a protestant. Had the opportunity to celebrate a midnight Easter service with a Greek Orthodox church this year and was overwhelmed by the chanting and the beautiful liturgy. Would absolutely go back.
Yo I know your comments are already flooded with Orthodox folks saying thank you for your respectfulness, but I just wanted to ditto that. I spent my whole life being "spiritual" but never found any church/religion that stood out to me. I had read through the Quran, ancient Indian texts (Upanishads), Judaic texts (Mishkan Tiflah, Talmud), The Bible, and a plethora of esoteric texts some in which delved into strange occult practices, etc. Every church I had ever stepped into, I was disgusted with. It never failed to lack the spiritual depth that I was seeking, and so I never stepped into the same church or temple twice. About 3 1/2 years ago, I was properly introduced to the Orthodox Church. Some acquaintances invited me to go with them to the Divine Liturgy. For the first time in my life, I stepped foot into a church that I felt I could return to. This Church actually felt alive. And it wasn't just the aesthetics/hymns that made it feel that way. It was the people themselves. I could sense life in them. The only problem was that this church was 2+ hours away from where I lived, so I unfortunately did not return. Finally I ended up moving to a city big enough to have it's own Orthodox Church and slowly started going to the different services, fasting, confessing, going to the fellowship hours. That was about a year and a half ago when I started attending regularly. It's taking me a while to get accustomed to the Orthodox Christian way of life, especially since I do not have a background in protestantism like most of the converts my age. That said, in about a month I will be received by Baptism into the Greek Orthodox Church. Never would have imagined in 1000 years that I would be doing something like this, yet here I am. I consider the decision to enter the church to be the most important decision I've ever made in my life to this date. Where else can you find people taking their spirituality this seriously while also refraining from entering "zealot" territory? Anyways, not sure why I felt the need to share this, but I hope this finds you well, and I also hope that you will visit an Orthodox Church again in time. Pascha is indeed beautiful, but there are so many beautiful feast days/special days throughout the year that I would also recommend experiencing (Saturday of Souls, Holy Pentecost, Palm Sunday, Holy Week, Dormition of the Theotokos, the Nativity of Jesus Christ, Transfiguration, etc.)
Hi, I’m Paul! Actually though, I’m the guy you spoke to that morning. Thank you so much for respecting our community and all of the kind words you said. I’m really glad you were moved by the service. If you ever feel like coming back, or want to grab a coffee, let me know, and I can give you my contact info! It helps to have someone explain some of the Traditions, and there are a lot them… Thanks again for being so respectful and positive!
Hey Paul! (So stoked that I actually remembered someone's name correctly for once.) Thanks so much for showing a stupid atheist the basics of the church service. It was a wonderful introduction and you made me feel right at home. All the best to you and your church family there. I may have to swing by again some day to have a proper discussion with your priest there. Cheers!
I was raised evangelical, then became atheist, then I’m in the process of joining Orthodox Church. Orthodoxy definitely warms your heart and gains your respect when you take a deep look on it.
Welcome to Orthodoxy! Some years ago, a young, atheist professor walked into an Orthodox Church in San Francisco. Afterwards, he quit his professorship, took a job and began researching Orthodoxy. Eventually, he was ordained priest and founded a monastery in Northern California. Many consider him a saint. Fr Seraphim Rose is his name. This could happen to you!
All I knew of father seraphim rose is he was taught by Alan Watts! I didn't know Father Seraphim rose was an atheist professor ! Now I got the full story. Thanks I feel hope filled for specifically atheists now hahaha uh oh I rightfully hold hope from atheists because they're very horrible people often, and condescending very difficult humans with attitude worthy of condemning negative people , emotionally toxic, And so this man is up there as a not as horrible as Atheists of the popular types in Popular media where they are literally atheists lame hereosz and Pagan worshippers, Atheist Priests they are being worshipped, it's funny to see the collapse of atheism, God bless amen
“Not of This World: The Life and Teachings of Father Seraphim Rose” by Hieromonk Damascene Christensen is good. (It’s out of print and very expensive, but there are PDFs online).
Many of his sermons are floating around online, including right here on youtube. I'd rec a short book to start with, "God's Revelation to the Human Heart" it's maybe 40-50 pages.
Hello! Orthodox Christian here! The service you went to is called the Agape Service (agape is one of the words for love). It’s one of my favorite services! After the midnight Pascha Liturgy (liturgy as what we call Mass), the Agape service that Sunday after. The reason the Bible reading was done in every language is because in that specific service, we try to read it in every single language we can. For instance in my church, we asked parishioners if they spoke any foreign languages, and we ended up doing 17 different languages including ASL! Finally, the differences between “state” churches. The Eastern Orthodox Church is combined of many different autocephalous (self-ruling) bodies: Russian, Greek, Serbian, Antiochian, Alexandrian, Bulgarian, etc etc etc etc. We are all united in one, there is NO difference in theology whatsoever. The only difference is the language the Liturgy is conducted in, the architectural style of the church, and probably the food they eat afterward lol. Each autocephalous church has a Patriarch, which is like their Pope. The difference between us and Catholics, is we think all Patriarchs are equal to one another, and none of them are infallible (they can be wrong, and have been). Actually, before 1054, Orthodoxy and Catholicism was one united church, and the Pope was simply the Patriarch of the West, equal to the others
There’s a big significance to the red egg, and its association with Easter: When St. Mary Magdalene, the woman who first saw the Resurrected Jesus, went to Rome to proclaim that Christ was Risen, the Roman Emperor, Tiberius Cæsar, laughed at and mocked her. Mary was holding an egg in her hand while this was happening, and the Emperor exclaimed, “Jesus has no more risen than the egg in your hand being red,” the egg immediately turned red, and the Emperor would later listen to Mary’s pleas to save an innocent man from being crucified, and removing Pilate from being Governor of Judæa
As a terrible Catholic, I’m just happy you found a place that celebrates the Eucharist. If you ever could fathom what it means to be near Him, you’d never want to be away from Him.
As a Christian who was raised protestant and considering becoming Orthodox, I really love that you made this video. You are a very respectful atheist and I appreciate that you are very open minded about our religion.
What a surprisingly fun and refreshing hot-take on an Orthodox service. Our Pascha (Pa-ska) service starts at midnight and goes until 2am. Then we have a feast and Party until dawn. Then everyone goes home to sleep and comes back the next day at 2pm for Agape Vespers where we read the gospel in all the languages present, and continue the party until the wine and food runs out. And yes, there is something deeply visceral about receiving and passing candle light.
This year i got to recite john 20 in native hawaiian (i was born and raised in hawaii), along with about a dozen others who recited in languages that were part of our backgrounds. Our church is serbian, but over 75% of us are converts, so most of our service is in english.
What a beautiful comment. To paraphrase Fr. Josiah Trenham, we (Orthodox) have no sacred language like the Roman Catholics, Jews, or Muslims. It is the Holy Gospel that sanctifies ALL languages. Thank you for sharing.
I find this shocking (probably just from ignorance on my part, I know). How have, and why do, a few Hawaiians become Serbian Orthodox? Does being a Serbian Orthodox in any way mean you align with Serbia's politics too?
@@the_luggage for most of us, especially in America, the national origin of the church has little to do with anything. I became a part of the serbian church because that's what was closest to me. Had the closest church been Russian, Greek, or antiochian, I would have settled in just fine. In my experience, politics don't get mentioned unless an individual parishioner brings it up. But the priest is completely uninterested in politics. I don't know if that would be the same experience had I gone to a Russian or Ukrainian diocese. But as for being hawaiian, most, or at least a sizeable chunk of us profess to be Christian thanks to the missionary work done in the 1800s, so going further in my faith towards Orthodoxy wasn't a big stretch for me. 🙂
What's up from NC! That's the Church I go to and I love Father Paul - he guided me in my catechism. Always welcome to see other people that are interested in Orthodoxy! Hit me up if you have any questions :)
Yea the history of the Orthodox Church is very peaceful and giving to those in need. Also ironically more free and open to newer people who want to come in and explore than any other Church denomination. Orthodoxy is very nice
One of the most respectful atheists I've ever seen. Also, we don't call our services "Mass" we call them Divine Liturgy (main Sunday service) Orthros (usually a pre Divine Liturgy) and Vespers (evening/nighttime service)
Orthros is also called Matins (same exact meaning, “Morning”), which is morning prayer. Many church will hold Matins/Orthros the evening before after Vespers. Also, a cultural nuance is that often Slavic churches will emphasize vespers and Greek or Levantine churches will emphasize matins/orthros. Parishes can only do so much! Many have both.
I absolutely love the Orthodox Church and wouldn’t personally go to another. Before discovering Orthodoxy, I always had a hard time going to church. Sometimes, I just didn’t feel a connection, and other times, it was boring to listen to someone talk for hours. In Orthodoxy, it feels like you’re truly part of the service, engaging in something greater, experiencing genuine worship of God. The service feels holy and inspired, which might be why it’s called the Divine Liturgy.
There are a couple of stories related to the tradition of the red egg. According to tradition, after Jesus' Ascension into heaven, the Magdalene-a wealthy woman of some importance-boldly presented herself to the Emperor Tiberius Caesar in Rome to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ, with an egg in hand to illustrate her message. Holding the egg out to him, she exclaimed for the first time what is now the universal Easter proclamation among Christians, "Christ is risen!" The emperor, mocking her, said that Jesus had no more risen than the egg in her hand was red. Immediately, the egg turned red as a sign from God to illustrate the truth of her message. The Emperor then heeded her complaints about Pilate condemning an innocent man to death, and had Pilate removed from Jerusalem under imperial displeasure. Why would Mary Magdalene bring an egg to talk about Jesus with the Roman Emperor? In another tradition, it is said that Mary Magdalene brought a basket of white boiled eggs with her on Easter morning to the tomb of Jesus-perhaps as a meal for herself and the others as they waited for someone to roll the stone away. When she arrived at the site of the Resurrection, finding the stone already rolled away, she also found that the eggs in her basket had turned into bright shades of color. Perhaps this is why she brought an egg to the Emperor; did she expect that Jesus would perform a similar miracle for her egg as he had done on that first Easter morning? While we do not know if these stories are true with absolute certainty, we do know that the tradition of handing out red eggs at Easter is one that originated among Christians in Apostolic times. And we often find Mary Magdalene depicted in icons holding a red egg.
This is WILD. I had no idea about this apocryphal tradition. I'll have to do some more digging into this, but it's a much more satisfying answer about why there are eggs surrounding Easter rather than this Eshtar nonsense. Preciate you, friend!
@@HeliocentricOfficial Romanian Orthodox here ... We do share the red egg tradition (just so u know all those orthodox churches u mentioned including Romanian, Moldavian, Bulgarian, and Albanian are sister churches ... we have the same beliefs and rituals just using a different language and a different administration - everything but spiritual, structure) ... In our culture the red egg has a different origin ... a few details are very relevant here so you understand why this is part of our tradition - if you study Jesus's death you will learn that in his last moments before his physical death, he was abandoned by everyone - another technical detail is that the crucifixion is the most agonizing death one can suffer and it was preferred by Romans to enforce fear. - in many cases, the person being crucified "refuses" to die so they would "help" him by poking his heart with a spear (like they did to Jesus), and when that does not work they would break their shins to let the blood drip So while he was taking his last breath, the women who followed him as the Messiah, refused to stand by without seeing what was happening or even help if they could. They took the basket of eggs because it would be a good cover for them to be able to reach his cross. When they reached him they put the basket at the base of his cross and started to mourn him. During this time, blood from his wounds dripped down on the basket so when they ran (because soldiers were periodically passing by to see if anyone was still alive) they were holding a basket of red-blooded eggs. This became a way of expressing faith in what happened that day. There's a lot more to go over but I tried to point out a few relevant aspects.
