Following you with great interest. My family is Catholic, a faith from which I ran as far away from as possible for lack of spiritual nourishment for many years, and now I am somehow, despite myself, back again in the Roman Catholic Church. But I don't know if I would be there were it not for Eastern Orthodox voices online opening my eyes to Christianity as a valid option again. The only thing keeping me a Catholic (and not a catechumen in Orthodoxy) is my family - yet "whoever loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me." I can't argue with the Gospel - I guess I'm just lazy, and seeking all of the reasons I can muster to stay, simply because converting would be hard on my family who expects me to be with them for Sunday mass. I suspect I will eventually convert. But that is why your next part is of such great interest to me, since it seems that it will be about how you managed to figure the difference between Catholics and Orthodoxy, and choose Orthodoxy.
This really spoke to me as someone who had a similar ourney as you - atheist, then traditional Catholic, then Byzantine Catholic (Melkite), and now by the grace of God an Orthodox Christian. I wonder if we both made the jump to Orthodoxy for the same reason...
Excited for pt 4!
Following you with great interest. My family is Catholic, a faith from which I ran as far away from as possible for lack of spiritual nourishment for many years, and now I am somehow, despite myself, back again in the Roman Catholic Church. But I don't know if I would be there were it not for Eastern Orthodox voices online opening my eyes to Christianity as a valid option again. The only thing keeping me a Catholic (and not a catechumen in Orthodoxy) is my family - yet "whoever loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me." I can't argue with the Gospel - I guess I'm just lazy, and seeking all of the reasons I can muster to stay, simply because converting would be hard on my family who expects me to be with them for Sunday mass. I suspect I will eventually convert. But that is why your next part is of such great interest to me, since it seems that it will be about how you managed to figure the difference between Catholics and Orthodoxy, and choose Orthodoxy.
This really spoke to me as someone who had a similar ourney as you - atheist, then traditional Catholic, then Byzantine Catholic (Melkite), and now by the grace of God an Orthodox Christian. I wonder if we both made the jump to Orthodoxy for the same reason...
I'm excited to find out in part 4!!
As a Melkite (Greek Catholic) from birth, I welcome you to our mass and hope you enjoyed your stay.