Let me tell you pascha is the greatest service you could ever imagine. Truly time and space is broken by the power of the Resurrection. In the Darkness of Night you get to witness the Light of Our Lord break down the Gates of Hell. Our Lord as King and Conqueror Jesus Christ subdue Satan the Serpent, Prince of the Earth and Angel of Death. Our Lord and Our God who in the Body of a Man and with the Power of the Father Shattered or Shackles and when Rising from the Dead delivered onto Those in the Grave Eternal Life. Form 40 days between Pascha to the celebration of the Ascension of Our Lord it is sung at every service: Christ is risen from the dead. Trampling down death by death. And upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
@Elite_Footballer777 the old Testament says nothing of the sort. The New Testament personifies Lucifer, claims Lucifer is Satan, and then arbitrarily ties this newly personified Lucifer, to the Serpent and the Asathan of Job. It's like how Paul went through each chapter and personified an element into "Jesus" the descended of Jesse, father of David. Isaiah 14:12 is not talking about and "Angel" falling from heaven, it's about the King of Babylon being compared to a shooting star. Obviously. Even biblical scholars agree on that. But nobody can change the canon of Christianity to reflect that, because the personified and made up "Lucifer" as Satan or the Serpent is crucial to the Christian story, even if in retrospect its a fabrication and obvious misunderstanding of Hebrew mythology.
@@dirkjensen969yes Satan is the angel of death since he wants you to die and stay dead, it isn't that he has the power of life and death that has always been God's, but Satan embodies death and wants to bring you with him to the grave.
@@dirkjensen969 The pride and self-loving deception runs deep in your words. The Orthodox Apostolic revelation is definitive for understanding the OT, not your 'scholars'. You have been snared.
I also came back to Orthodoxy (baptized as an adult but walked away into protestantism and now back) around the same time this sudden surge into the Orthodox Church started.
Orthodoxy is freedom and comfort in the heart. Is where i learnt that god wants us to feel happy. Be simple and humble, we are nothing but little stars with a small passage from life, yet so important to the eyes of our Father.❤
I'm newly converted Orthodox, along with my wife and our son. I saw your video, seemed interested, I clicked. Thank you for stopping by an Orthodox Church and listening. God bless you and your family! ☦️
So glad you visited an Eastern Orthodox service! I grew up Roman Catholic and my husband Lutheran, but for me, a lot was missing and I fell away from my faith. We found Orthodoxy and I couldn't get over from the first couple visits how this was exactly what I had been searching for my entire life. I think my husband felt the same because he took to it immediately also. For the midnight service, come on back next Pascha!
I am a young guy learning to become orthodox and I truly believe it is what Christianity was originally supposed to be. I love to hear you enjoyed it. God bless you☦️
The red Pascha egg traditionally goes back to St. Mary Magdalene. At one point she found herself dinning with Emperor Tiberius and trying to convince him of the resurrection. He scoffed at the idea and said something to the effect of, "A man cannot rise from the dead any more than that egg in your hand could turn red!" And immediately the egg in her hand turned a crimson red. That's why, in Orthodox tradition, our Easter eggs are dyed red, and in Orthodox icons, St. Mary Magdalene will sometimes be depicted as holding a red egg. And a side note: St. Mary Magdalene is also honored as the Apostle to the Apostles, for she was the very first person commissioned by Christ to proclaim his resurrection, and her hearers were the Apostles themselves.
I know exactly what you mean when you talk about lighting the Pascha candle of the brother standing next to you. There are beautiful feelings of unity, love, and brotherhood.
Hey @Heliocentric I suggest you if you ever decide to visit Greece! Make sure to go to the holy mountain Athos next to Thessaloniki, you can find some orthodox monasteries from the 10th century and maybe older, this experience will show you the original church of Christ, and you can live with the monks for a few day's and discuss anything about the Christian religion. Hope that i gave you a good idea for a video!!🙏🏻
Orthodox here. Thank you for sharing your experience at the Agape Vespers. My parish has been known to read the Gospel in Tolkien’s elvish languages (the joke is that we’re “Geek” Orthodox) as well as in Lakota, Gaelic, Hebrew, a variety of Western European languages, and of course the traditional “Orthodox” languages, including Arabic. We are in the Romanian Episcopate.
In my parish in Chile we do the same thing of reading that passage in many languages in Pascha. When I first heard it, when I was still 50% atheist, it struck me. The fact that I can hear the singing in a Chinese parish and know exactly what is happening, even if I don't understand the words, is just beautiful for me. We often say that Liturgy is participatory theology, you are not studying a book or hearing a preacher, you receive the Gospel with your whole being, the music, the smell, the fact that you are standing, the icons, etc., all your senses are ritually purified.
50 years ago if you’d told me I’d be singing an entire service in Old Church Slavonic because I’m Serbian Orthodox, I would not have believed you, and yet, here I am. Hope you find your way to Christ.
Old church Slavonic was old Serbian church language. We can't read it or understand it much because our language was reformed by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić and we lost closeness to other Slavic/Russian language. Every Russian who visits Serbia can easily read old church writings in our churches and Monasteries, but we can't.
@@gbp4998sad it’s due to the influence of Islamic languages sadly, Slavonic language was easily understood by 90% of the orthodox churches pre 1400 only few places would be primarily Greek and Hebrew , Serbia is a great country and the orthodoxy that comes from it but sadly has never truly been its own for a while now
Really like this guy. I love that a number of UA-cam atheists are finally starting to be respectful of people of faith. Christians need to make sure that they reciprocate because it is the only way that constructive dialog can move forward.
Just hopping in to say I've been binging some of your videos and it's so nice to see someone in the Christian online sphere that I can relate to. There's a lot of atheists who hate religion, atheists who tolerate but ignore it, but almost no atheists that actively appreciate it and engage in it. You seem to fall into the last camp and so do I. I feel that internally I am 90% an atheist, but Christianity is so beautiful and aligns with what I feel love should be that I'm currently in the process of joining my local Catholic church. I really wish I could believe the way Christians do. Maybe one day I will... but probably not. The joy, kindness, warmth and compassion I have experienced from Christians feels like sitting on the edge of a campsite watching everyone else being warmed around the fire whilst I sit cold in my tent. I have a lot of doubt and little to no conviction, but all I know is that sitting at the proverbial family dinner table with the others and not eating still feels better than not being at the table at all. It hurts when so many tell you "just open your heart to christ and you'll believe" as if it's that easy. For us who seek but never find it's a lonely road.
I believe the Holy Spirit is calling you. All the same, if you would like some evidence for Christianity, here is something you can look up. Read the story of Exodus, and how God struck Egypt with different plagues. Then go and look up the Ipuwer Papyrus, written during the 13th Dynasty. You'll find that the Egyptians also kept a record of this incident. That is proof, at least, that this incident was based on something real, if not completely real.
From an orthodox christian: I look up to people like you so much. All support here. I constantly see people who call themselves Christians hating others, having no faith in God, totally rebuilding Christianity to suit their own desires, enduring trouble with only curses and insults... meanwhile there are atheists here and everywhere who act in such good faith towards people, love beyond their own strength, and endure every trouble without becoming bitter. Tell me, who is the true Christian? The one who says they believe without acting it, or the one who doesn't believe and yet acts as though they did. Don't become sad that you cannot make your mind believe, and you cannot make yourself feel spiritual emotions. Do not worry that you are missing out on something. If Christ is God, truly you will believe, you will have no other choice! In the moment you stand before him in the judgement, with everyone else, you will believe. Prepare for this moment, as a good philosopher, and you will be rewarded with such Joy that you will forget the years of spiritual dryness and loneliness. Who knows, this Joy may come even in this life. I hope my ramblings make sense to you. Be encouraged! God is with you! You will be surprised to find that many of the faithful Christians secretly have/have had similar feelings to you, even some of our saints. You are not alone. God bless you! Macrina
@@MacrinaParryyes. What is “belief” anyway? Mental assent? That can be helpful. It can be delusional, too. But the Truth doesn’t require my assent. But an open heart to others, to Love, to humility - that’s what leads us.
Well, born as an Orthodox Christian I always felt encouraged to find my own path to God (the best and complete version of Self) whatever that path might look like. I never doubted that we humans and all that exist, descend form higher form of intelligence and that feeling is imprinted in me throughout my religion. I'm not afraid to read all kind of authors and dive into principles of all religions and cults (I mean all) deeply knowing that all that IS, comes from that universal higher form (God) and is aligned to it. Orthodox Christianity is like supportive parent that is loving you unconditionally and giving you freedom to explore, grow and develop on your own.
Glad you enjoyed your visit! I’m an African American woman who was Chrismated into the Greek Orthodox Church about 2 yrs ago. A complicated spiritual journey (and God’s grace) brought me here. If you’re ever in Jacksonville FL, we’d love to have you visit St. John the Divine GOC. ❤
As a Greek who lives in Raleigh (since 1992) and has been to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, I can confirm that this is a wonderful community. Truly happy that you had the chance to visit. Thank you for the wonderful video.
I am a Baptist and attended my first Greek Orthodox church recently and was in awe of the warmth of my fellow Christians there. It felt very whole if that makes sense. Great video and peace to you!
Orthodox metal-head here, just stumbled onto this channel respect for checking our service out glad you enjoyed! Just listened to some of your songs too you got some bangers homie keep it goin
I have recently converted to orthodoxy. I found the answers in it that neither the Roman Catholic or Protestant churches could answer. There is so much to offer the growing spirit of a person. I am thankful to God for it. ❤
I’m 31 and got my new Bible as the orthodox study bible. I wasn’t serious Christian as a teen and I wasn’t practicing anything in my 20s until I turned 30 and something changed in my heart
I am so happy you finally went to an Orthodox Church (specifically 'Eastern' Orthodox)!!! I am a convert and I was received into the Church on the night of Pascha in England. I started going to an Orthodox Church in September, so I guess I am part of this 'boom' that you mentioned. As you say, many young men are joining the Church as we crave tradition in a world that we feel is against us in this way and we want to reconnect not just with our Christian history, but that of the original Church of the Apostles that has survived until this day (as promised in Matthew 16:18). The church that you visited looks beautiful as well and I am glad that you enjoyed it. I like your channel and wish you the best in visiting all kinds of churches to see what they are like, though I may be praying for you to eventually join a certain Church that I have in mind lol. I love how you are funny and entertaining, but also open to Christianity and learning more about it despite you becoming an atheist. It is good to see someone with more nuanced opinions that doesn't senslessly bash Christianity since leaving it. Btw, you said in your Coptic Orthodox video that the Copts are older than the Orthodox as they split off before the Great Schism. They did split off much earlier, but this actually makes them younger, as they aren't the original Church like the Orthodox are. The reason for this is that we were all One Church for the first 325 years until the first Ecumanical Council in Nicea, where the Arians split off. Ecumenical Councils define the faith whilst also making clear what different heresies are so they can be avoided and corrected, as to continue the true original faith. The Coptics split in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon as they believed in miaphysitism- that Christ's human and divine natures are actually 1 joined nature, seen as heresy to us Orthodox and the Catholics. This is what makes them younger and not older than us. I hope this clarifies this query. I enjoy your videos, may God grant you many years☦
Thank you for this great video! You were at the Agape Service. Orthodox churches read the Gospel in as many different languages as people can read at this service on Easter Sunday. This symbolizes sharing the Word of God to all nations. The egg is symbolic of Christ’s resurrection: Red for the blood of Christ; cracking symbolizes Christ leaving the grave through His resurrection. So glad to hear it was such a positive experience!
I remember my first time visiting an Orthodox Church 😂 it was a Russian church in Panamá, where we were living in 2019. I was so (happily!) confused! I remember not knowing if I should make eye contact or look away when the priest came out of the doors censing everything 😅 it seemed so formal, but still warm and welcoming. Now my husband, children and I are living back in the States. We have all been baptized into the Orthodox faith. We just buried our forth child and I don’t know how I would have navigated our loss without our faith. Losing a child is hard no matter what, but on the way to the monastery where we buried him I realized we are having the worst human experience, but the best version of it. Our faith gives us hope we will see him again but also our church was there doing all the tangible things for us now. Reading over his body for 3 days before we buried him, they made his beautiful little casket, they took care of us for 40 days doing everything. And all the orthodox churches in the area not just the parish we attend. It’s one church and it’s got all the answers I looked for around the world. I went to the Hindu temples and the mosques and the Protestant churches. Thank God for His Mercy, he led my husband, who was agnostic, home to Orthodoxy and now it’s the center of our lives. God bless you on your journey. I enjoyed the video. ☦️ come visit it us at Shreveport, Louisiana at St Nicholas Orthodox Church. It’s unusual but we have 3 orthodox churches in Shreveport, an Antiochian, Greek, and Orhtodox Church of America, you can come talk to all the Fathers :)
The historic Christian Faith is experiential, not a life long exercise in human reasoning to acquire the right propositions. We come to know God through our nous (a Greek word in Scripture that cannot be translated into English properly). I was a Protestant for 25 years, moved from one Evangelical tradition to the next, then found Orthodoxy, and found real peace in every way.
When we "light a candle at church", in reality, we're not lighting a candle, but rather "receiving the light, and offering the light back". Christ/God is the Light, and there's nothing that we can offer to God that He doesn't already have, except our free will. Thus, we are receiving the Light of God and offering it back to Him, as a representation of our free will. God bless!
Glad you enjoyed! I will just add Orthodoxy is not a "denomination" because what would it be a denomination of? It continued through apostolic succession and continues today. Take care and I hope you keep investigating Orthodoxy. If I may make a few suggestions: _Jay Dyer_ (if you want to be challenged) _Lord of Spirits_ (Stephen DeYoung is so knowledgeable and will unravel the Bible that will crush Western presuppositions that have destroyed the way Christianity has been viewed thanks to Protestantism and Roman Catholicism) And _Roots of Orthodoxy_
I understand the desire to say that Eastern Orthodoxy is not a denomination. But, with respect, that isn't quite true. Since denomination simply means a "name or formal designation", I'd say we qualify as having a denomination. Our denomination is "Eastern Orthodox Christianity". If we had no denomination, no one would know what to call us. I think a better way to say what you mean, is that we are not a "branch" of Christianity, we are the tree.
Orthodox Christian, here. Orthodoxy trancends ethnicity. Yes, some Orthodox churches are heavily one ethnicity but most are quite mixed here in the US. I attend a Russian Orthodox church and, out of the entire parish, there's only ONE Russian. The majority in our parish are American-born of Scots-Irish ancestry but we also have Lebanese, Italian, Polish & Greeks that attend our church. I'm so glad that you attended & it's obvious from the video that Liturgy touched something in you. I encourage you to continue attending & to speak to Fr Paul about our beliefs. I think you'll be surprised at our outlook on many things. You've just barely scratched the surface of the richness of Orthodoxy. There's MUCH more to discover! And when you do, I think you'll understand the reasons for the expansion of the Orthodox Church in America. God's blessings upon you!
My favorite part of Orthodoxy is that I don’t feel manipulated w emotion. It is what it is and has been forever and I conform to the worship. It doesn’t conform to me and is completely unapologetic about that. I hope you make it to an actual Pascha service as it is too hard to describe and must be experienced. You could attempt OCA Orthodox Church in America service to see some differences.
I can’t speak for the other orthodox sects but for us Greeks family is incredibly important and we treat other Greeks and our Church as extensions of our family which is one reason our Church community is so close
I just came across your UA-cam channel. Your video is amazing. New subscriber from me! I’m a Protestant who is working on converting to Orthodoxy. Orthodox Christian’s are the most friendly and intelligent people I’ve ever met. They are well educated and very passionate about the Lord.
Grace and peace to you from our God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ ☦️ Thank you for your kind and respectful thoughts on the Orthodox Church you visited. While no church will ever be perfect, what you described in this church is true in the vast majority of Orthodox churches. I attend a Serbian church, we welcome EVERY human being into the church with love. Jesus dined with sinners, and so do we. Praise be to God.
Hey man, greek orthodox here who lives in Athens!I found your channel yesterday and i binged watched many of your vids. I started by watching this and what struck me as "odd" wasnt the fact that an atheist reviews from the outside an orthodox church. It seemed obvious to me that although you stated you didn't have any knowledge of orthodoxy,the way you talked and approached the topic indicated that you clearly seemed to be invested in Christ's faith on a deep personal level, at least in the past. So..i then watched your video on the episcopalian church and then a couple more where you stated how much you despise the confrontation of "you were never a christian to begin with". Please allow me to share my thoughts: It is obvious that there is a deep existential agony, a sincere search for the truth and a willingness to humble yourself in a way that many people who think that they are settled with their faith haven't done so including me. You are also absolutely right when you say that you are bothered by the confrontations that you had with many christians when they told you "oh but you were never a real chrisian' and that most of these people seem to rely purely on themselves. Obviously i don't know you, but If i was to annoy you with a confrontation i would do the opposite and ask you " you don't strike me as a real atheist':D Having said that and knowing that you are still invested in the christian faith in a way- your content says so- i would urge you to search and read the biographies of ealy Saints and Fathers. You might find yourself relating to their struggles with the faith in a positively surprising way. Many of them felt for decades the feeling of the absence and abandonment of God. Until we close our eyes our journey on this earth continues and we don't know how things will play out. I really like your channel and the fresh, sincere and sensitive way you approach things. Wish you all the love!
Now that you know, come back next year on the eve of Pascha to take in the full experience. Prepare to be there at least five hours for the three services (Nocturn, Matins, & the Divine Liturgy) that follow one right after the other and are followed by a potluck Feast. The candle symbolizes Christ who is “the True Light who gives light to every man…” (John 1:9) The act of lighting a candle in front of an Icon to pray is a small gesture of sacrifice-a small offering to God from the worshipper.
@@traceyedson9652Five is if you stay for the potluck and hang out. I usually arrive about 10 pm at my parish, 30 mins before start of Nocturnes (because it becomes crowded quickly) and find I’m leaving the church after potluck around 3:00 am. Services are about 2.5 - 3 hours, yes.
I’ve been Orthodox for a while. My faith is so important to me and I’m so glad you were able to visit an Orthodox Church. Great video, too. I’m Subscribing. I pray you stay safe and continue to be open and respectful to all your new experiences.
Basically there is only ONE Eastern Orthodox Church with apostolic succession. But there are many jurisdictions for that one singular church (Greek, Russian, Romanian, etc). Oriental Orthodoxy only uses the name 'Orthodoxy,' but it's really just coming from a completely different chronology than the Eastern Orthodox. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is 'The Orthodox Catholic Church.' It is no secret that since the great schism, it views itself as true Catholicism, and the Church in Rome/Italy as the one Jurisdiction that broke off from the others.
Orthodox catechumen here! We use different variations of greetings throughout the year. For most of the year, we will greet one another in church with “Christ is in our midst!” and the other person will respond with “He is and ever shall be!” We will have variations of this greeting on different holidays. For example, around the time of Pascha, we will say (as you experienced), “Christ is risen!” and “Truly He is risen!” Similarly, when celebrating Christ’s ascension, we we will greet one another with “Christ is ascended!” and “Truly He is ascended!” I believe there are other variations for Christ’s birth and other situations also : )
Orthodoxy "works" at a level above every other tradition. That doesn't mean other christians aren't really christians, it's just that their traditions have screened out a lot of what is most helpful in life. Think of "worship" and "attention" as the same thing; what you look at, and otherwise interact with, has a profound effect on you. The world is saturating our attention with it's symbols toward its own ends; manipulating us into buying things we don't need, for instance. Orthodoxy is the antidote. It saturates our attention too, except in this case it feels good because it _is_ good. The coziness of Orthodoxy is the birthright of every human person.
Cool work, man. I was an atheist from 20 to 30 years old and deep into metal (from Blind Guardian to Bolt Thrower). I hope that I am finding my way back thanks to Jesus Christ and the Greek Orthodox Church.
❤❤In the Russian [OCA/ROCOR, etc..] parishes the services BEGIN at 11:30pm and can continue until well after 2am..depending on how many are there for Holy Communion!. Pascha is always a joyous and festive time.. So glad to have come across your video.. I admit that i held my breath for a little as you began, but it was truly heartwarming and you are a joy to watch.. And i truly love what you read. Truly beautiful. We may be past Pentecost now but it is never out of season to proclaim that : CHRIST IS RISEN!
I'm just delighted by your review. Hopefully next year you can get to the "real" Pascha service, which is usually celebrated at midnight. It's a blast. At my church, it runs from 11:30 PM to about 2:30 AM, and there's so much shouting and singing, the priest walking through the crowd swinging a censer. The sermon is always the St. John Chrysostom Paschal Homily, which is short and pungent. Everybody ought to experience that service at least once in their life. Also there's a potluck meal that follows the service, in the wee hours of the morning. Since we have been keeping a vegan fast for 7 weeks, people bring whatever they missed during the fast, and it's pretty sumptuous. Next year Pascha will overlap with Western Easter, April 20. That is, Orthodox will get going late on Saturday April 19, while Western Christians will gather on the morning of Sunday April 20. I hope you get to give it a try.
Also, someone has surely already said this, but Pascha is pronounced "Pahs-ka." A Pasha was a high-ranking officer in the Ottoman Empire, so not a happy memory for Greek Orthodox.
@heliocentric Frederica is held in high esteem in many Orthodox circles and would be a fascinating conversation partner if you two are willing. This conversation she had with Jonathan Pageau is a great starting point: ua-cam.com/video/PYsFwHXTY-Y/v-deo.html
That's really enlightening! Thank you so much for your kind words, and I'll absolutely try to make it out to a proper Pascha service this time next year. Cheers!
When you want to talk to God, pray! When you want God to talk to you, read the Bible 🙏🏼❤️ Orthodox Christians are the ones under the most attack from the evil one because we are the ones who remained the most true to Jesus’s teachings. We praise our Lord the way the apostles did. We didn’t change a thing. Our traditions and beliefs remained the same and go back to the apostles. This is why you can feel Gods presence at our churches. 🙏🏼
This is my husband, Fr Paul Christy, and our Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Raleigh, NC! You ROCK!! Thank you!
Thank you all for your warm hospitality.
Peace and blessings.
That’s our Father Paul ❤️✝️
Been thinking about going to Holy Trinity for a good bit now, glad I found this vid!
Greeks are protestants!
In Holy Orthodoxy women have to cover their hair and pews are forbidden
I’m a former atheist now Orthodox Christian! Glory to God
Welcome home ❤️
I'm a former Orthodox Christian now atheist. Glory to humanity!
Man, 2 of us are literally like ☯️
@@Milorad_Parlic sorry to hear that
@@Milorad_Parlic another one bites the dust 😔
Hope u come back home
And we are not like that we reach our fullness in Christ
You know what fullness means?
That theirs no more place for nothing else in this case ur nonsense you can reject the faith that’s one but poisoning others with this kinds of nonsense is another level of arrogance
I’m a former catholic now atheist. I believe in humans rights a equality now
Happy you finally went to an Orthodox Church!
You mentioned you wanted to understand the "politics" behind each church (serbian, russian, greek, coptic, etc.) and it's pretty straightforward. To get started, there are actually two main branches of Orthodoxy - Oriental and Eastern (both mean eastern, I know, it's just their names). The Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches split during the Council of Chalcedon for a disagreement about Christ's God and Human properties. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are:
- Coptic
- Ethiopian
- Eritrean
- Syrian
- Malankaran (Indian)
- Armenian
The biggest Eastern Orthodox Churches are:
- Greek
- Russian
- Serbian
- Ukrainian (kinda, it's a whole mess)
- Antiochian
- Romanian
There are 17 independent Orthodox Churches, but I won't name them all here.
Each of these Eastern Orthodox Churches all fall under the same denomination of Orthodoxy, but each church is called an autocephalous church, meaning it's independently run and has what is called a Patriarch. The church doesn't report to any higher authority in that case. There are many other churches such as the OCA and the ROCOR and (disputably) Estonia and Ukraine which do report to a higher authority but are referred to on as their own independent churches.
However, while each of these churches do have an independent Patriarch, it doesn't mean they are divided any more than that. Each Church has the same theology, and you will find Greek, Russian, and Serbian books alike in many of their bookstores. The unity comes in with meetings called Synods, where Bishops from each church come together to discuss current theological or ecclesiastical issues. The Holy Synod is for the Patriarchs where they discuss it.
However, the cultures in each church are quite different because they are tailored to that specific country and place. Entire nations were baptized at one point (Baptism of Kievan Rus') and so national identities and cultures were formed around the church, giving us the distinct styles we see today. However, these differences are only aesthetically and with language. Each hold the same service in their native language (Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom) and teach the same dogmas.
Hope this helps!
This was an INSANELY detailed synopsis! Thanks so much, homie!!!
Yeah what was the disagreement on the nature of Christ and the body
@@dirkjensen969 Whether or not Christs human nature was subsumed into his divine nature(Oriental pov) or not(Chalcedonian Christianity) It is generally understood by all but the most polemic of orthodox people that this split was not over anything real, it was largely political and linguistic differences.
@@Emporerofkortoph oh what side are you and why
One extremely nerdy caveat on the liturgy: sometimes it is the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil, and in Western Rite Orthodox churches the ordinary liturgy is the Divine Liturgy St. Gregory... And there's a bit more, but that's just one additional layer of the onion.
You are honestly the most respectful athiest i ever seen as an Orthodox Christian thank you
I dont believe he is and Atheist anymore 🤣☦️♥️
They should be respectful. I was an atheist until a few years ago. A bunch of CIA docs got released from freedom of information act. Classified stuff from the 90s. I don't know if there is an astral plane or afterlife.. but I know the CIA thinks it's real, and believe they have seen it and I also know now the CIA believes in psychic abilities in some ppl. At this time they were teaching atheism in public schools while the while time CIA beleived there's something more. Based on this it's no longer possible for me to be atheist and it's shady as hell they would teach atheism all the while military didn't agree
He doesn't at all come across as an atheist. Seems like he's genuinely interested in God.
Just because you are atheistic/agnostic doesnt mean you hate or even dislike religion. Sometimes you are genuinely confused and just honestly can't rationalize the belief for yourself.
Blessed are those with a pure Heart: For they shall see.
Hey man, Orthodox here. You were in my recommended so I decided to take a look. Good video, thanks for being so respectful.
same
That's one of his problems. Christianity would extend him zero mercy if the roles were reversed.
@@dirkjensen969 bruh lol
@@blockhead1899 say something nice about Atheists or Atheism that is superior in some way to Christianity, explicitly. If not, it's clear, you don't have respect for them, or dignify their position. Even the Bible takes every opportunity to lob childish insults at Atheists.
@@dirkjensen969people like you are always out there giving atheists a bad name. There’s no reason to be confrontational for no reason.
We Egyptians love our Greek brothers
🇪🇬☦️🇬🇷
Last Egyptian dinasty was Greek and we use their greek alphabet to write Egyptian language
Ⲡⲓⲭ̀ⲣⲓⲥⲧⲟⲥ ⲁϥⲧⲱⲛϥ ⲉ̀ⲃⲟⲗ ϧⲉⲛ
Wait really do you Egyptians use the Greek letters in your alphabet
@@Nikos-o-gamer
Yes we do but we created 5 letters extra cause Egyptian language has more sounds than Greek
Much love from Greece too! God bless
I AM Orthodox From Srbija.
@@EgyptianOrthodox ok
As someone interested in Orthodoxy, the Orthodox are very welcoming and in a genuine way. Several strangers have talked to me, offered me their seat, brought me food after the divine liturgy, said they're glad to see me again after not going to church for a few weeks, and much more
are you interested in learning about Orthodoxy?
I’m sure you can find genuinely welcoming people in every denomination
@@thomasthellamas9886 just minus the FULLNESS of the faith.
@@redaquila2891 You aren’t wrong. But what Church/denomination has the fullness of Faith comes down to the Spirit calling and/or the validity of the logical and historical arguments for whichever church.
@@redaquila2891 Mormons say theirs has the fullness and that yours is false
Former atheist here. Also former Protestant. I am currently a catechumen in the Eastern Orthodox church. I typically go to a Greek parish but have recently attended services at a Serbian parish. In fact, I just came back from a 6:00am Matins service - on a Monday! If there is a Serbian parish in your area, I cannot recommend enough checking one out to diversify your experience. Heads up though, they probably won't have pews. EDIT: I also had a chance to spend a few days at a Serbian monastery. I did not want to leave!
May God bless your journey into the Church!
The drip always shows who got it right.
@@wjckc79 🗿☦️
You really need to visit Hilandar in Greece that is like one of the most important places for Orthodox Christians. I went when I was younger and it was truly amazing.
@@felixmikael9495 How do you know it's a profound place? Women are forbidden to enter it 💀
Welcome to original Christianity.
Imperial Christianity. Do you think impoverished persecuted Christians in house churches of the 1st century were mincing about in grand robes under massive basilicas? That didn't happen until the 4th century when the state took over and that relationship persists as can be seen with Putin's Patriarch in Moscow who is head of nearly half of all Orthodox. The rest are those cuddly Balkan churches (Dont ask about the 90s) or the Greek Orthodox which is the largest landowner in the country.
@@clivejungle6999 house churches were the houses of wealthy christians. The fact that there could be an upper room in the first place should tip you off to that fact.
@@bigol9223 Not the wealthiest, just more affluent. And they were more modest ones besides. What they didn't have were giant basilicas and vast temple premises.
@@clivejungle6999 do you think it is a sin to create beautiful works of art on this earth? I'm missing what the problem is.
@@clivejungle6999 No but the theology was the same. Also, yes they probably had vestments or some sort of protovestment.
Wow, just found you thanks to the UA-cam algorithm. I'm an Orthodox priest. Interesting video! I'm glad your visit was so positive!
When it comes to the differences between the different Orthodox national churches, most are simply related to culture and musical style. All Orthodox Churches are in a worldwide communion and are a single denomination. However, the Coptic and Armenian churches are actually part of a similar but distinct communion of churches called the Oriental Orthodox.
Absolutely Father!In all of Easter Orthodox Churches we get the same theology and same liturgy!The only thing that can be different is chants and language that the priest speaks. Im from Serbia and we mostly chant on Church Slavonic but we also use Greek, in short all of autocephalous Churches are in communion and are the same, Armenian and Coptic Churches are Oriental Orthodox and they beleive that Jesus had 1 nature.
Is the Russian Orthodox jurisdiction back in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate?
@@ericlammerman2777 Sadly no, but whole thing was Constantinople’s fault, they didn’t had right to proclaim autocephality on land that is under jurisdiction of ROC
Coptic and Armenians are not Orthodox and they are not in communion with the Orthodoxs.
❤🙏
I go to a Serbian Orthodox Church. From what I learned, the nation just represents the groups who started it. So mine was a Serbian group and our church is a great way for the Serbian culture to live on. I believe it's the same every other church, since the local Coptic Orthodox holds Egyptian festivals and all. Orthodox is the key, being that they held onto the foundation and original style intended from the beginning of the church. It's a beautiful thing. I'm happy I am there as a former protestant.
I was an Atheist/Agnostic until I was about 23 years old. I'm now 26 years old and I'm a Baptized Orthodox Christian. I have searched for the truth since I was 15 years old. Orthodoxy Christianity is true. I appreciate your perspective as most atheists are insufferable. Please speak to an Orthodox priest at length it will change your life if your heart is open and ready.
Took more or less this same journey recently, apologetics brought me first to Christianity again and then the Eastern Orthodox Church. God bless ☦️
@@qzvl God bless you too
Let's test your insufferable ility...
You speak of Truth
That implies you get some kind of Methodology that let's you test religions on their true/false value!?
Share it!
@@ichsehsanders easy. Elimination via absurdity of worldview/evidence of the contrary.
@@qzvl sure
Go ahead
As a former Protestant who became Catholic and finally Orthodox - you did an amazing job at being unbiased, and you described how Divine Liturgy is at every church, every Sunday. Midnight Pascha is the most powerful thing - I 100% urge you to go next year!
When you enter an Orthodox Church you enter true Christianity
Amen ☦️❤️
Putting yourself in the "True" category of Christianity is very common but when it comes to defining those terms everybody gets real quiet...
To me that's precious
@ichsehsanders Do your research. Dont come to me. Find the truth. Seek God, Seek truth.
@@Orthodoxzee
It's my task to defend your "Truths"
Precious
The only people that get mad at questions are conman and people that lie to themself...
I'm not mad. There is only one truth. Have a good day
We visited an Orthodox church in Israel. Built in 400 AD or so. In the back was an old well. Jacobs well. The priest drew some
water and we got to drink some of the water out of paper cups. Pretty cool.
You drank from the same well as Jesus Christ during the parable of the Samarian woman (John 4:5-7)
@@PomazeBog1389 I know. It was hard standing there and fully grasp that.
How would you know its orthodox, if there existed no ortodox church before the first millenia 1000
@@kovacs.z It's a Greek orthodox church now.
Eastwrn Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox are not in communion but really like one another. The difference between them to an outsider would be hard to notice. The main difference between Greek, Russian, Romanian, Serbian, OCA, etc is the language and a few minor traditions. What you saw in the Greek church would look basically identical to my Orthodox Church in America Parish where its all in English. Glad you enjoyed it. CHRIST IS RISEN TRAMPLING DOWN DEATH BY DEATH
P.s I was an atheist for 25 years.
we do not like oriental orthodoxy we rather pray for their repentance
So if Oriental and Eastern Orthodox are really like one another in the faith then why do the Oriental churches in these modern times not accept the authority of the 7 Ecumenical Councils, only 3 of them. There's a huge difference between the nature of Christ. On earth he was true God and true man having two natures and not one.
Hopefully the orientals and EO fix the schism they're both full of wonderful sincere people.
We both have the same Creed ☦️
I love Eastern Orthodox brothers even tho they hate us
@@EgyptianOrthodox I don't hate you
I am a Greek Orthodox Christian. Thanks for the respect. God bless from Texas.
You are orthodox christian, under the greek patriarchate.
You're from Texas? Any Orthodox Churches in San Antonio?
@@michaelturnage3395certainly are! I recommend St. Sophia’s as that’s where I go now, I know St. Anthony’s is really good aswell though
@@michaelturnage3395one thing I will let you know my friend, is in San Antonio we see a lot of “Indian orthodox” churches, sadly those aren’t actually orthodox, they split off from us in the year 300 or so, but they kept the name, so check out either of the two I said and you’ll be set! ❤
@@andrew1958 Yes.
I became an Orthodox Christian in 2016 and my huband became Orthodox a uear ago...the best decision we ever made.
Orthodoxy transcends nations, the faith is more important than the nation. Many conflate national pride and identity with their church, but I can (and have) walk into a Russian Orthodox Church and it’s the same faith. Orthodoxy is a lifestyle as much as it is a belief. There is no one “I felt really strongly so now I’m saved for ever and ever” moment. To truly follow Christ, it involves a change in how you live your life. Glad you had a good experience! It’s a very long history, if you have continued interest.
Which Orthodox Church do you belong to?
@@FriarJoe66 Constantinople
@@Constantineopulosis Constantinople in communion with Moscow?
@@jaggedplanet At this point in time, I don't believe so. Doesn't change much on the ground. I had the pleasure of visiting the monastery of St. Tikhon in Pennsylvania, earlier this year.
@@Constantineopulos Are Russian Orthodox allowed to receive communion at a Greek Orthodox parish and vice versa?
For anyone curious about what stands out about Orthodox theology and our beliefs about God:
For Orthodox, we believe we are meant to be united with God in a very deep way, and that the priesthood of humanity is to take what is in our heart and put it into the world. This is why the Fall happened, because the life of Christ was meant to come through mankind as loving priests and into Creation, infusing it all with God's love. When we rejected God and decided to be completely independent (instead of being co-workers with Him), we cut off the supply of life to call Creation, introducing death no only to ourselves but everything.
In addition to physical death is spiritual death, which manifests most greatly in pride, which we see as a total self focus and self gravity, the entire universe revolving around our desires, our opinions, our image, etc. In this way, all sins are a form of pride, a brokenness that flows out of this selfishness, this spiritual illness. While sin is very serious and we Orthodox are called to constant warfare with it, their is a balanced view of it being not only our choice but also an illness that has captured us. It is naturally a far more merciful view towards people who sin. Sin in Orthodoxy is actually much broader, describing many broken things. When a soldier kills someone, even if it was considered justified, they go to confession to be "unbound" or healed because we recognize killing anyone damages us. It's not about a legal system but about entering into healing with Christ, the Holy Physician.
A major symptom of this pride, this spiritual death, is a lack of love. By love we don't simply mean affection, nor even good deeds, but a heart that unconditionally lives for the beauty of that which is loved. While we humans seem to have some fragmented remains of love, full altruism is a divine reality flowing from God Himself. It's not simply that God is loving, but He is literally love. We see this love at the Cross when, after horrible treatment from enemies and friends, all Christ thinks about is the well being of his beloved Creation: "Forgive them Father, they know not what they do." When we Orthodox say we need a savior, it's not to be saved from God's legal retribution or anger, it's being saved from ourselves. We need Him to help us overcome our selfishness and pride, and plant Himself within us, which means planting this divine, unconditional love. This love is the same love that is shared between the members of the Trinity, and the same love that birthed all of Creation.
Not only is there spiritual death but there is also physical death, which is the unnatural fragmentation of man, a split between his body and soul. Death is an ontological reality, and all death, sin, and suffering are linked directly. So what Christ accomplishes at the Cross, while rightly described as a payment or ransom, is more deeply and literally understood as Life Himself entering into death and filling the reality with His presence. We Orthodox call this the Harrowing of Hades. This is why many other people were resurrected the moment Christ died and were said to be seen walking around the city. Again, the way the Orthodox (and the earliest Christians) think about these things was far less legalistic and more ontological. The literalization of the legal language was something that came far later in Roman Catholicism after it split off from the other Apostolic Churches (which are today's Orthodox Churches) in 1054, and when the Protestants left the Catholic Church they unfortunately kept a lot of the legal ideas that produce a lot of mental and spiritual damage today.
Christ offers union with Him, healing both spiritual and physical death as He Himself is life and love. The Fathers say God forgives everyone, even Satan, but if one doesn't want forgiveness then the distance is experienced the same as if God rejected someone, thus we speak of the need to approach humbly for forgiveness, because such an act is what makes our hearts compatible with His, a humble God who would bear the worst pain and shame for His children. All the Orthodox services are about a balance of peace but also humility, about nor being terrified but about seeing our need for His help. Even the word repentance in Scripture is "metanoia" meaning change of nous or change of heart, which means putting our heart back on God. It isn't about self loathing or beating ourselves up. In fact, the Fathers were adamant that beating ourselves up was demonic deception and we should have peace. We should admit our sins and struggle against them, as anyone should admit faults and try to grow, but they insisted that God never wanted us to destroy our peace over our sins.
As man and Christ are reunited in prayer, liturgical worship, sacraments, etc. man returns to the state of being a bridge between God and Creation. We have our Saints as examples of men who achieved this, who brought healing and peace and love to every person and animal they met. The goal of all the Churches work is the infuse this life and love of God's presence into all things, which is why relics and icons and holy places are a thing, and also why we Orthodox are insistent on using our bodies and physical creation in our worship. Worship isn't stroking God's ego like it is for the pagan deities, it is transformation that enables us to be close to God, hence why He has to reveal it and we can make it up ourselves. Candles and incense don't merely represent things as Westerners would thing, they genuinely participate in prayer with us physically. Scripture talks about how Creation groans because it has been cut off from the Son of God, and now that mankind, the priests of Creation, are being healed, it has a chance to be with God again.
I was raised as a non-denom Protestant and dabbled in Catholicism, but when I looked into the earliest Christians I saw something I didn't recognize, something unlike Protestantism and Catholicism. The only place I could find it being lived out was Orthodoxy. It wasn't something to just believe because Orthodox people said so, but it was supposed to be compelling only because the Orthodox lived it, and it was to their shame, not mine, if I didn't believe. And I myself saw it, I saw a peace in these priests and people that I have never seen in any other group or religion. It wasn't a manic high like the cults have, it was the opposite. And when I read the writings of their Saints, it was obvious they knew the heart better than anyone else I had ever read.
Anyone who finds this appealing, who wants to heal their hearts and have peace, please visit a local Orthodox Church. Antiochian, Greek, Russian, OCA, Serbian, and several others... these are all part of one family, separated only by leadership but united as one Church. I looked for years in the Bible and in Psychology for healing, but the depths of understanding I found in the Church Fathers and modern Orthodox were the understandings I needed, and that I know believe Christ passed on to us. I don't expect anyone to believe because I say so, but if you are hungry like I was... it's worth a look, eh?
Hey aren't you that guy on Twitter?
@@ronin2387lmao
@@ronin2387 I deny the accusation.
That was great! Thanks for sharing! (A few typos you might want to fix up)
"Scripture talks about how Creation groans because it has been cut off from the Son of God, and now that mankind, the priests of Creation, are being healed, it has a chance to be with God again."
I like this.
Glad you got to enjoy it bro. Pascha is the event that cemented me on Orthodoxy too. Start praying now because there's no turning back. God bless you and stay pointed to the truth.
I'm not Serbian, but I got Baptized into the Serbian Orthodox Church. The service is 50 % English. Depends on which parish you visit.
Welcome! 🇷🇸
welcome brother
I'm Polish and baptized in Serbian Orthodox Church, there are more of us ☦️🇷🇸
@@chanpasadopolska I'm Russian brother
@@alt-monarchist 💪🙏
I'm a protestant. Had the opportunity to celebrate a midnight Easter service with a Greek Orthodox church this year and was overwhelmed by the chanting and the beautiful liturgy. Would absolutely go back.
brother `we want you back
Absolutely we want you back, how happy I am to hear of this experience
Come again brother! We would love to see you. God bless ☦️
Yo I know your comments are already flooded with Orthodox folks saying thank you for your respectfulness, but I just wanted to ditto that. I spent my whole life being "spiritual" but never found any church/religion that stood out to me. I had read through the Quran, ancient Indian texts (Upanishads), Judaic texts (Mishkan Tiflah, Talmud), The Bible, and a plethora of esoteric texts some in which delved into strange occult practices, etc. Every church I had ever stepped into, I was disgusted with. It never failed to lack the spiritual depth that I was seeking, and so I never stepped into the same church or temple twice. About 3 1/2 years ago, I was properly introduced to the Orthodox Church. Some acquaintances invited me to go with them to the Divine Liturgy. For the first time in my life, I stepped foot into a church that I felt I could return to. This Church actually felt alive. And it wasn't just the aesthetics/hymns that made it feel that way. It was the people themselves. I could sense life in them. The only problem was that this church was 2+ hours away from where I lived, so I unfortunately did not return. Finally I ended up moving to a city big enough to have it's own Orthodox Church and slowly started going to the different services, fasting, confessing, going to the fellowship hours. That was about a year and a half ago when I started attending regularly. It's taking me a while to get accustomed to the Orthodox Christian way of life, especially since I do not have a background in protestantism like most of the converts my age. That said, in about a month I will be received by Baptism into the Greek Orthodox Church. Never would have imagined in 1000 years that I would be doing something like this, yet here I am. I consider the decision to enter the church to be the most important decision I've ever made in my life to this date. Where else can you find people taking their spirituality this seriously while also refraining from entering "zealot" territory? Anyways, not sure why I felt the need to share this, but I hope this finds you well, and I also hope that you will visit an Orthodox Church again in time. Pascha is indeed beautiful, but there are so many beautiful feast days/special days throughout the year that I would also recommend experiencing (Saturday of Souls, Holy Pentecost, Palm Sunday, Holy Week, Dormition of the Theotokos, the Nativity of Jesus Christ, Transfiguration, etc.)
when you get your baptism in the orthodox church,the Holy Spirit is leading you to spread the Gospel and testimony your life! 🥰
that’s nice brother, God bless ☦️🙏
💗
Hi, I’m Paul! Actually though, I’m the guy you spoke to that morning.
Thank you so much for respecting our community and all of the kind words you said. I’m really glad you were moved by the service. If you ever feel like coming back, or want to grab a coffee, let me know, and I can give you my contact info! It helps to have someone explain some of the Traditions, and there are a lot them…
Thanks again for being so respectful and positive!
Hey Paul! (So stoked that I actually remembered someone's name correctly for once.)
Thanks so much for showing a stupid atheist the basics of the church service. It was a wonderful introduction and you made me feel right at home. All the best to you and your church family there. I may have to swing by again some day to have a proper discussion with your priest there.
Cheers!
I was raised evangelical, then became atheist, then I’m in the process of joining Orthodox Church. Orthodoxy definitely warms your heart and gains your respect when you take a deep look on it.
I’m glad you could experience the beauty of the Orthodoxy. ☦️
Welcome to Orthodoxy! Some years ago, a young, atheist professor walked into an Orthodox Church in San Francisco. Afterwards, he quit his professorship, took a job and began researching Orthodoxy. Eventually, he was ordained priest and founded a monastery in Northern California. Many consider him a saint. Fr Seraphim Rose is his name. This could happen to you!
All I knew of father seraphim rose is he was taught by Alan Watts! I didn't know Father Seraphim rose was an atheist professor ! Now I got the full story. Thanks I feel hope filled for specifically atheists now hahaha uh oh I rightfully hold hope from atheists because they're very horrible people often, and condescending very difficult humans with attitude worthy of condemning negative people , emotionally toxic, And so this man is up there as a not as horrible as Atheists of the popular types in Popular media where they are literally atheists lame hereosz and Pagan worshippers, Atheist Priests they are being worshipped, it's funny to see the collapse of atheism, God bless amen
Wow! I would like to read or hear more about his story. I see that he has written several books. Is there one that you can recommend I start with?
“Not of This World: The Life and Teachings of Father Seraphim Rose” by Hieromonk Damascene Christensen is good. (It’s out of print and very expensive, but there are PDFs online).
Many of his sermons are floating around online, including right here on youtube.
I'd rec a short book to start with, "God's Revelation to the Human Heart" it's maybe 40-50 pages.
Hello! Orthodox Christian here!
The service you went to is called the Agape Service (agape is one of the words for love). It’s one of my favorite services! After the midnight Pascha Liturgy (liturgy as what we call Mass), the Agape service that Sunday after. The reason the Bible reading was done in every language is because in that specific service, we try to read it in every single language we can. For instance in my church, we asked parishioners if they spoke any foreign languages, and we ended up doing 17 different languages including ASL!
Finally, the differences between “state” churches. The Eastern Orthodox Church is combined of many different autocephalous (self-ruling) bodies: Russian, Greek, Serbian, Antiochian, Alexandrian, Bulgarian, etc etc etc etc. We are all united in one, there is NO difference in theology whatsoever. The only difference is the language the Liturgy is conducted in, the architectural style of the church, and probably the food they eat afterward lol. Each autocephalous church has a Patriarch, which is like their Pope. The difference between us and Catholics, is we think all Patriarchs are equal to one another, and none of them are infallible (they can be wrong, and have been). Actually, before 1054, Orthodoxy and Catholicism was one united church, and the Pope was simply the Patriarch of the West, equal to the others
There’s a big significance to the red egg, and its association with Easter:
When St. Mary Magdalene, the woman who first saw the Resurrected Jesus, went to Rome to proclaim that Christ was Risen, the Roman Emperor, Tiberius Cæsar, laughed at and mocked her. Mary was holding an egg in her hand while this was happening, and the Emperor exclaimed, “Jesus has no more risen than the egg in your hand being red,” the egg immediately turned red, and the Emperor would later listen to Mary’s pleas to save an innocent man from being crucified, and removing Pilate from being Governor of Judæa
Wait - are the red eggs not supposed to represent drops of Jesus' blood? That's what I've been told growing up in Orthodoxy.
@Rabid_Nationalist it's in honor of St Mary Magdelene
@@Rabid_Nationalist symbols have multiple meanings. If it only had one meaning it wouldn't be a symbol, it would be a sign.
❤❤❤THANK YOU FOR TELLING THAT STORY..
I LOVE TO TELL IT MYSELF..
I HAVE NO RED EGGS SO I WILL SEND RED HEARTS.❤❤
In Serbia we write on each egg, Christ has risen, (XBBB-is serbian cirilic). Witch stand Christ has Risen, in Truth he has Risen.
As a terrible Catholic, I’m just happy you found a place that celebrates the Eucharist. If you ever could fathom what it means to be near Him, you’d never want to be away from Him.
As a Christian who was raised protestant and considering becoming Orthodox, I really love that you made this video. You are a very respectful atheist and I appreciate that you are very open minded about our religion.
Just like you guys are open minded and respectful to Atheists or other beliefs right? Oh wait no, they're all false, Satan inspired and going to hell.
Southern Baptist moving the same way.
Blessed he who comes in the name of the Lord.
@@Hope_Boat oh yeah? What's his ACTUAL NAME then, not Yah or YHWH, that's the tetragrammaton
@@dirkjensen969 Jesus
Orthodoxy saved me from Satanism
Is Satanism a threat?
@@Eugensson Only if you don't like hell.
@@Eugenssonvery… Basically dooming souls to Hell.
What a surprisingly fun and refreshing hot-take on an Orthodox service. Our Pascha (Pa-ska) service starts at midnight and goes until 2am. Then we have a feast and Party until dawn. Then everyone goes home to sleep and comes back the next day at 2pm for Agape Vespers where we read the gospel in all the languages present, and continue the party until the wine and food runs out. And yes, there is something deeply visceral about receiving and passing candle light.
We just had a former atheist become a catechumen yesterday! Praying for you!
I am An Orthodox Romanian I am glad that you have visited the One Apostolic Holy And True Church, God Bless❤❤❤❤
This year i got to recite john 20 in native hawaiian (i was born and raised in hawaii), along with about a dozen others who recited in languages that were part of our backgrounds. Our church is serbian, but over 75% of us are converts, so most of our service is in english.
God bless you all❤❤❤
What a beautiful comment. To paraphrase Fr. Josiah Trenham, we (Orthodox) have no sacred language like the Roman Catholics, Jews, or Muslims. It is the Holy Gospel that sanctifies ALL languages.
Thank you for sharing.
I find this shocking (probably just from ignorance on my part, I know). How have, and why do, a few Hawaiians become Serbian Orthodox? Does being a Serbian Orthodox in any way mean you align with Serbia's politics too?
@@the_luggage for most of us, especially in America, the national origin of the church has little to do with anything. I became a part of the serbian church because that's what was closest to me. Had the closest church been Russian, Greek, or antiochian, I would have settled in just fine. In my experience, politics don't get mentioned unless an individual parishioner brings it up. But the priest is completely uninterested in politics. I don't know if that would be the same experience had I gone to a Russian or Ukrainian diocese. But as for being hawaiian, most, or at least a sizeable chunk of us profess to be Christian thanks to the missionary work done in the 1800s, so going further in my faith towards Orthodoxy wasn't a big stretch for me. 🙂
Eastern Christianity is Ancient Christianity.
What's up from NC! That's the Church I go to and I love Father Paul - he guided me in my catechism. Always welcome to see other people that are interested in Orthodoxy! Hit me up if you have any questions :)
Yea the history of the Orthodox Church is very peaceful and giving to those in need. Also ironically more free and open to newer people who want to come in and explore than any other Church denomination. Orthodoxy is very nice
One of the most respectful atheists I've ever seen. Also, we don't call our services "Mass" we call them Divine Liturgy (main Sunday service) Orthros (usually a pre Divine Liturgy) and Vespers (evening/nighttime service)
Orthros is also called Matins (same exact meaning, “Morning”), which is morning prayer. Many church will hold Matins/Orthros the evening before after Vespers. Also, a cultural nuance is that often Slavic churches will emphasize vespers and Greek or Levantine churches will emphasize matins/orthros. Parishes can only do so much! Many have both.
Good to know you have this positive experience. The Orthodox Christianity is alive and pure. ☦️🇬🇷🙏
I absolutely love the Orthodox Church and wouldn’t personally go to another. Before discovering Orthodoxy, I always had a hard time going to church. Sometimes, I just didn’t feel a connection, and other times, it was boring to listen to someone talk for hours. In Orthodoxy, it feels like you’re truly part of the service, engaging in something greater, experiencing genuine worship of God. The service feels holy and inspired, which might be why it’s called the Divine Liturgy.
There are a couple of stories related to the tradition of the red egg. According to tradition, after Jesus' Ascension into heaven, the Magdalene-a wealthy woman of some importance-boldly presented herself to the Emperor Tiberius Caesar in Rome to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ, with an egg in hand to illustrate her message.
Holding the egg out to him, she exclaimed for the first time what is now the universal Easter proclamation among Christians, "Christ is risen!"
The emperor, mocking her, said that Jesus had no more risen than the egg in her hand was red. Immediately, the egg turned red as a sign from God to illustrate the truth of her message. The Emperor then heeded her complaints about Pilate condemning an innocent man to death, and had Pilate removed from Jerusalem under imperial displeasure.
Why would Mary Magdalene bring an egg to talk about Jesus with the Roman Emperor?
In another tradition, it is said that Mary Magdalene brought a basket of white boiled eggs with her on Easter morning to the tomb of Jesus-perhaps as a meal for herself and the others as they waited for someone to roll the stone away. When she arrived at the site of the Resurrection, finding the stone already rolled away, she also found that the eggs in her basket had turned into bright shades of color.
Perhaps this is why she brought an egg to the Emperor; did she expect that Jesus would perform a similar miracle for her egg as he had done on that first Easter morning?
While we do not know if these stories are true with absolute certainty, we do know that the tradition of handing out red eggs at Easter is one that originated among Christians in Apostolic times. And we often find Mary Magdalene depicted in icons holding a red egg.
This is WILD. I had no idea about this apocryphal tradition. I'll have to do some more digging into this, but it's a much more satisfying answer about why there are eggs surrounding Easter rather than this Eshtar nonsense.
Preciate you, friend!
@@HeliocentricOfficial Romanian Orthodox here ... We do share the red egg tradition (just so u know all those orthodox churches u mentioned including Romanian, Moldavian, Bulgarian, and Albanian are sister churches ... we have the same beliefs and rituals just using a different language and a different administration - everything but spiritual, structure) ...
In our culture the red egg has a different origin ... a few details are very relevant here so you understand why this is part of our tradition
- if you study Jesus's death you will learn that in his last moments before his physical death, he was abandoned by everyone
- another technical detail is that the crucifixion is the most agonizing death one can suffer and it was preferred by Romans to enforce fear.
- in many cases, the person being crucified "refuses" to die so they would "help" him by poking his heart with a spear (like they did to Jesus), and when that does not work they would break their shins to let the blood drip
So while he was taking his last breath, the women who followed him as the Messiah, refused to stand by without seeing what was happening or even help if they could. They took the basket of eggs because it would be a good cover for them to be able to reach his cross.
When they reached him they put the basket at the base of his cross and started to mourn him. During this time, blood from his wounds dripped down on the basket so when they ran (because soldiers were periodically passing by to see if anyone was still alive) they were holding a basket of red-blooded eggs. This became a way of expressing faith in what happened that day.
There's a lot more to go over but I tried to point out a few relevant aspects.
Greek Orthodox Christian here. You, sir, are my favourite atheist. Love your way of describing your experiences! As you say :"Go to church"!!!!
Let me tell you pascha is the greatest service you could ever imagine. Truly time and space is broken by the power of the Resurrection. In the Darkness of Night you get to witness the Light of Our Lord break down the Gates of Hell. Our Lord as King and Conqueror Jesus Christ subdue Satan the Serpent, Prince of the Earth and Angel of Death. Our Lord and Our God who in the Body of a Man and with the Power of the Father Shattered or Shackles and when Rising from the Dead delivered onto Those in the Grave Eternal Life. Form 40 days between Pascha to the celebration of the Ascension of Our Lord it is sung at every service: Christ is risen from the dead. Trampling down death by death. And upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
😂you think the serpent 🐍 is "Satan" and that he's the "Angel 😇 of Death"? Seriously bro? That's the doctrine?
@@dirkjensen969What’s so funny?
@Elite_Footballer777 the old Testament says nothing of the sort. The New Testament personifies Lucifer, claims Lucifer is Satan, and then arbitrarily ties this newly personified Lucifer, to the Serpent and the Asathan of Job.
It's like how Paul went through each chapter and personified an element into "Jesus" the descended of Jesse, father of David.
Isaiah 14:12 is not talking about and "Angel" falling from heaven, it's about the King of Babylon being compared to a shooting star. Obviously. Even biblical scholars agree on that.
But nobody can change the canon of Christianity to reflect that, because the personified and made up "Lucifer" as Satan or the Serpent is crucial to the Christian story, even if in retrospect its a fabrication and obvious misunderstanding of Hebrew mythology.
@@dirkjensen969yes Satan is the angel of death since he wants you to die and stay dead, it isn't that he has the power of life and death that has always been God's, but Satan embodies death and wants to bring you with him to the grave.
@@dirkjensen969 The pride and self-loving deception runs deep in your words. The Orthodox Apostolic revelation is definitive for understanding the OT, not your 'scholars'. You have been snared.
I also came back to Orthodoxy (baptized as an adult but walked away into protestantism and now back) around the same time this sudden surge into the Orthodox Church started.
Orthodoxy is freedom and comfort in the heart. Is where i learnt that god wants us to feel happy. Be simple and humble, we are nothing but little stars with a small passage from life, yet so important to the eyes of our Father.❤
I am a Greek Orthodox and I think atheists how do their research on the issue of God and Afterlife are the coolest type of atheists. Keep going bro.
I'm newly converted Orthodox, along with my wife and our son. I saw your video, seemed interested, I clicked. Thank you for stopping by an Orthodox Church and listening. God bless you and your family! ☦️
So glad you visited an Eastern Orthodox service! I grew up Roman Catholic and my husband Lutheran, but for me, a lot was missing and I fell away from my faith. We found Orthodoxy and I couldn't get over from the first couple visits how this was exactly what I had been searching for my entire life. I think my husband felt the same because he took to it immediately also. For the midnight service, come on back next Pascha!
I am a young guy learning to become orthodox and I truly believe it is what Christianity was originally supposed to be. I love to hear you enjoyed it. God bless you☦️
The red Pascha egg traditionally goes back to St. Mary Magdalene. At one point she found herself dinning with Emperor Tiberius and trying to convince him of the resurrection. He scoffed at the idea and said something to the effect of, "A man cannot rise from the dead any more than that egg in your hand could turn red!" And immediately the egg in her hand turned a crimson red.
That's why, in Orthodox tradition, our Easter eggs are dyed red, and in Orthodox icons, St. Mary Magdalene will sometimes be depicted as holding a red egg.
And a side note: St. Mary Magdalene is also honored as the Apostle to the Apostles, for she was the very first person commissioned by Christ to proclaim his resurrection, and her hearers were the Apostles themselves.
I know exactly what you mean when you talk about lighting the Pascha candle of the brother standing next to you. There are beautiful feelings of unity, love, and brotherhood.
PRO TIP! NEXT EASTER! GO ON FRIDAY TO THE ORTHODOX CHURCH! DON'T NEED TO THANK ME! THANK JESUS!
Seriously! There's nothing like it.
Hey @Heliocentric I suggest you if you ever decide to visit Greece! Make sure to go to the holy mountain Athos next to Thessaloniki, you can find some orthodox monasteries from the 10th century and maybe older, this experience will show you the original church of Christ, and you can live with the monks for a few day's and discuss anything about the Christian religion. Hope that i gave you a good idea for a video!!🙏🏻
Honestly your video should have more views! You gave such an honest, genuine and RESPECTFUL review of the church. It’s a rare thing to see today
Orthodox here. Thank you for sharing your experience at the Agape Vespers. My parish has been known to read the Gospel in Tolkien’s elvish languages (the joke is that we’re “Geek” Orthodox) as well as in Lakota, Gaelic, Hebrew, a variety of Western European languages, and of course the traditional “Orthodox” languages, including Arabic. We are in the Romanian Episcopate.
Man, thanks for being so respectful, but also curious!
In my parish in Chile we do the same thing of reading that passage in many languages in Pascha. When I first heard it, when I was still 50% atheist, it struck me. The fact that I can hear the singing in a Chinese parish and know exactly what is happening, even if I don't understand the words, is just beautiful for me. We often say that Liturgy is participatory theology, you are not studying a book or hearing a preacher, you receive the Gospel with your whole being, the music, the smell, the fact that you are standing, the icons, etc., all your senses are ritually purified.
Que la Ortodoxía siga creciendo en Chile ☦
50 years ago if you’d told me I’d be singing an entire service in Old Church Slavonic because I’m Serbian Orthodox, I would not have believed you, and yet, here I am. Hope you find your way to Christ.
Old church Slavonic was old Serbian church language. We can't read it or understand it much because our language was reformed by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić and we lost closeness to other Slavic/Russian language. Every Russian who visits Serbia can easily read old church writings in our churches and Monasteries, but we can't.
@@gbp4998sad it’s due to the influence of Islamic languages sadly, Slavonic language was easily understood by 90% of the orthodox churches pre 1400 only few places would be primarily Greek and Hebrew , Serbia is a great country and the orthodoxy that comes from it but sadly has never truly been its own for a while now
Really like this guy. I love that a number of UA-cam atheists are finally starting to be respectful of people of faith. Christians need to make sure that they reciprocate because it is the only way that constructive dialog can move forward.
Absolutely
Just hopping in to say I've been binging some of your videos and it's so nice to see someone in the Christian online sphere that I can relate to. There's a lot of atheists who hate religion, atheists who tolerate but ignore it, but almost no atheists that actively appreciate it and engage in it. You seem to fall into the last camp and so do I. I feel that internally I am 90% an atheist, but Christianity is so beautiful and aligns with what I feel love should be that I'm currently in the process of joining my local Catholic church. I really wish I could believe the way Christians do. Maybe one day I will... but probably not. The joy, kindness, warmth and compassion I have experienced from Christians feels like sitting on the edge of a campsite watching everyone else being warmed around the fire whilst I sit cold in my tent. I have a lot of doubt and little to no conviction, but all I know is that sitting at the proverbial family dinner table with the others and not eating still feels better than not being at the table at all. It hurts when so many tell you "just open your heart to christ and you'll believe" as if it's that easy. For us who seek but never find it's a lonely road.
It's been a long time since I've heard how I feel described so beautifully.
Thank you so much for being here, friend.
I believe the Holy Spirit is calling you. All the same, if you would like some evidence for Christianity, here is something you can look up. Read the story of Exodus, and how God struck Egypt with different plagues. Then go and look up the Ipuwer Papyrus, written during the 13th Dynasty. You'll find that the Egyptians also kept a record of this incident. That is proof, at least, that this incident was based on something real, if not completely real.
From an orthodox christian: I look up to people like you so much.
All support here. I constantly see people who call themselves Christians hating others, having no faith in God, totally rebuilding Christianity to suit their own desires, enduring trouble with only curses and insults... meanwhile there are atheists here and everywhere who act in such good faith towards people, love beyond their own strength, and endure every trouble without becoming bitter.
Tell me, who is the true Christian? The one who says they believe without acting it, or the one who doesn't believe and yet acts as though they did.
Don't become sad that you cannot make your mind believe, and you cannot make yourself feel spiritual emotions. Do not worry that you are missing out on something. If Christ is God, truly you will believe, you will have no other choice! In the moment you stand before him in the judgement, with everyone else, you will believe. Prepare for this moment, as a good philosopher, and you will be rewarded with such Joy that you will forget the years of spiritual dryness and loneliness. Who knows, this Joy may come even in this life.
I hope my ramblings make sense to you. Be encouraged! God is with you! You will be surprised to find that many of the faithful Christians secretly have/have had similar feelings to you, even some of our saints. You are not alone.
God bless you!
Macrina
@@MacrinaParryyes. What is “belief” anyway? Mental assent? That can be helpful. It can be delusional, too. But the Truth doesn’t require my assent. But an open heart to others, to Love, to humility - that’s what leads us.
Well, born as an Orthodox Christian I always felt encouraged to find my own path to God (the best and complete version of Self) whatever that path might look like. I never doubted that we humans and all that exist, descend form higher form of intelligence and that feeling is imprinted in me throughout my religion. I'm not afraid to read all kind of authors and dive into principles of all religions and cults (I mean all) deeply knowing that all that IS, comes from that universal higher form (God) and is aligned to it. Orthodox Christianity is like supportive parent that is loving you unconditionally and giving you freedom to explore, grow and develop on your own.
DUDE YOU MISSED THE BEST PART! DON'T TALK ABOUT IT IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN THERE ON MIDNIGHT! I HAVE BEEN THERE ON MIDNIGHT! IT'S MAGICAL!
My favorite part of the divine Liturgy is when we say the Our Father in everybody's languages. ❤
Glad you enjoyed your visit! I’m an African American woman who was Chrismated into the Greek Orthodox Church about 2 yrs ago. A complicated spiritual journey (and God’s grace) brought me here. If you’re ever in Jacksonville FL, we’d love to have you visit St. John the Divine GOC. ❤
As a Greek who lives in Raleigh (since 1992) and has been to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, I can confirm that this is a wonderful community. Truly happy that you had the chance to visit. Thank you for the wonderful video.
I am a Baptist and attended my first Greek Orthodox church recently and was in awe of the warmth of my fellow Christians there. It felt very whole if that makes sense. Great video and peace to you!
Orthodox metal-head here, just stumbled onto this channel respect for checking our service out glad you enjoyed! Just listened to some of your songs too you got some bangers homie keep it goin
I have recently converted to orthodoxy. I found the answers in it that neither the Roman Catholic or Protestant churches could answer. There is so much to offer the growing spirit of a person. I am thankful to God for it. ❤
Orthodox here! Thank you for this video and I hope that you know that you are always welcome in the Orthodox family❤️
I’m 31 and got my new Bible as the orthodox study bible. I wasn’t serious Christian as a teen and I wasn’t practicing anything in my 20s until I turned 30 and something changed in my heart
I am so happy you finally went to an Orthodox Church (specifically 'Eastern' Orthodox)!!!
I am a convert and I was received into the Church on the night of Pascha in England. I started going to an Orthodox Church in September, so I guess I am part of this 'boom' that you mentioned. As you say, many young men are joining the Church as we crave tradition in a world that we feel is against us in this way and we want to reconnect not just with our Christian history, but that of the original Church of the Apostles that has survived until this day (as promised in Matthew 16:18).
The church that you visited looks beautiful as well and I am glad that you enjoyed it. I like your channel and wish you the best in visiting all kinds of churches to see what they are like, though I may be praying for you to eventually join a certain Church that I have in mind lol. I love how you are funny and entertaining, but also open to Christianity and learning more about it despite you becoming an atheist. It is good to see someone with more nuanced opinions that doesn't senslessly bash Christianity since leaving it.
Btw, you said in your Coptic Orthodox video that the Copts are older than the Orthodox as they split off before the Great Schism. They did split off much earlier, but this actually makes them younger, as they aren't the original Church like the Orthodox are. The reason for this is that we were all One Church for the first 325 years until the first Ecumanical Council in Nicea, where the Arians split off. Ecumenical Councils define the faith whilst also making clear what different heresies are so they can be avoided and corrected, as to continue the true original faith. The Coptics split in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon as they believed in miaphysitism- that Christ's human and divine natures are actually 1 joined nature, seen as heresy to us Orthodox and the Catholics. This is what makes them younger and not older than us. I hope this clarifies this query.
I enjoy your videos, may God grant you many years☦
Thank you for this great video! You were at the Agape Service. Orthodox churches read the Gospel in as many different languages as people can read at this service on Easter Sunday. This symbolizes sharing the Word of God to all nations.
The egg is symbolic of Christ’s resurrection: Red for the blood of Christ; cracking symbolizes Christ leaving the grave through His resurrection.
So glad to hear it was such a positive experience!
Lol, i am a convert to orthodoxy, and my first Easter before i was a catechumen i did the same thing and missed the service.
I remember my first time visiting an Orthodox Church 😂 it was a Russian church in Panamá, where we were living in 2019. I was so (happily!) confused! I remember not knowing if I should make eye contact or look away when the priest came out of the doors censing everything 😅 it seemed so formal, but still warm and welcoming. Now my husband, children and I are living back in the States. We have all been baptized into the Orthodox faith. We just buried our forth child and I don’t know how I would have navigated our loss without our faith. Losing a child is hard no matter what, but on the way to the monastery where we buried him I realized we are having the worst human experience, but the best version of it. Our faith gives us hope we will see him again but also our church was there doing all the tangible things for us now. Reading over his body for 3 days before we buried him, they made his beautiful little casket, they took care of us for 40 days doing everything. And all the orthodox churches in the area not just the parish we attend. It’s one church and it’s got all the answers I looked for around the world. I went to the Hindu temples and the mosques and the Protestant churches. Thank God for His Mercy, he led my husband, who was agnostic, home to Orthodoxy and now it’s the center of our lives. God bless you on your journey. I enjoyed the video. ☦️ come visit it us at Shreveport, Louisiana at St Nicholas Orthodox Church. It’s unusual but we have 3 orthodox churches in Shreveport, an Antiochian, Greek, and Orhtodox Church of America, you can come talk to all the Fathers :)
The historic Christian Faith is experiential, not a life long exercise in human reasoning to acquire the right propositions. We come to know God through our nous (a Greek word in Scripture that cannot be translated into English properly). I was a Protestant for 25 years, moved from one Evangelical tradition to the next, then found Orthodoxy, and found real peace in every way.
When we "light a candle at church", in reality, we're not lighting a candle, but rather "receiving the light, and offering the light back". Christ/God is the Light, and there's nothing that we can offer to God that He doesn't already have, except our free will. Thus, we are receiving the Light of God and offering it back to Him, as a representation of our free will. God bless!
Glad you enjoyed! I will just add Orthodoxy is not a "denomination" because what would it be a denomination of? It continued through apostolic succession and continues today.
Take care and I hope you keep investigating Orthodoxy.
If I may make a few suggestions:
_Jay Dyer_ (if you want to be challenged)
_Lord of Spirits_ (Stephen DeYoung is so knowledgeable and will unravel the Bible that will crush Western presuppositions that have destroyed the way Christianity has been viewed thanks to Protestantism and Roman Catholicism)
And _Roots of Orthodoxy_
I understand the desire to say that Eastern Orthodoxy is not a denomination. But, with respect, that isn't quite true. Since denomination simply means a "name or formal designation", I'd say we qualify as having a denomination. Our denomination is "Eastern Orthodox Christianity". If we had no denomination, no one would know what to call us. I think a better way to say what you mean, is that we are not a "branch" of Christianity, we are the tree.
Orthodox Christian, here. Orthodoxy trancends ethnicity. Yes, some Orthodox churches are heavily one ethnicity but most are quite mixed here in the US. I attend a Russian Orthodox church and, out of the entire parish, there's only ONE Russian. The majority in our parish are American-born of Scots-Irish ancestry but we also have Lebanese, Italian, Polish & Greeks that attend our church.
I'm so glad that you attended & it's obvious from the video that Liturgy touched something in you. I encourage you to continue attending & to speak to Fr Paul about our beliefs. I think you'll be surprised at our outlook on many things. You've just barely scratched the surface of the richness of Orthodoxy. There's MUCH more to discover! And when you do, I think you'll understand the reasons for the expansion of the Orthodox Church in America.
God's blessings upon you!
My favorite part of Orthodoxy is that I don’t feel manipulated w emotion. It is what it is and has been forever and I conform to the worship. It doesn’t conform to me and is completely unapologetic about that.
I hope you make it to an actual Pascha service as it is too hard to describe and must be experienced. You could attempt OCA Orthodox Church in America service to see some differences.
I can’t speak for the other orthodox sects but for us Greeks family is incredibly important and we treat other Greeks and our Church as extensions of our family which is one reason our Church community is so close
Also all of the Orthodox priests I've met so far are really friendly and caring
I just came across your UA-cam channel. Your video is amazing. New subscriber from me! I’m a Protestant who is working on converting to Orthodoxy. Orthodox Christian’s are the most friendly and intelligent people I’ve ever met. They are well educated and very passionate about the Lord.
I encourage you to continue to explore Orthodoxy!
Grace and peace to you from our God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ ☦️
Thank you for your kind and respectful thoughts on the Orthodox Church you visited. While no church will ever be perfect, what you described in this church is true in the vast majority of Orthodox churches.
I attend a Serbian church, we welcome EVERY human being into the church with love. Jesus dined with sinners, and so do we.
Praise be to God.
Hey man, greek orthodox here who lives in Athens!I found your channel yesterday and i binged watched many of your vids. I started by watching this and what struck me as "odd" wasnt the fact that an atheist reviews from the outside an orthodox church. It seemed obvious to me that although you stated you didn't have any knowledge of orthodoxy,the way you talked and approached the topic indicated that you clearly seemed to be invested in Christ's faith on a deep personal level, at least in the past.
So..i then watched your video on the episcopalian church and then a couple more where you stated how much you despise the confrontation of "you were never a christian to begin with".
Please allow me to share my thoughts: It is obvious that there is a deep existential agony, a sincere search for the truth and a willingness to humble yourself in a way that many people who think that they are settled with their faith haven't done so including me.
You are also absolutely right when you say that you are bothered by the confrontations that you had with many christians when they told you "oh but you were never a real chrisian' and that most of these people seem to rely purely on themselves.
Obviously i don't know you, but If i was to annoy you with a confrontation i would do the opposite and ask you " you don't strike me as a real atheist':D
Having said that and knowing that you are still invested in the christian faith in a way- your content says so- i would urge you to search and read the biographies of ealy Saints and Fathers. You might find yourself relating to their struggles with the faith in a positively surprising way. Many of them felt for decades the feeling of the absence and abandonment of God. Until we close our eyes our journey on this earth continues and we don't know how things will play out.
I really like your channel and the fresh, sincere and sensitive way you approach things. Wish you all the love!
Welcome to the true and original church of Christ ☦️ God bless you ❤️ and greetings from Germany 🇩🇪
Now that you know, come back next year on the eve of Pascha to take in the full experience. Prepare to be there at least five hours for the three services (Nocturn, Matins, & the Divine Liturgy) that follow one right after the other and are followed by a potluck Feast.
The candle symbolizes Christ who is “the True Light who gives light to every man…” (John 1:9)
The act of lighting a candle in front of an Icon to pray is a small gesture of sacrifice-a small offering to God from the worshipper.
Most manage it in 21/2-3 hours.
@@traceyedson9652Five is if you stay for the potluck and hang out. I usually arrive about 10 pm at my parish, 30 mins before start of Nocturnes (because it becomes crowded quickly) and find I’m leaving the church after potluck around 3:00 am. Services are about 2.5 - 3 hours, yes.
I’ve been Orthodox for a while. My faith is so important to me and I’m so glad you were able to visit an Orthodox Church. Great video, too. I’m Subscribing. I pray you stay safe and continue to be open and respectful to all your new experiences.
Glad you came and hope you get the chance to keep on coming! God bless you. ☦️
Cool video on our faith. Much respect. ☦️
Basically there is only ONE Eastern Orthodox Church with apostolic succession. But there are many jurisdictions for that one singular church (Greek, Russian, Romanian, etc). Oriental Orthodoxy only uses the name 'Orthodoxy,' but it's really just coming from a completely different chronology than the Eastern Orthodox. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is 'The Orthodox Catholic Church.' It is no secret that since the great schism, it views itself as true Catholicism, and the Church in Rome/Italy as the one Jurisdiction that broke off from the others.
Orthodox catechumen here! We use different variations of greetings throughout the year.
For most of the year, we will greet one another in church with “Christ is in our midst!” and the other person will respond with “He is and ever shall be!”
We will have variations of this greeting on different holidays. For example, around the time of Pascha, we will say (as you experienced), “Christ is risen!” and “Truly He is risen!” Similarly, when celebrating Christ’s ascension, we we will greet one another with “Christ is ascended!” and “Truly He is ascended!” I believe there are other variations for Christ’s birth and other situations also : )
Orthodoxy "works" at a level above every other tradition. That doesn't mean other christians aren't really christians, it's just that their traditions have screened out a lot of what is most helpful in life. Think of "worship" and "attention" as the same thing; what you look at, and otherwise interact with, has a profound effect on you.
The world is saturating our attention with it's symbols toward its own ends; manipulating us into buying things we don't need, for instance. Orthodoxy is the antidote. It saturates our attention too, except in this case it feels good because it _is_ good. The coziness of Orthodoxy is the birthright of every human person.
I absolutely love the song "The Terrifying Judgement" in the opening.
Cool work, man. I was an atheist from 20 to 30 years old and deep into metal (from Blind Guardian to Bolt Thrower). I hope that I am finding my way back thanks to Jesus Christ and the Greek Orthodox Church.
❤❤In the Russian [OCA/ROCOR, etc..] parishes the services BEGIN at 11:30pm and can continue until well after 2am..depending on how many are there for Holy Communion!.
Pascha is always a joyous and festive time..
So glad to have come across your video..
I admit that i held my breath for a little as you began, but it was truly heartwarming and you are a joy to watch..
And i truly love what you read. Truly beautiful.
We may be past Pentecost now but it is never out of season to proclaim that :
CHRIST IS RISEN!
I'm just delighted by your review. Hopefully next year you can get to the "real" Pascha service, which is usually celebrated at midnight. It's a blast. At my church, it runs from 11:30 PM to about 2:30 AM, and there's so much shouting and singing, the priest walking through the crowd swinging a censer. The sermon is always the St. John Chrysostom Paschal Homily, which is short and pungent. Everybody ought to experience that service at least once in their life.
Also there's a potluck meal that follows the service, in the wee hours of the morning. Since we have been keeping a vegan fast for 7 weeks, people bring whatever they missed during the fast, and it's pretty sumptuous.
Next year Pascha will overlap with Western Easter, April 20. That is, Orthodox will get going late on Saturday April 19, while Western Christians will gather on the morning of Sunday April 20. I hope you get to give it a try.
Also, someone has surely already said this, but Pascha is pronounced "Pahs-ka." A Pasha was a high-ranking officer in the Ottoman Empire, so not a happy memory for Greek Orthodox.
@heliocentric Frederica is held in high esteem in many Orthodox circles and would be a fascinating conversation partner if you two are willing. This conversation she had with Jonathan Pageau is a great starting point: ua-cam.com/video/PYsFwHXTY-Y/v-deo.html
That's really enlightening!
Thank you so much for your kind words, and I'll absolutely try to make it out to a proper Pascha service this time next year.
Cheers!
When you want to talk to God, pray! When you want God to talk to you, read the Bible 🙏🏼❤️
Orthodox Christians are the ones under the most attack from the evil one because we are the ones who remained the most true to Jesus’s teachings. We praise our Lord the way the apostles did. We didn’t change a thing. Our traditions and beliefs remained the same and go back to the apostles. This is why you can feel Gods presence at our churches. 🙏🏼